bowtieboy68

howdy 'neighbor' and welcome to the site!

brossow

Thought I'd share some pics of what I got up to today with my first significant "improvement" to the HHR. I decided to pick up a Curt hitch from eBay. I looked at all of the different models available (Hidden Hitch, Reese, etc.) and the Curt looked like it was the best-built of the bunch -- with a steel plate for the safety chains vs. the welded-on chain links used by others, for example. Also read somewhere that it doesn't stick out quite as far as the others, and since the prices were all within a few dollars of one another the Curt was the obvious choice.

Anyway, I ordered it Wednesday night and it was already waiting for me when I got home from work on Friday. Got up early this morning to start work on it before it got too hot. Here's what I started with:





Along with the hardware package from the future (?!):





I gave myself plenty of room to work by jacking up the rear axle and then supporting it with jack stands:





Dropped the exhaust as instructed (two hangers at the muffler, plus the next two along the intermediate pipe toward the front for good measure). Didn't take any pics during the install because I just wanted to get it done and because this install procedure is well-documented elsewhere. Installation was a breeze and the only hole I had to open up a bit was the rearward one on the passenger side (as indicated in the instructions; it's the one on the left in the picture below):





The Curt package includes not just the hitch but a ball mount plus a bolt puller (fish wire) that some kits make you buy separately and which you absolutely MUST have to do this installation. Had my daughter help get the nuts started, since it's hard to hold up the hitch and spin on the nuts at the same time, plus I was a bit worried about accidentally shoving a bolt back up into the frame and losing it forever while I tried to line everything up and hold it in place. I used my air impact wrench to make quick work of tightening the hardware, checked it with a torque wrench, and then it was just a matter of reattaching all of the exhaust hangers.

BEFORE reattaching the hangers:







AFTER:







I had read elsewhere about concerns that hitches in general reduce ground clearance. At least in my 2LT with stock exhaust, the muffler is still the lowest point in that area of the car as you can see in this side shot:





I can't pull anything yet because I'm still waiting for the wiring harness adapter to arrive, but for light-duty loads I think this will be a great addition to the new ride. Not sure that this writeup will help anyone, but there ya go.

Cheers,
Brent

bowtieboy68

nice!

brossow

In a separate thread, I posted about the installation of a Sony XNV-770BT head unit a few days ago.





Tuesday night, something else showed up in the back of the HHR.









Mint condition take-offs for far less than even the cheapest aftermarket rims. They'll be safely stored away until I need new tires, at which point they'll eagerly be put into service. The necessary 15mm spacers are on order and the extended lugs were purchased (at an unbelievable price) long before I had sealed the deal on these.

More in a post to follow. Here's a teaser:

brossow

Last night, my GMPP cold air intake was delivered. (Found it brand-new on Craigslist for a LOT less than ordering it new from even the cheapest online GM parts dealer.) Installation was a breeze and there was a noticeable improvement in performance. I learned something in the process, too: if you want very firm shifts in your automatic, simply forget to reconnect the MAF sensor.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves....

















The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that the front passenger side mounting bracket is inexplicably missing from my HHR. I'm not worried about stability because the CAI is very solidly mounted, what with the two rear mounts bolted in place and the front tubing clamped in securely, but if anyone has a spare bracket they can part with please drop me a line. (I posted in the classifieds as well.)

843de

That's a "Lifting Lug" used to hoist the engine out, hopefully you'll never need to use it.

brossow

No, that's not what I'm talking about. The part that's missing would go right over the upper radiator hose clamp. That's my car in the photo, so the lifting lug definitely isn't missing.

843de

Yup, you're right, and that part is playing hard to find on the parts breakdown. Today is sure acting like another Monday.

LawDog88

Welcome! Glad you love your HHR. Is it just me or is that a 1LT? I thought 2LT's came standard with Fogs?

brossow

It's definitely a 2LT, but at some point someone removed the fog lights. I'm trying to find another set. Everything else is there and works when a bulb is connected. POs are hell. You can see in the first pics I posted that they didn't even put the filler pieces in on the right sides (look at the angle of the "vent" bars). That's since been fixed, but I really want the fog lights back.