I had the front underbelly panel (correction: "air deflector") off yesterday, and was looking at the backside of the intercooler grill. There are tabs that stick through the grill to hold it in place. Are these plastic "welded", or can the grill be popped off? Didn't seem to want to budge, and of course I didn't want to break it. I also noticed gaps at the top and bottom of the intercooler, seems like it would be a good idea to block these off to prevent air bypassing the intercooler instead of going through it.

 

This may help:
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/show...ht=intercooler

 

Please describe the "front underbelly panel".

 

I guess the proper term is "front air deflector". Additionally, thanks to ivtech for providing link to previous thread I missed. Since it is fairly easy to remove the "air deflector" without removing the entire fascia, I am going to try to get to the release clips and the two fasteners from underneath, if that works I'll add a photo to this msg later........Got the grill out, but only because the assembler left out the two fasteners that hold the two top tabs. The clips disengage by pushing outward (away from the grill center) on each tab while applying pressure. The tabs are pretty stiff, and take a fair amount of force to deflect. I filled all the gaps around the intercooler with pipe insulation foam. Don't think you need photos, but I did snap a couple of the grille removal if anyone thinks it is worth posting.