Hi....

Great car. More fun than my Viper. Had since new. 85K miles. At about 60K, it became harder and harder to get into 5th. Now impossible. Other gears fine.

Repair guy (not dealer) says this is classic sign that I need a clutch (and all the other goodies that should be replaced with it).

Is there anything I might try before going that way?

Thank you for any help and Marry Christmas.

PARTIAL SOLUTION (REMOVING KNOB AND BOOT) 01/01/23

Thanks for all the help on this forum. I am convinced it is not clutch and is the shift cables. I will be persuing that further but 1/2 the fun has been getting the shifter knob and boot removed. Here's what I learned:

First off, the boot cannot be removed from the shifter by rotating it CCW 90 degree like some others. This boot is tightly held to the shifter's reverse lockout slide with a tie strap (on the inside of the boot). .

The second eye opener is that shift balls I researched all seem to use unique methods to attach, After removing the emblem cap and the Torx 20 screw), I used a rubber oil wrench tool to pull it off. I saw a You Tube video where a guy used a wheel puller. I didn't have one. You really have to pull! (it's pressed onto a splined shaft).

If you want to see the procedure (complete with pictures), go to another thread. I put the answer under a thread from "METZ" Removing 5 sp knob and shift boot. This is for an SS.... probably not be the same if not SS.

By the way, learned from FASTSUV (below), you do not need to remove the knob/boot t get access to the shifter cables. Thank you FASTSUV (below) for a great writeup on the knob/boot and shift cables.

 

One of our members just addressed this problem with a new set of shift control cables

 

Good luck finding SS shift cables. Last I heard they had made a new production run, maybe they are back in stock.
I would inspect the ends of the cables first. Pretty low mileage to even think "clutch". Classic symptom of bad clutch would be more like "can't get into first or all gears', not just fifth.

 

https://www.quirkparts.com/oem-parts...cable-15939191


In post #17 in this thread try lubricant

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/ss-s...s-62162/page2/

 

The cables sometimes need adjustment, at the shifter.

 

Thank each of you for pointing me to shift cables. Haven't found a good YouTube video for getting the shift knob and boot off.... so I am thinking of going with a mechanic (I'm 75 and getting lazy). Anybody know a good video... or a good guy in Las Vegas? Thanks again.

 

You twist the boot 90 degrees CCW and push down.
Then with a torx head wrench undo the knob and remove.

 

Don’t think that is correct for the SS. The SS 5 speed is a Saab unit and uses a different shifter than the regular HHR does.
I seem to recall reading (years ago) that you have to remove the shift patten emblem on top of the SS knob to access the screw under it.

 

This might help


https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/gene...ft-boot-65302/

 

You don't have to take the shift knob and boot off to adjust or replace the cables.

I replaced my cables recently (2009 SS). I unsnapped the bottom, of the boot from the console, pulled the boot bottom over the knob, then removed the plastic console top that is around the shifter.

My shifting problems started with the transmission getting harder and harder to get into 5th gear (and also reverse).

The shift cable that controls side-to-side movement of the shifter was getting stiffer and stiffer, and was limiting how far the shifter could be moved to the right (which is where 5th and reverse are). It eventually started to also get hard to go far enough to the left (where 1st and 2nd are). At this point I replaced the cables (both are a joined set and both must be replaced at the same time).

The bad shift cable was binding badly internally somewhere. The ends where the cable exits the sheath look good, so the problem is somewhere inside the cable. I am going to lube it up to see if I can free it and keep the old cables as emergency spares (as donbrew says, new SS cables are only sporadically available).

What I did was unsnap the cable ends at the transmission and then move the shifter to all positions to see if the cable moves freely. When I did this to mine, it was clear the cable was binding and the transmission had nothing to do with it (since the trans was disconnected).

BTW, yes, you pop off the shift pattern plate on top of the knob to get at the screw that holds the knob on.

Steve.