Remove the driver’s seat and plastic trim for the door sill and kick panel, then lift the carpet.

 

I don't get why some stuff for this car is tougher than just going to the parts store and getting parts... for instance:

When I went to get brake parts, they said there were two possibilities for the rear shoes & springs... so I had to take them off, take them in, and get the right shoes/spring kit.

Now I went to replace the struts... the sway bar end link's nuts were corroded solid and wouldn't budge. The OEM links didn't have anything grab to keep the stud from spinning so I had to cut them to get the strut out. Put the new strut in, and put in the new moog end links (no mention of length or FE codes). but they were too long. (K80252 were too long for this car)... didn't notice it till I dropped the jack from holding the ball joint up to align the holes for the link... and watched the studs run into the lower A arm... so I had to the link out out and order a new one about 1" shorter... then i find this thread:

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/brak...-vs-fe3-62542/

and this one:

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/main...-thread-57187/


I get it now, but why aren't the parts vendor's listing the FE numbers with the part? Why are the parts guys smart enough to ask for FE numbers and get you the right part?

(sorry if this is too much of a rant, but I haven't seen this level of knowledge required in my previous cars to get the right parts... always just been year, model, and engine)...

 

ALL of the parts books list the wrong number for the end links. I believe it is because the correct 10" part number ends in 12 and some lazy counter guy ASS-u-me'd that means they are 12".
They don't bother to list different parts for FE1 & FE3 because there is no difference.
And now, 10 years after the last HHR was built there aren't any parts guys that remember.

 

I ended up with the Moog 12" links. Forgot who from and had them for a long time before I went to install so I just went ahead and used them.
They hang down even with the bottom of the control arm and lack about an 1/8" from hitting anything, but they work.
Live and learn.

 

Hmmmm, the lower part of the link is to the outside of the LCA’s, so the stud would be close to them. I watched several Cobalt sway bar end link videos and their sway bar appears to be the same bends at each end as our HHR FE1 and FE3 25 mm stabilizer or sway bars.
I’m waiting for a pair of 9.8 links, they keep getting canceled, so I ordered a set of 11.8 inch links, I see where the sway bar may contact the LCA’s, and that the bar will have to rotate down those 2”s which should move the studs away from the LCA’s. I’ll know better when they arrive tomorrow!

 

I started on the passenger side... so ended up with a 9.8 on the driver.. and a longer one on the passenger... that is when I noticed: "this don't look right" saw that it was hitting the lower control arm, and started putting a tape to stuff (had to piece together the one I cut off)...



ETA: FYI... if you are having trouble getting the strut out because the end link is corroded... I cut the link about midway between (see above) then removed the strut. Gave me more room. Tried to grab the back side of the through bolt, but it just spun my vice grips... so I used an angle grinder to remove the flange that pinched the nut/stud to the sway bar... when I got it thin enough, I used a punch to drive it through (towards the engine bay). Then cleaned and painted the sway bar where I accidently hit it a few times with the angle grinder and took some paint off....

I'm putting anti seize on all bolts from now on... it might just be me who has to deal with these fasteners after a few years of rust.

 

As you note, longer 11.8 inch links don’t work with a 9.8 inch link on the other side of the HHR. They have to be same length on both sides.
and we have one member who has 11.8 inch links on his HHR and there’s about an 1/8 inch of clearance from the LCA’s .
Hopefully I receive my parts tomorrow and it doesn’t rain , so I can video install of 11.8 inch links.

 

Mine banged into the LCA leaving a small dent. It may have been a combination with the sway bar stops being displaced. I later figured out that the sway bar is not supposed to travel laterally; there are supposed to be plastic stops around the bar inside the bushing mounts. I blamed the 12" links for pushing the bar too far, That was not backed up with any evidence.

 

I’ll investigate those rings , Donbrew, last time I replaced the swaybar bushings they were in there and held the bar from moving laterally.

 

It's the sway bar itself that gets lowered because of the links closer to the LCA.
After a couple months, there is no evidence that it has ever hit anything, despite being so close.