I'm pretty stumped. My '07 HHR has some clunking that is very noticeable over bumps. I replaced the end links with the Moog links. The front end is tighter, but still the clunking. A couple of months ago, my wife slid and smacked a curb in the snow. The insurance replaced the left and right struts, right steering knuckle, rack and pinion, right wheel, and right hub (and bumper). I replaced the sway bar bushings with the poly greasable ones. After all of that, the car still clunks, probably a bit worse than it did before the curb incident. Now what?

 

Man, Just about everything has been replaced, on the right side anyway.
Been down the "Clunk" road as well. Mine was fixed with bushings and end links. I do believe mine was just the bushings though. Did you replace the bushings before or after the accident?

 

Lower control arm bushings maybe?
An experienced mechanic putting it up on a hoist could probably help. Stick a pry bar in there and gently test for movement at joints.

 

I also had the steering column replaced for clunking in mine as well.... That could be something?

 

I replace the end links before the accident and the bushings after.

I may have to break down and take it to the dealer to try to get some kind of resolution to this. Hopefully they won't complain about the aftermarket sway bar bushings. I have the original brackets in so that I could put the original ones back on if they insist for some weird reason.

I guess it could be an issue in the steering column, but I don't know why the steering column would make a clunking noise. Its very noticeable, and is getting on my nerves as you don't even have to go over bumps per se to hear it. Any kind of un-evenness in the road brings it out.

I forgot to mention that they replaced the right lower control arm also.

 

You can remove the endlinks completely as a temporary test(PITA) but it won't hurt at all to drive without them. Without the links the sway bar has no function and that would rule out endlinks and swaybar bushings. In fact, I read on this forum a guy had removed his permanantly!

I personally like handling and curves too much for that. But for a test......

Maybe it was I liked "Handling Curves" I'll have to ask my wife.....

 

I don't know why the steering column would make a clunk, but it fixed it when they replaced it...

 

With everything you've replaced, the one thing that really remains is the intermediate shaft in the steering column. Its a known noise maker, and the HHR's Delta platform sister the Cobalt had a recall on the issue, it would be the next thing on my list to check.

 

I had a fullsize chevy half ton truck it was an 03 it had the steering column clunking noise it was napa delivery truck they got rid of it and got me a chevy aveo for deliverys. My son has an 07 hhr 95 thousand miles it has this clunking noise we are replacing the struts and sway bar links hope this will fix it.

 

That sounds like the next thing to go after. I guess I'll have to figure out when I can get this thing to the dealer. Yuck. The dealer is quite good actually, but they stay covered up and it usually takes a week or more just to get in with them, plus the wait time to get the car back.