Hello HHR Folks! I want to start by saying what a great resource this community is for fellow HHR owners or folks working on HHRs! I've read through several of tutorials and they are so helpful. I have a 2010 HHR LS 2.2L with FE1 suspension that I am fixing up for my in-laws. :)

My sway bar is 25mm and the bushings that came off are stamped with 25, but the replacement MOOG K201370 bushings from RockAuto seem a bit small even though they state they are for 25mm sway bars. From the research I've done, the clamping force on the sway bar bushings will compress it enough to fit as intended (will be tight I'm sure). MOOG K201370 (Daily Driver) Info Front To Frame; w/ FE1 or FE3 Suspension Option is the part description from RockAuto. Does that sound right to y'all?

And the Suspenia X07TE1166 outer tie rods are about 1/8-1/4" shorter than the outer tie rods that are currently installed, even though they are supposed to be a direct fit for my HHR. From the research I did recently, I believe I can easily compensate for that by screwing the slightly shorter outer tie rods just 2 or so turns less on the inner tie rod. I might even put a piece of tape on the inner tie rod and then measure from ball joint stud to the tape and make sure the replacement is the same distance. I plan on getting it aligned and putting new tires on it so it will be fixed pretty quickly even if it's off a bit after installation. SUSPENSIA X07TE1166 (Daily Driver) Info Front Outer; w/ Sport or Soft Ride Suspension is the description from RockAuto. Does that also sound right to y'all?

Hope y'all are having a good New Year so far!

 

Both Moog and genuine GM sway bar bushings state that there’s 1 mm space and that will be compressed when you clamp down the bushing bracket, this is correct.
And for the tie rod ends the Moog ES 800030 are a better fit and last longer.

 

Thanks, Oldblue!! I noticed the manufacturers said it should be fine if a slightly smaller diameter, but it just made me second guess myself when I noticed it visually. Should I apply some type of silicone spray/grease or dielectric grease to the bushings? Some say the grease will cause squeaking, some say it will cause the sway bar to rotate when it shouldn't. A lot of conflicting advice out there for sure.

I will most likely just use the SUSPENSIA X07TE1166 outer tie rod ends as long as they are safe and manufactured/engineered to work on a 2010 HHR; I was just curious about them being slightly shorter in length and wanted to make sure this was considered acceptable. I find it interesting so many outer tie rod ends in the Rockauto catalog all have the same ES800030 part number variant, so I wonder if they are manufactured at the same facility somewhere exactly the same or if they are slight differences, and they just use the same part number base to make it easier. For someone trying to repair cars a few times a year (not a pro mechanic), it can be challenging to know the difference. For example, SKPSES800030, ULTRA-POWERES800030, QUICK STEERES800030, MOOGES800030

Again, thank you very much for your time and help.

 

I work on my own cars , and have tried different brands and found some are better some the same, I mind spending a few bucks more for a better product to avoid having to repeat the repair in 6 or 7 months.

the 25 mm bushings are actually 1 inch bushings which aren’t exactly 25 mm . Because 1 inch equals 25.4 mm this is why the polyurethane bushings rattle and squeak. For rubber bushings install them dry on a clean and dry sway bar . Point the split to the rear of the car and clamp them down grease and wd40 can deteriorate the rubber bushings.

 

Now I'm wondering if I should return the Suspensia ones and get the MOOG ES800030 from Rockauto. It's great to have all those inexpensive options on Rockauto, especially when they put a little heart next to it indicating it's a customer favorite with low return rates, but it does make it a bit tougher if you are buying them for the first time and haven't seen or used them before. I thought I was doing good buying from the Daily Driver options on Rockauto instead of the Economy, but you never know. Choices, choices...

Yeah, if I was to grease the sway bar bushings, I would use some silicone, rubber safe grease, but since not required, I'll save the time and money and just mount them clean and dry.

Thanks again for your help.

 

Use the tie rod end you have, they’ll be good, if not you’ll know how to change them next time!

 

He said the bushing is less than 25mm. So there will be a slight gap at the split.

 

If the brackets fit over the sway bar bushings, clamp them down

 

Just wanted to give a quick update. Got the SUSPENSIA X07TE1166 outer tie rod ends installed, no problem. Turns out they were about the same once I got the old ones off and looked closer, especially since there was a slight difference in where the threads started between the two. Only one of the outer tie rod ends was bad but replaced them both. At first, I wasn't sure if the outer or inner tie rod was loose, but it was the outer and didn't have to change the inner.

Also, got the sway bar bushings installed with no issues, crawling under the car was a pain to get to the back bracket bolts. The gap around the back did close up, but the gap was still there after install facing towards the rear of course. Now the sway bar doesn't move with basic pulling/pushing like it did before so I expect that will help firm things up a lot. Still on jack stands so won't know until done with all suspension work and ready for drive test and alignment.

Just wanted to say thank you again Oldblue for all of your replies and help. Thanks for confirming the gap on the bushing RJ_RS_SS_350.

I have so far replaced the lower control arms, outer tie rod ends, front struts, sway bar bushings, half way on the sway bar links, and will finish up with the rear shocks once done with the front. I also changed the oil. Next up, new engine and cabin air filters, coolant drain/fill (not flushing), spark plugs with coils, and will then need to troubleshoot the C0550 ECU malfunction, C0050 RR wheel speed sensor circuit malfunction, C0040 RF wheel speed sensor circuit malfunction. Making great progress so far. :)

 

The wheel speed sensors could simply be dead sensors in the hubs or loose connections at the hub to body harness .
If you still have your old LCAs press out the old rear bushings and press in new K201285 Moog bushings and new ball joints , just drill out the rivets. Then you’ll have a spare set for next busting failure.
I suggest you save money and only change the spark plugs AC Delco 41-103 iridium, coils don’t fail to often, just clean them and reinstall, unless you’ve got a misfire code.

a simple drain and fill then burp the coolant system, if you’re gonna change the thermostat….AC Delco 158-131 180 degree F is the only thermostat that works correctly in these trucklets.