Severe coolant leak on my HHR. The car overheated in a matter of several minutes.

I am parked on the side of the street and will have to wait to lift the car up until a better day. The car will have to be towed home where I can find out exactly what happened. Any ideas? The leak is on the passenger's side on the side of CV axle
Any seals there that may leak? There are definitely no hoses there as far as I know. Thanks.

 

That is where the water pump lives.

 

Great! How long will it take to change one?

 

Not long, it’s a pretty easy job , if you aren’t changing the timing and balance shaft chains , you will need the water pump gear holding tool.



This lisle tool , shows how it holds the water pump gear in place , this way the balance shaft chain is held in position, and you don’t have to remove the front cover.

 

I have this style tool, it eliminated the possibility of dropping bolts into the engine.


This version of the water pump gear tool is fully circle, we are looking at the gear side of the tool.

 

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/how-...acement-56476/

 

Thanks! I hope I can do it at a nearby parking lot and avoid towing the car home. AutoZone should stock the pump and the tool, so that part is not a problem.

For some reason my car decided to break on my first day of orientation at a new job. I guess I should be great ful that it broke not on the way there, but on the way home. Drama of life...

 

Just completed some of the steps of this tutorial. I skipped removal of thermostat housing. Do I need to remove it or water pump replacement can be done without this step?

 

You need to remove the tstat housing to remove the pipe and then the water pump

 

Got it. Is this it?