read post #392 of this thread. Once you remove the hold down bolt the only thing holding them in is an O-ring. Thus the suggestion to pry from the bottom rather than pull from the top.

Tried getting under them with a screwdriver with no luck. Its hard to believe that a o-ring is the only thing holding these in.

Once the hold-down bolt is removed, as with most things sealed with an o-ring, a twisting motion is used to remove them. You may have to use pliers, or if you have broken them already, a pair of needle-nosed vice grips.

Post a picture if you can - it might help us see the situation a little better.

Yea, I had the exact same problem about 3 weeks ago. One of mine snapped in half. I was able to use a flat screw driver and hammer. I put the screwdriver tip at an angle on the tab that the bolt goes thru. Then tap with hammer. It started to twist. I then did that again in the opposite direction till it loosened. I was then able to get a small, thin screw driver beneath the tab and started wedging it upward. I wish you luck on this. I kinda freaked out when it happened to me. But once I got it loose, everything else went according to plan. I wish you luck with this.

Check engine light came on a few days ago and had the local parts store scan for the code yesterday and the P0011 came up. Without reading thru all 41 pages, does this have to be replaced immediately? Car has 59k miles. Thanks

I wouldn't wait too long....

You could just read the first page.

It sure can't be easy on the tranny and the drivetrain with those abrupt shifts. It's not a big job to replace the solenoid(s), and they aren't that expensive, so why wait?

Actually, just got thru re-reading the 1st page and still haven't seen the answer. Reason why I was asking is because getting bogus check engine lights have been an on going experience with this car and 2 Chevy dealers have yet to be able to find a cause. Rather than rushing to the dealer, at times, waiting 2-3 days and the light will go off.

Disappointed to see what I view as a wise azz reply from a moderator.

I wish you had stated that up front. Bogus Check lights? Was anyone able to download the diagnostic codes? If so, were they different than your P0011? What were they?

Fyi: - the solenoid problem may result in the abrupt shifting without the CEL lighting up. The light may come on sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't.
- a number of other error conditions can also cause it to go into error mode, and does the hard shifting thing
- the abrupt shifting may also come and go (after an engine shutdown) - can be very intermittent
- if you had read past the first page, part way down on the 2nd page, there is a reference about broken engine mounts caused by the hard shifting - but that has not been verified.
- and further down in the thread are the resistance readings for the solenoids in case one wants to throw an ohm meter across the contacts to see if the current ones are out of spec.

Thanks Whopper. I seldom drive it as it is my wife's car. She has said nothing about any shifting abnormality only that the CEL was on and I didn't notice any shifting problem when I drove it to AutoZone.

In the past, when the light has come on, we have had OnStar tell us what they are "seeing". Many times it was some sort of clutch sensor that after taking it to the dealer if the CEL didn't go off in a few days, the dealer would say that they could find no problem and that OnStar at times gives out bogus info. Can't remember what any other of the CEL's were for.

I have to say something in JCJSS's defense, in that my wife's '06 2LT had the CEL come on, she told me about it, I called my GM master tech buddy and he said bring it over to his house to run the code reader, not one of those cheapie units either, anyway it was the above described part(s), but, in driving over to my buddy's house, I did not notice any abrupt shifting, ran like normal

Well, if there are no abnormal symptoms like the hard shifting/Traction control light etc. coinciding with the P0011 code, and it's a transient issue - then changing it or not is a decision you will have to make on your own.

Oh........... Buried somewhere in this thread as well as a few others, is some info about the issue sometimes being caused by low oil levels, and/or dirty oil, so some people have changed their oil with some success. So that is something else to consider for you.

Ironically my wife just came home and said the CEL had gone off while see was out running errands. Even with the light now off, I decided to take the car out for a drive myself to pay special attention to the shifting. Shifting felt normal to me and no special clutch action (double clutching, babying the clutch) was required for any gear. Just as I was coming back home, the CEL reappeared. Guess I call the local dealer.

