Hey ya'll, Im new here and need some help. I have an 07 HHR LS experiencing metal to metal grinding in the front wheels when braking. The brake pads and calipers look fine. The car has new control arms and ball joints. Another issue which may be seperate is that when I hit potholes there is a loud clunk, also form the front end. The sway bar and links appears to be fine and don't move when I wiggle them. The car drives fine, too. There's no play in the steering wheel. I already put so much money into this car and I am stumped! Any suggestions? I have a video of it if I can post here.

 

Welcome to the site! That grinding tells me the wheel bearing hubs are toast! I just install the PowerStop units from RockAuto, they last as long as the expensive ones

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...ing+&+hub,1636

Now, mine has ABS so these ones fit right in, you’ll need to determine if you have ABS or not , you could install these and just snip the wire off.

 

Might have a pebble or other foreign material embedded in a pad, remove the pads and inspect.

Check out the link in my signature for your bumps and thumps.

 

Metallic pads sound grindy when they haven’t been driven for a day or two or even overnight. It abates after a few stops. Any chance that’s what you are experiencing?

I prefer ceramic pads. Much quieter.

 

But they don't clunk on bumps.

 

True dat. No mention of new sway bars bushings.