I've gone through denial and now ready to acknowledge that my '08 ss which I bought used and which now has less than 50K has some front end issues:
1) On uneven pavement coming to a stop the brakes pull as if there is a brake problem but on even pavement no pull. Pull is not consistently to one side.
2) On rough ground e.g. logging road to my cabin, I hear a clunck or metalic knock which seems to come from the right front.
3) Hitting a deep dip at speed where the springs depress a lot, e.g. on temporary pavement in a construction zone, I hear a groan which I associate with shot shocks in old wrecks not a four year old car with 50K
4) Turning sharply at some speed it feels like the turning tightens up when the outside wheel is weighted - I have to correct very slightly away from the turn

I would appreciate hearing from folks who have experienced/resolved any of these symptoms. It sounds like some of the above may explain some of it.

 

#2 Is the swaybar links, mine were bad at 21K.

#4 You could add a ttr swaybar that will remedy the quick turn in.

 

The pull is control arm bushings. I just experienced that. The clunk is more than likely sway bar bushings. Nothing too expensive or hard.

 

I went to my buddys house to work on the sway bar bushings yesterday. When we checked the sway bar bushing they were alittle worn. So i picked up a set of grease-able energy suspension poly bushings from Auto Zone. When we checked the inside diameter of the new bushing and the old ones with a caliber they had the same inside diameter. What me and a friend did was take a sheet of UMHW that he had laying around his shop and cut some strips out that fit inside of the poly sway bar bushing to take up the clearance. we also used some very small brad nails to pin them so that the UMHW will not squeeze out. We put everything back together and drove my HHR around the block.... NO MORE RATTLES OR KNOCKS. also the UMHW keeps the sway bar from cheeking/squeaking when it moves. Everything is nice and quite like it was new fresh out the dealership.

to remove the lca bushing. my center steel sleeve ripped loose from the rubber. so we used a hack saw to make 2 cuts from the inside of the bushing sleeve about an 1/8 of an inch apart. You have to take out the hacksaw blade and but in inside the old bushing then re-tighten the blade on the hacksaw. We just cut if enough to fatigue the inner sleeve of the old bushing. You don't want to cut into the aluminum LCA!!! we then used a punch to pop/punch out the small section that we cut out. Once that piece is punched out the bushing will collapse and can be taken out by hand. We used a press and some steel pieces to press the new one in place. I guess you can use a C-clamp bushing tool. But i let my friend take the lead and just did it his way. His garage... his rules... lol

My friend has used thin teflon sheets to line poly bushing for his Factory 5 cobra (and a mustang in the past) but he said that the teflon will squeeze out. That's why he pins the sheets in the bushing. He has switched to UMHW because he said that it is like teflon but tougher.

So to sum my experience with the dreaded suspension rattle. I changed the Rear LCA bushings to Moog units and lined my poly bushings w/ UMHW to take up the clearance. I also changed the sway bar end links, shocks and upper mounts. I don't think i need to change the upper mounts or the shocks. But 1 of my shocks were leaking so it's day was numbered.

Hope this helps you with your HHR rattles.

 

Would the TTR bar be stiffer than stock ss? Stock seems pretty stiff.

 

Thanks all this is helpful.

 

If I could I would shake your hand and by your lunch. I really needed to read and learn this..
Thanks A million.
ablebart

 

This post is great news. I've had my HHR since August of 05 and the bushings are driving me nuts. I joined this forum immediately after bringing the car home and its been an awesome community of enthusiasts. Thanks for the info gentlemen.

 

I do not know where the photo of my post went but here is

 

Great thread! I just went over 140K and bought the bushings when my wife told me the tires seem to "skip" forward or backward when breaks are applied even when rolling slowly in the driveway... It looks like the wheels "shift" within the front wheel wells! I did rotors, drums, pads, shoes, self adjusters, and both rear wheel brake cylinders last weekend... They get "out of round" and warped quickly with the abuse I give them. Seems like this is the routine before winter hits my driveway workshop! Better to do it now than in January... Before I do anything on this car, I try and find where somebody else has done/wrote about it first. Thanks!!!