Springs and insulators installed yesterday. 1 spring was broken. 45 minutes total to do this job. Everything went well. Sit's up a little taller in the rear now. Rides nice. Moog springs. Over and Out.

 

Awesome, glad it’s fixed!

 

note: we can log this as yet another HHR found with a rear coil spring broken. As these cars get older, it seems we are seeing this more often.

 

I keep a spare set of FE3 rear springs in the shed for just such an emergency!

 

Hah, I still have my OEM FE3 springs, about forgot about them..

 

I’d like to establish if FE3 actually had different springs than FE1. So far I’ve only proved to myself that the rear shocks were different, although it would stand to reason the the strut dampeners were different too.

And both could have varied from model year to year, like we know the stabilizer bar did (I think?)

My plan is to compile a list of VIN’s of various years with FE1 and FE3 and take a pizza to my Chevy dealer’s parts counter.

 

FE1 - Soft
FE3 - Medium
FE-5 Hard and shorter
I believe.

 

FE3 = according to my build sheet is these are "sport tuned"

& FE5 are shorter by 3/4" & stiffer.

 

Yeah but I want part numbers.

 

The parts bins have been so mixed up over the years, accuracy is nearly impossible.
My FE 3 rears are 13.1 “ tall relaxed
My FE 5 rears are 11.2 “ tall relaxed
i suppose a search through the interwebs might get you a part number but it’s moot, as the are obsolete.