i just went back thru the original owners receipts.
the swaybar bushings or end links have never been replaced in 100,000kms.

all the control arm bushings and brakes,front and back were done last december and have only about 5000km since.
i am feeling much better,i suspect swaybar bushings or end links or both.
anyway it's cheaper than an intermediate steering shaft replacement.

the shop that works on my cars rebuilds smashed cobalts and pursuits so they would be familiar with the front ends on these gm platforms.
time to make an appointment for wednesday.
jeff

 

My '07 is the same way. It clunks over any slight bumps. I've replaced the sway bar bushings with aftermarket greasable ones, replaced both end links with Moogs, and due to my wife hitting a curb, the rack and pinion, the right strut assembly, and left strut were replaced. The car makes a clunking racket so far regardless of what has been done. The only thing I haven't done yet is replace the intermediate shaft. I already bought a a new one via GM Parts Direct ($130 shipped vs. $220 from the dealer). I am hoping this will make a noticeable difference.

The clunk doesn't seem to be anything damaging, its just annoying.

 

does anyone have a part number to a greaseable sway bar bushing?

 

I think there are different sized sway bars used on the various models. You'll have to get under there and measure the bar diameter and then get the appropriate size from one of the aftermarket companies.

 

thanks greybeard

 

All the LS & LT models have a 25 mm front bar.

SS have a 23 mm.

Hope that helps.

 

I think that the sway bar bushings are the culprit in 90% of the "front end clunk" issue. And I think that it may not be any kind of issue except annoying, it looks to me like it MAY be just one of those things that endear us to our automobile. As long as the sway bar bushing is acting as a good fulcrum I can not think of any reason that a lateral shifting of the sway bar could be a problem for non-racing HHRs. And maybe the geometry changes due to lateral shifting are desirable, don't know. Yeah, I know reselling a car that makes noise is a problem, but unless the bushing no longer holds the bar in the other directions (up/down,front/back), I don't see a safety issue. In other words:Axial and lateral motion are inherently allowed in the design, since there are no stops on the bar. The only solution would be to put a couple of hose clamp type thingies on the bar next to the bushings, and I notice that even after market bars do not do that.


Personally, now that I identified the source by seeing it happen, I will no longer agonize.

 

thanks joe

 

the hhr is going to my local shop tomorrow,i already have the moog endlinks and the swaybar bushings are not expensive.
i will post an update tomorrow after i pick up and test drive.
jeff

 

www.salesenergysuspensionsparts.com bushungs 1in/25mm part number; 9.5161 universal-greaseable sway bar bushings, color black price $15.99, qty 1 as they come as a pair, plus shipping.