This is how the trans looked just before removal:




This is how the engine looks after trans removal:




A closeup of the clutch:

 

The trans is pretty light. My son and I easily pulled it off and removed it.

 

Nice, a father & son , working on cars, doesn’t that bring back yesteryears, for most of us.

 

Thank you, very good information, Steve , I’m sure someone will need that in the not to distant future.

 

I think my statement was vague.

I meant that I could hold a NEW HEX NUT with a socket.

The nut in the cage is rectangular, I would guess one side is about 1" wide, while the other is about 1 1/4".

In theory you could put a wrench on it (after bending the cage out of the way), but there isn't enough room horizontally for a wrench that would be big enough to grab the cage nut (1" open end or rectangular wrench).

I will take a closeup picture of the cage and nut with the cut-off bolt still in it tonight when I get home. I'll also take a picture of the driver side, which has slightly different access to it.

Also read that the Dodge Neon has a similar setup with even harder access. The Neon solution is to drill a hole in the floorpan above the nut, fix the problem, and then plug the hole. Looks like that would be possible on the HHR, if necessary in an extreme case.

Steve

 

This is my 16 yr old son that is working with me on the car. He is very good with his hands and mechanical stuff.

He has a learner's permit now, but already can drive a car with a standard transmission. He drives my Mustang GT 5 speed sometimes.

This HHR will be his when he gets his license (hopefully early next year). He says driving an automatic is "boring" because shifting gives him something to do while driving.

Steve

 

Here are a couple of pictures of the cage nut:

 

Awesome, thanks for your explanation and sharing this experience.

 

Here's a picture of the passenger side (bad side) cage and nut area (I had already bent up one side of the cage to try and jam the nut so it wouldn't turn):



A closeup of the nut and cage:



The same area after I removed the cage with a chisel and hammer:



The removed cage and nut:



A picture of the driver side area (the nut is still held ok by the cage):

 

Great info & images, Thank You Sir..