My wife's is automatic, butin the case of changing the oil, my GM tech buddy said to use the 5w-30 oil that is posted in the owner's manual. The heavier 10w-30/40 is what messes up the senors and gives you the CEL

You guys really need to get on the same page with your discussion. :lol:

The harsh shifting symptom is what occurs with a car with a auto transmission. The 5 speed is not gonna have any shifting issues because of that CEL.
And JCJSS. I've read a couple of your posts. It sounds like you think once the CEL light goes off, everything is back to normal. Not always true. Certain CEL's may not remain lit but will still be stored in the computer as a problem has been detected. Just because the light went out does not always mean the problem is gone.
Sorry to jump into your thread but just trying to help out.

and more info - a 5 speed.......... now we find out, after mentioning abrupt shifting etc.

My final post on this - replace the solenoid(s) and be done with it.

Sorry. "08 HHR SS 5sp" has always been listed in my signature.

Hello,

I am new here and am hoping you can help me.

I just purchased a used car from a dealership, it is not an HHR. It is NOT under any warranty. It is a 2006 Chevy Cobalt SS (automatic). However it is having the same symptoms as are described here: TCL comes on and the shifting is clunking hard. It is intermittent at this point. Is there any chance that your described replacing the solenoid(s) might fix this problem on the Cobalt as it does in the HHR?

If there is any chance of this working, and fixing my car, I will take it down to an auto-shop and have them read my codes for me.

Thank you.

If the codes that are downloaded match the P0010/11/13/14 as noted here, then yes. But you won't know till you get the codes.

The process of replacing them will definitely differ from the first posting in this thread - so for that you are kinda on your own. There are some Cobalt forums out there that you might want to check out as well.

Good luck - and keep us posted.

Thanks kindly for your feedback.

I did find this walkthrough here: http://www.cobaltss.net/forums/how-g...roblem-288938/

I will get the codes run, and I will post them back here to confirm if they are the same or not.

Help!!
 

So, I put in new Solenoids today....it ran worse...went from a solid check engine light to a flashing and made the T/C light come on. So, I decided to put the old ones back in and it ran like it did before. Is it possible that one of the new parts are bad? Is there a process for the computer to learn the new parts? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks:smile:

Of course it is possible to have a bad new part, actually in this case very probable by your description. Were the solenoid(s) from the dealer or some other supplier?

Try replacing just one at a time.

I am assuming you did not get codes for both being bad, but I do not know.

Edit added:
I see you are new to the forum. I found your other post where Whopper covers it all.

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/show...6&postcount=22

Since you are new here – it is customary not to double post.

One thing Whopper didn’t cover was the possibility that you in your heightened learning experience did something correctly the second time around and put “everything” back together correctly upon installing the old solenoids. Not trying to be a smart aleck, it is just that we cannot see what you are doing and often I know the more I work on something the better I get at it. For an example there have been people that do this particular repair and forget to reconnect the MAF sensor and then wonder what went wrong.

It was throwing the code for both. I actually replaced the sensors first yesterday as it was throwing that code as well. I bought the parts through Napa Auto Parts... I had noticed that someone else in the thread went through them so that that would be safe.

I replaced them one at a time...then put it back together and it went hay wire. So I put one old one back in (intake) Still bad...TC light and all. So then put the old exhaust one in and it was back to the shape I started in. So for sake of my own curiosity I decided to put the new intake one back in with the old exhaust and back to throwing the TC light but the engine light was not flashing.

Beyond that...The first time with the new ones I forgot to disconnect the battery first...cranked it up and saw it was still bad. Was like oh crap forgot the battery...so I disconnected it for about 5 minutes reconnected and the problem was still there. Do you think I should do the whole process over with the battery disconnected?

As far as better at it the second time...heck yeah. I can fly threw the process now...lol. I was hoping it was something as simple as I forgot to plug the wire back in the top...not so lucky.

Thanks

I did not disconnect my battery at all for changing my intake solenoid.

I look at things a bit differently than some. If the engine, or any system, is not powered at the time I am working on it I don’t bother with the disconnecting of the battery. With the key out of the ignition the engine is not powered so I don’t think it matters. Disconnecting the battery to reset the computer modules could be of some help though. I would disconnect the battery for any major work on any of the modules on the CAN.

