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Hello, I recently acquired an HR Premier wagon and for the most part it is in very good condition. The issues to be dealt with are: New carpet - has original carpet that is threadbare but this is not urgent Any recommendations? Drivers seat re-upholstery - springs are shot and vinyl is split in places probably like to do this sooner rather than later for a comfortable drive Drivers seat will need redoing and probs around the same time as I do the carpet. Any recommendations for Perth based trimmers? in particular anyone good at getting/matching existing vinyl as the front passenger and rear seats are excellent. BTW Samoan Tan is the colour. Gear box bearing - crash box with severe whine in first - currently have the box out and at the place that does gears and diffs No key for tail gate electric window - not sure here if I remove the barrel can I have a key cut? or do I need to replace with new barrel & key? Unsure about the tail gate key - any advice here? Top RHS ball joint needs replacing - the car drives pretty good although there is a slight "drift" at speed so thinking of doing all the ball joints, tie rods, idler arm etc. A mechanic friend (who hates Holden and loves Ford) was good enough to help me remove the gear box, I guess he likes me more than he hates Holden! But I don't want to stretch the friendship and ask for help with the front end and I am not 100% sure if I could manage the job without either stuffing up something on the car or myself. So any advice or input on this job is appreciated. I don't mind spending the money for pros to do it but I am keen to learn as much as possible about the vehicle, and what better way than getting my hands dirty. Cheers, Steve
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.. ball joint (any.. top or bottom) is not for the faint hearted and does require some reasonable tools in spring compressor(s), ball joint breaker or screw breaker plus.. if the ball joint has gone its mate on the same side will be suspect You also mention the wanders... given the HRs age, a check of steering tie rods is also in order I reckon Edited by user Thursday, 8 October 2020 12:47:40 PM(UTC)
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I back what Smitty says and anything ball joint, front end bush related is best left to professionals. I do most things myself, but I get that stuff done in the shop. A locksmith will be able to remake a key to suit the barrel you have. Timing of carpet is a personal choice, a few remakers around that do a good job generally my preference go the same style of carpet, loop pile I assume? Edited by user Thursday, 8 October 2020 8:20:37 PM(UTC)
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ball joints are not that hard. But undoing the springs takes some care.
if you pull any lock out the key number will most likely be stamped into it on the actuating lever.
I think the rear lock will use the same key as the ignition.
As you want to get some experience the gear box on these was not terribly complex and can be dissassembled practically with a minimum of tools. A shop manual is pretty essential though.
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If you're unsure about taking on the front suspension work get a quote from a proper mechanic. Try & find one who is sympathetic to early Holdens, the average mechanic of today will have difficulty.
The carpet for an HR Premier should be cut pile, not loop pile.
From the factory the one key did the 2 front doors, ignition, glovebox & tailgate. Over the years some of these locks might have been swapped, leading to that annoying multi-key situation.
It's not a big (or expensive) job to remove all of the lock barrels a get a competent locksmith to key them alike. It makes it so much more convenient in the long run.
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Smitty2, SAndaro, johnperth & Dr Terry thanks for your input and advice much appreciated.
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As Dr Terry said All locks when original had the one key to suit all. Each lock has a number stamped on it. From those numbers it’s easy to find if they are all the same or any odd ones. Even so a locksmith could key them alike. Those numbers will give him a good start and his eventual fee.
Flem
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Cheers flems68,
The ignition key fits everything except the tailgate,
Looks like the barrel was changed at some point and the key misplaced.
The vehicle came with only one key and the first job was to have spares cut. We'll talk with this same locky and see if he is up for the job,
Thanks,
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If your going to go to a locksmith to redo your rear lock take any old locks you have with you. There are 4 different tumblers that make up the combination for the lock. If the different one you want changed doesn't have the correct tumblers for him to change he wont be able to do it for you.
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Can't help with anything but the suspension.
First thing I would do is get a wheel alignment. This may fix the 'drift'. And they will let you know if any components are really worn. I would recommend going to a mechanic you trust and preferably one with grey hair, not a tyre/battery/shocks/exhaust/wheel alignment chain store.
You can also jack it up and give the wheel a vigorous shaking. If there is any movement there, have someone look and see where it is while you shake it; bearings, ball joints, bushes?
Replacing the whole lot isn't difficult (my experience is in front ends on a HJ so if anything is different on a HR, members please chip in).
It looks like the lower ball joints need to be pressed in (based on a front suspension parts pic on ebay!), so someone/a shop with a big press will be needed for that. Not sure how the wishbones/control arms are mounted on their pivots, anyone?
The thing to work out is how to get the lower control arm off without the spring exploding out and breaking bones! Everything else is fairly easy. It may be possible to jack each wheel up in turn until the spring stops compressing, break one of the ball joints, then lower the control arm down to its full travel and just pull the spring out, it may not be under any compression then. This works for HJs so may work for HRs, anyone done it this way on a HR?
Or use a spring compressor. You may need a specialised one for this, I don't think standard ones will fit.
I found it really handy to have an extra set of control arms. Get the spare ones fitted out with new parts and then it is a lot easier and quicker to just swap the old and the new parts.
Tools you might need are a tie rod splitter and a ball joint separator.
Do a lot of research, talk to a lot of people, get a workshop manual if one exists, ask a lot of questions, and take a lot of pictures as you dismantle things so you know which way they go back on (trust me on this)!
Most of all have fun, working on older cars is great, they are so simple.
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