Hi Guys, I may be the youngest person on this site as I’m 18 and I apologize if this is an already answered question but I couldn’t seem to find the answer anywhere on the forums. I just got my first car and it was gifted to me by a family friend. I didn’t even know HHRs existed until I saw mine for the first time and I fell in love with it. It’s an 06 2.4L LT and it’s amazing. I’m currently in the middle of attempting to replace the grill and am just waiting on the grill to arrive in the mail. My only concern is that I’m unsure what tools I’ll need to remove the 10mm bolts from the hood. I’m the only one in my family to do anything with cars and as such we have virtually no tools. I’m just hoping someone could provide me with a list so that I can go shop for them and not be caught off guard when my grill arrives. I appreciate any tips or advice you can provide!

 

Welcome, to remove the grille, there are 5 -10 mm nuts on studs that hold the grille in place in the hood. Remove those, then carefully push the grille away from the hood, check for retaining washers on the two outside studs on the bottom of the grille.

If your new grille requires you to install studs, you can either remove the studs from your old grille and transfer them to your new grille, or purchase self tapping screws at your local hardware store.



OEM grille

Aftermarket grille

Studs transferred from OEM grille

Be very careful the new grille isn’t very sturdy

New grille installed! Much better!

 

The usual tool for nuts and bolts is either a socket wrench or a crescent wrench. I guess you could use pliers in a pinch.
If you are intending to learn mechanical skills on your own you should get a rudimentary tool kit. Metric socket set (8 - 18 mm), screwdrivers, metric crescent wrenches (8 - 18 mm), small Torx tool set pliers etc. for typical small repairs.

 

Apologies for responding late I’ve been at work for most of the day.

Thank you so much for this! That’s even coincidentally the exact grill that I bought.

 

Awesome! Thank you so much for the advice, I changed the brake rotors and pads recently so I’ve got some tools currently but I’ll definitely go to home depot tonight and pick up metric crescent wrenches among other things. I’m very determined to be able to take care of my own car after I got charged 50$ for a oil change a few days ago lol

 

He means combination wrenches, open on one end, box or ratcheting on the other. Crescent does make them, but Crescent is usually associated with adjustable wrenches. Some people might be confused if you ask for metric Crescent wrenches.

 

thank you for saving me from looking stupid lol

 

Oil change , 15 mm six point closed or box wrench ( a 12 point tends to round off the bolt )
Oil filter cap, 32 mm shallow socket, 3/8 drive a 3/8 drive 12 inch extension and a 3/8 drive ratchet ( I prefer a 3/8 drive flexible spark plug ratchet


Just an example of the shallow socket, even Fram offers one.



A ratchet like this one, even a kit like this your going to like the extra leverage.

 

Be careful, the studs from the OEM grille are a little bit to big and will twist and break the grille, measure the screw part of the stud and drill the grille mounting holes a little bit .

I broke the one mounting hole, too stubborn to take my time! The glue and epoxy did not hold !

 

Going to Home Depot ?
Look at some of their tool sets. You can find some good sales sometimes on basic hand tool sets.
Found this one at about 1/2 off. The last 2 sets I got were Kobalts from Lowes.