The only thing I see you haven’t done is put back the old sensors, beyond that I just do not know.

Measure the solenoids for IIRC ~10-15 Ohms is the spec. If they are just outside that then they may be good; way outside that like 2 Ohms or 100 ohms then they are definitely bad. Of course the coil inside the solenoid is only one failure mode. Just that they measure the correct resistance by no means says they are good. They could have physical problems and not electrical problems that make them bad.

Like Whopper said list the actual codes so others can take a look and maybe get a different idea. Get a complete listing of all the active codes and post them up with the numbers such as P0011, etc..

Talk to Napa and have them recheck the cross numbers to make sure the part is correct.

tsanzari. Welcome to the site.

I read your other posts and haven't seen you post up the actual code numbers. That is not the way to get any accurate help from this site. The members here( and we've got some really knowledable ones) need the precise code numbers to help out.
In your case, the numbers before you did the work, and then after replacing the solenoids and sensors.

Fwiw. Reading your posts and the outcome, well, not to be harsh but sounds like a installation error. Something left unhooked, wiring not plugged in correctly and/or damaged wiring plug etc.
Also. 5 minutes of a disconnected battery isn't long enough. Give it a minimum of 20 minutes.
Would love to help you out and find a solution but until you post up those codes, all we can do is take a guess at it.

Thanks everyone!!

Before I started the work the codes were the p0010, 11, 13, and 14. I will have to have them re-pulled. And hey no offense to doing something wrong. I like doing things myself when I can...but I am a banker by trade. Motorcycles are a little more my thing. So no offense taken.

I think in the morning I am going to do the process over with the battery disconnected. It takes me about 20 minutes total to do the process so that should hopefully be long enough on the battery.

And no... I have not tired to put the old sensors back in. The one in the front is super easy...the one on the back of the motor...not so much. The sensors did not seem to effect the issue one way or the other. In my head I thought it idled smoother until I put it in gear. But, I may have just been hopeful it did something. Do you think it is worth yanking those back out?

So like I said...giving it a whirl tomorrow with the battery disconnected...will report my results. Hopefully with no codes because it worked. Other wise I will get the codes and get back with you all. Thanks again for all the help!!

Firemangeorge - the reason you didn't see the codes was that he posted them in a separate thread - https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/problems-service-repairs-42/changed-camshaft-sensors-now-flashing-cel-48950/ - he was getting p0010, 11, 13 & 14.

Tsanzari - a few things:
- splitting the information between two different threads just makes for massive confussion for everyone. I'll close the other thread you had started with a ref to this one

- ahhhh you bought non-GM solenoid actuators (from Napa) - me, I'd take them back, and go get genuine GM ones. I get the feeling that some of the after market ones just don't do the job. I maybe wrong......... but since they make the matter worse, that would be enough for me to return them.

- has the oil been changed recently? Dirty oil can contaminate the internals on those solenoid actuators.

- when I was having problems with the CEL lighting up and throwing the codes I was getting, even a 15 second disconnect of the battery was enough to clear the error conditions, but a longer disconnect sure can't hurt, especially if there are other issues causing the problems.

So get the codes downloaded again, and lets see what the car is saying. Best of luck.

Actually tsanzari didn't start the new thread, your humble Administrator did.

With this thread growing to over 400 posts, and his initial post being yet another "tack on", I decided to split it off as his initial post featured a flashing CEL and a possible secondary underlying misfire issue.

Since that's not the case judging by subsequent posts, I'm sorry for the extra work whopper.

SENSOR NOT = SOLENOID!!!!!!!!!! They are 2 very different bits.

"one in front and one in back" are the SENSORS. The 2 on top of the valve cover are SOLENOIDS/ACTUATORS. Or, did you replace both sets?

Parts places will sell you the wrong parts because their books use the incorrect nomenclature.

Which of us is more confused?

Yeah it's getting a bit long for sure. No problem - we will figure it out one way or the other. :)

I did change both the solenoids and the sensors. I called a local Chevy store this morning and they have GM Solenoids in stock. So I am going to get those and return the Napa auto parts ones. Hoping they don't give me issues on the return, but they certainly don't seem to be working right as they made the issue worse. If they worked and the Solenoids were not the issue I would figure at would at least be the same...right?

