RE: PH Fleet: Ford Puma

RE: PH Fleet: Ford Puma

Friday 8th June 2012

PH Fleet: Ford Puma

MoT done and dusted - now to sort out all the little niggles... or not...



With every car I've owned, an impending MoT has always been a time of anguish and fear. It's always reminded me of the run-up to an exam when you're at school or university, except without the ability to control the outcome. Especially if, like me, you are about as competent with a set of spanners as your average small family pet.

Puma nestled between Lexus and Golf
Puma nestled between Lexus and Golf
When you're running a shed on a shoestring (and the Puma has form in that area, having started its PH life as an SOTW star), this angst is multiplied several times over, because the whole point is to run an interesting car, but with the minimum possible outlay. So whereas the non-shedder might lavish time and money on upgrades and general upkeep, the chap or chappess with a shed has to be a bit more careful about the money bit.

Thus, MoT time is a worry. Especially with the clonking nearside front suspension I'd been putting off getting sorted out for the best part of 12 months. Sure enough, AX51 GGA got a big, fat thumbs-down. Actually that's a bit unfair - it went through the test without even an advisory except for that dreaded suspension. Turns out the ball joint that connects the strut to the lower suspension arm was, to put it technically, knackered.

One old suspension arm...
One old suspension arm...
A quick search on eBay and I'd sourced a whole new nearside lower suspension arm (the ball joint and the arm itself all come as one piece) for 20 quid and, duly fitted by a professional (ie someone with at least an ounce of mechanical aptitude), the whole repair cost me just over £70. The only sting in the tail was that, because of the ruddy Jubilee four-day weekend, I couldn't get the retest done at the original garage (sorry Ma'am, I'm no republican or anything, but your timing was lousy in this instance), so I had to get the place that fitted the suspension arm to do a full-price MoT themselves.

Still, the Puma now has a shiny new MoT certificate to show for its trouble, and roundabouts and potholes need no longer be tackled with gritted teeth. Lovely.

My attention now turns an arm-long list of minor irritations that must be weighed in the balance to see whether they're worth the trouble of fixing, or whether it would not be in the spirit of true shedding to do so. Chief among these are ABS and traction control warning lights that illuminate when the weather is inclement, but work as they should in dry weather. I suspect water is getting into one of the ABS sensors and causing the problem, and it's something I might seriously have to put right.

...and one knackered ball joint
...and one knackered ball joint
The other issues really are a lot more minor: the aftermarket stereo doesn't fit properly in its allotted slot, drooping slightly on the left-hand side; the parcel shelf (which I've tried to secure by means of an electrical tape bodge) is about as secure as a piece of wet kitchen towel; the offside suspension tower has a missing plastic cap; and I noticed only today that the handle for the seat recliner has lost its placcy cover, too.

The big question is, will I have the energy to rectify them, or will inertia take its ugly hold? Find out next time, as they used to say...


Fact sheet:
Car:
 2001 Ford Puma
Run by: Matt Rigby
Bought: June 2011
Purchase price: 1,000
Last month at a glance: MoT failed, but at least Riggers has got that suspension sorted now


Previous reports:
Mysterious flat battery appears to be a one-off. So far...
Time to get AX51 GGA spruced up with a spring clean
Continental jaunts and Corrosion block for Riggers's Puma
Riggers is finding it tough to trust with his new Puma

Rubbish parcel shelf and
Rubbish parcel shelf and
...ill-fitting radio among remaining niggles
...ill-fitting radio among remaining niggles
Author
Discussion

Shade

Original Poster:

91 posts

167 months

Friday 8th June 2012
quotequote all
The ABS is a fairly easy fix, if it's the front anyway. Never heard of the back sensors going on these. Sensors are normally around £50 each though. The parcel shelf will never sit right, it's a Puma. Mine did the same, constantly bouncing out of place. The rest is cosmetic stuff, forget about it smile

Mavican

135 posts

163 months

Friday 8th June 2012
quotequote all
A puma might be next on the last, considering how much they are at the moment I'll be laughing. Might try and convince my mum to give me hers for a small fee. Just got to go through the joys of niggles!

ukaskew

10,642 posts

220 months

Friday 8th June 2012
quotequote all
Read with interest as I'm shopping for Puma at the moment, but the lure of the Sportka is also tempting (plenty at 2k now) as they are newer and generally seem to be better looked after.

Rust is the biggest issue with the ones I've seen, what were Ford up to 10 years ago?! I have this funny feeling I'm going to end up with a Suzuki Ignis Sport again (options at £2k, newer still, as good as bombproof), just a shame parts cost a fortune.

shalmaneser

5,930 posts

194 months

Friday 8th June 2012
quotequote all
Seems i bit foolish to plump for a £20 wishbone that will have knackered bushes in 6 months time... especially given that labour was over twice the price of the part!

Not a good economy there, methinks.

MG CHRIS

9,077 posts

166 months

Friday 8th June 2012
quotequote all
shalmaneser said:
Seems i bit foolish to plump for a £20 wishbone that will have knackered bushes in 6 months time... especially given that labour was over twice the price of the part!

