HHR clunk fix
03-14-2014, 09:17 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 01-29-2014
Location: New England
Posts: 140
HHR clunk fix
If you're hearing a knock or clunk in the front end of your HHR, especially
when driving over sharp, raised creases in the pavement, this could be the
problem:
Check the front plastic bumper. Grab the plastic with two hands and give it
fast, hard up and down shake. If the bumper panel feels loose and/or you
hear anything resembling a knocking sound then there's a good chance you
found the "HHR clunk".
Here's what I did to solve the problem: get a shop rag (or an old T-shirt will
do) and roll it up lengthwise. Stuff the rag in between the lower side of the
steel bumper frame and the plastic bumper panel. Push the rag firmly in
until you can't see it. An inch or two will do. I wouldn't worry much about
the rag coming out since the back edge of the panel is curled upwards. That
should hold it in place. You'll notice now the bumper is feeling much firmer.
That alone may cure your clunk. But if the looseness extends to the sides
towards the wheel wells find a thick strip of foam. I used a section of pipe
insulation which is available at any hardware/lumber store. You'll need
about 3 feet. Break the foam in half and place each half between the steel
frame and the black, plastic panels under the front end on either side of the
radiator. No need to jack up the vehicle. The panels are accessable. You
may have to experiment here a little. It took several tries before I got the
foam in nice and snug. The end result will be a firm bumper from end to
end. And NO clunk. Check your work from time to time. You may want to
replace some (or all) of the plastic rivets with bolts, washers, lock nuts and
dense foam as spacers between plastic and metal for a more permanent fix.
Of course, I can't proclaim this the clunk cure-all. But it worked really well
for me.
Note: please pardon me if this is a rehash of any similar fixes presented on this site.
Honestly, I haven't checked. I hope you'll find this fix helpful.
The pictures are here:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps3f9daec9.jpg
Rag is pulled out to show location.
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps8dc83d33.jpg
Another view of rag location.
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps998c6775.jpg
Pointing to location of pipe foam.
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps5cec4a96.jpg
Foam is at center in picture.
when driving over sharp, raised creases in the pavement, this could be the
problem:
Check the front plastic bumper. Grab the plastic with two hands and give it
fast, hard up and down shake. If the bumper panel feels loose and/or you
hear anything resembling a knocking sound then there's a good chance you
found the "HHR clunk".
Here's what I did to solve the problem: get a shop rag (or an old T-shirt will
do) and roll it up lengthwise. Stuff the rag in between the lower side of the
steel bumper frame and the plastic bumper panel. Push the rag firmly in
until you can't see it. An inch or two will do. I wouldn't worry much about
the rag coming out since the back edge of the panel is curled upwards. That
should hold it in place. You'll notice now the bumper is feeling much firmer.
That alone may cure your clunk. But if the looseness extends to the sides
towards the wheel wells find a thick strip of foam. I used a section of pipe
insulation which is available at any hardware/lumber store. You'll need
about 3 feet. Break the foam in half and place each half between the steel
frame and the black, plastic panels under the front end on either side of the
radiator. No need to jack up the vehicle. The panels are accessable. You
may have to experiment here a little. It took several tries before I got the
foam in nice and snug. The end result will be a firm bumper from end to
end. And NO clunk. Check your work from time to time. You may want to
replace some (or all) of the plastic rivets with bolts, washers, lock nuts and
dense foam as spacers between plastic and metal for a more permanent fix.
Of course, I can't proclaim this the clunk cure-all. But it worked really well
for me.
Note: please pardon me if this is a rehash of any similar fixes presented on this site.
Honestly, I haven't checked. I hope you'll find this fix helpful.
The pictures are here:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps3f9daec9.jpg
Rag is pulled out to show location.
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps8dc83d33.jpg
Another view of rag location.
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps998c6775.jpg
Pointing to location of pipe foam.
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps5cec4a96.jpg
Foam is at center in picture.
Last edited by 11hhrlt; 03-14-2014 at 10:34 PM.
03-14-2014, 11:28 AM
#2
Platinum Member
Join Date: 04-09-2006
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Posts: 7,032
Hey there - great pics. I took the liberty of downloading your pics from photobucket and editing your posting to show the images on your posting.
Here is how I did it:
- went to each of your photobucket links and downloaded each picture to my pc
- clicked on the CAMERA ICON on the left side just below your name on the posting, which takes me to MY photo Gallery (unfortunately, not your gallery) - but if you click the camera icon it will take you to Your gallery)
- on the gallery page you will find a field to "Upload File from your Computer" - click the browse button and find the picture to be uploaded ... etc.... etc...
- once it uploads scroll down the page to find the BB CODE - and copy/paste it into your posting
- edit the BB CODE to remove the "-thumb" from the BB code you pasted in (will make it full size now) and finish the posting as normal
Your picture should then show in the thread.
Here is how I did it:
- went to each of your photobucket links and downloaded each picture to my pc
- clicked on the CAMERA ICON on the left side just below your name on the posting, which takes me to MY photo Gallery (unfortunately, not your gallery) - but if you click the camera icon it will take you to Your gallery)
- on the gallery page you will find a field to "Upload File from your Computer" - click the browse button and find the picture to be uploaded ... etc.... etc...
- once it uploads scroll down the page to find the BB CODE - and copy/paste it into your posting
- edit the BB CODE to remove the "-thumb" from the BB code you pasted in (will make it full size now) and finish the posting as normal
Your picture should then show in the thread.
09-15-2016, 05:51 PM
#8
Join Date: 06-26-2015
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 5
After replacing most of the front end components which did not cure the occaisional clunk, I discovered the loose plastic bumper also. Changed out the plastic rivets with nuts & bolts. Now I will insert some foam and cloth material to cure the rest. Thanks for posting this! (I happened to check another HHR in a Walmart parking lot and the plastic bumper on that one moved up and down also). C'mon Chevy, you could have done better!