I will keep you all posted on my progress today.

Not sure this is the one I should reply to or not...but here goes.

okay...So I put in GM Solenoids. I had the battery disconnected, I did them making sure to push down until I feel the pop, hooked them back up, put the car back together, hooked up the battery and no luck. Unlike with the old ones in...the traction ecs light comes on and I get a flashing engine light under acceleration.

Whopper...I went and had the code pulled and it was showing a P0303 I was told that was a cylinder three miss-fire. So I came home and checked all the coil packs and they were tight. I pulled out cylinder 3 plug and the gap and all was still correct. It did look a little whiter than I feel it should.

But, I am a little at a loss of how it ran better....not right, just better...with the old Solenoids than with the new. I would think it would at least run the same if I trouble shot this thing wrong.

I replaced the oil about 1,000 miles ago, so it is pretty clean. Always use mobile one full synthetic. I replaced the plugs and coil packs about 7k miles ago. Is it possible that it running poorly burned out the new plugs? I drove it a little while with the issue, but it was very light. Every now and then it would idle rough or have a hard shift so that is when I did the plugs and coil pack. When that did not take care of it I had the codes pulled and it was the p0010, p0011, p0013 and p0014. But I did not have an TC light on. It was Thursday night that all of a sudden it was stuttering very hard at low rpms and began shifting very hard. Had the codes re-pulled and it was the same ones. So I did the work I described earlier.

You all have been a great help thus far...hopefully we can figure this thing out!! Thanks

The stuttering and shifting hard indicate that it most likely had a cylinder miss and went into "limp" mode.
The P0303 code does point to cylinder 3. Since you have checked the coils and plugs and connections, the next thing to do is a compression test.
Compression test all cylinders and compare. Since you'll have the plugs removed for the test, have some new ones on hand to replace the old ones with. If you find number 3 cylinder to be low on compression, just forget about swapping the plugs.
Let us know what you find.

Okay. I will have to take it to a dealer for a pressure test, I don't have the tools for that.

It is an 09, bought in August of 2009 and I have 97k on the miles...so if it is low compression that should be under the power-train warranty.

I am wondering too...since that plug was whiter than I think it should be if maybe the injector to that cylinder has gone bad and it is not getting fuel to that cylinder. (not sure if injectors are under the power-train warranty or not)

Thanks

Sounds good. If you are the original owner, then the powertrain warranty may be applicable. If you're the second owner, the warranty period reverts back to the first titled owner purchase date.

Fwiw. It's cylinder compression test. Saying pressure test could cause some confusion. Especially if you said that at the dealer.

Was able to have it fixed at the dealership today.

Looks like the miss fire was a bad coil pack. So the solenoids and sensors had been a problem that I should have addressed earlier but looks like that coil going out was the larger problem. The mechanic said after the diagnostics that he moved the coil pack from the cylinder 3 position to cylinder one...cleared the codes and fired it up. The engine light came back on and it was a miss fire cylinder 1. So bad coil pack. Wish I would have thought of trying that myself, but happy I was able to do the solenoids and sensors with all your guys help. So thank you!!

Still not sure why the miss fire was not as bad with the old solenoids....maybe the new ones just magnified the issue when the timing was corrected. Not sure but Thankful for this HHR Network.:thumb:

Glad you got it fixed - it had a lot of us scratching our heads over that one. Keep us posted on how it continues to run for you. Hopefully all the problems are cleared up.

The yellow light comes on, plug in the scantool and the DTC is P0013. Looked for the exhaust vvt solenoid at the local parts places online and none stocking, gotta be ordered. Every parts place is Dorman #917-216 for exhaust and #917-215 for intake. Go to Amazon and buy the pair for $51.78. Ordered on Monday and had then in the car on Thursday. Takes longer to get the airbox off that replacing the solenoids.

big thanks for the Dorman part numbers - I'll add them to our Common Parts listing (https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/commonly-used-part-numbers-68/part-numbers-elusive-common-parts-broken-into-separate-posts-thread-48833/)