Not a good economy there, methinks.
I was thinking that you can get a new one for 20 when i had to get one for my mothers street ka.

mistergixer

103 posts

151 months

Friday 8th June 2012
quotequote all
Shade said:
The parcel shelf will never sit right, it's a Puma.
^^This.

I think it's a case of 'they all do that, sir'. I'm on my 2nd Puma, the parcel shelf was always coming loose on my 1st one, and it does it on my 2nd one. I do find that twiddling the strings seems to prevent them coming loose (or at least they come loose less frequently than un-twiddled strings).



KM666

1,757 posts

182 months

Friday 8th June 2012
quotequote all
Being a Ford it should be easy to sort out, the lights could just want the battery disconnecting and reconnecting or something very simple like that to fix, I dont suppose you have access to a multimeter?

If its too much hassle i'll offer £300 cash for it!

NateWM

1,684 posts

178 months

Friday 8th June 2012
quotequote all
Yep, the parcel shelf will never get any better than "half way home".

Just a Puma trait. Used to drive me mad how the one in my ex-girlfriends Puma used to fall onto the boot floor every time you opened the hatch. laugh

martynr

1,076 posts

173 months

Saturday 9th June 2012
quotequote all
MG CHRIS said:
shalmaneser said:
Seems i bit foolish to plump for a £20 wishbone that will have knackered bushes in 6 months time... especially given that labour was over twice the price of the part!

Not a good economy there, methinks.
I was thinking that you can get a new one for 20 when i had to get one for my mothers street ka.
Old ball joint instead of a knackered one. False economy I would say, even though it is fixed by 3 bolts.

I believe it needs tracking done now, no?

ianwayne

6,243 posts

267 months

Saturday 9th June 2012
quotequote all
It probably was a new suspension arm, they're £20 each (inc. delivery) on ebay. Pattern part of course. Unless you're doing huge mileages, it'll be fine. It's a shed after all!

andym1603

1,798 posts

171 months

Saturday 9th June 2012
quotequote all
False economy on a secondhand wishbone as new ones are not much dearer. For the parcel shelf, wrap insulating tape round the
pegs to make it a snuggish fit. This will keep the shelf from popping out and falling. Worked on ours.

Riggers

1,859 posts

177 months

Saturday 9th June 2012
quotequote all
ianwayne said:
It probably was a new suspension arm, they're £20 each (inc. delivery) on ebay. Pattern part of course. Unless you're doing huge mileages, it'll be fine. It's a shed after all!
Yes, new indeed! I don't know why anybody would assume it was secondhand (though I suppose eBay might imply that - but yoou can buy new stuff on there, you know!)

ianwayne

6,243 posts

267 months

Saturday 9th June 2012
quotequote all
Riggers said:
Yes, new indeed! I don't know why anybody would assume it was secondhand (though I suppose eBay might imply that - but yoou can buy new stuff on there, you know!)
I bought 2 for my Panda Multijet on ebay. They're a bit more substantial than the Ford ones, but only slightly. Both my lower bushes were shot and changing just the bushes themselves is not cost effective, the arms contain 2 bushes and the balljoint. £70 for both sides, delivered within 2 days. (Fiat price is £52.50 + VAT each)

Pugster

428 posts

180 months

Saturday 9th June 2012
quotequote all
Oh dear you've caught the bug now. All this talk about replacing plastic caps and the like!

I don't blame you, I'd be the same.

DJDally

15 posts

162 months

Saturday 9th June 2012
quotequote all
Nearly bought one of these new as my first car. So glad I didn't... rot boxes...

Riggers

1,859 posts

177 months

Saturday 9th June 2012
quotequote all
DJDally said:
... rot boxes...
At risk of feeding the troll here, but I'm going to presume the best and assume you're not... but... How so?

(And let's not concern ourselves with talk of rusty rear arches here, because if you were buying new that wouldn't have been a concern)

Kidders

1,060 posts

162 months

Saturday 9th June 2012
quotequote all
I still really miss my Puma, the Zetec S Fiesta we have now is almost as much fun but not quite as special..

cheadle hulme

2,457 posts

181 months

Saturday 9th June 2012
quotequote all
Riggers said:
DJDally said:
... rot boxes...
At risk of feeding the troll here, but I'm going to presume the best and assume you're not... but... How so?

(And let's not concern ourselves with talk of rusty rear arches here, because if you were buying new that wouldn't have been a concern)
I think he means he was glad he didn't buy it new with hindsight. My 99T had bubbling arches when I bought it in 2003! I'd have been annoyed if I'd bought it new.

Considering the sales success these were, where has the market gone? C'mon Ford!



Sods Law

3,280 posts

224 months

Saturday 9th June 2012
quotequote all
the "ill fiting radio" just needs the support bolt in the back of the radio, if Mr Garlick still has the box from the radio I fitted in the Porsche I believe there is one in there.

In order, tidy wiring, refit facia trim, attach bolte with rubber insulator to radio, plug in loom slot in, allign support click and go.....

thats all I can do on Red wine fuel.... D

whythem

773 posts

176 months

Sunday 10th June 2012
quotequote all
Yeh, yeh, niggles, I get it! Not much, in the recent articles about how fun or not it is to drive. Do you like it, what's it like in the twistys, can you "worry much more expensive metal" is it better than a 5? Does it make you smile? and most importantly would you recommend or buy another? I would!