My Puma 1.7, more than a year on (A works in progress)

[tuonokid]

Cheers Paul, I'll have a scoot outside and see if the bracket's there.

 

[tuonokid]

Hi Paul, no the brackets not there but it's hard to see whether it's snapped off at the bolt or just not there. Glad that you posted, though as I can make a support bracket for it now and I will find out when I take the bolt off whether there's any remains of the old one.

 

[748]

I just checked the 1.7 which I'm breaking up, not one on there either.
You could have had that one otherwise.
You may be right, it's probably corroded and broken off, could be a common problem.
Perhaps you could start making them :lol:
I have a spare hose if you want it mate.
Paul

 

[tuonokid]

Hi Paul
Yes I'll buy that off you if that's ok. The worrying thing is the hose is nearly through, I'll have to take some tools and water through with me to Sherburn, just in case. I've also Pmd Steavie regarding those Ford HCVs as I might as well do both at the same time.
Barry

 

[748]

If your HCV has been replaced at all (I think it has been mentioned before) then I can't see why you'd need to replace it if it's working OK.
I'm coming up to Wakefield tomorrow, I could drop the hose off for you if you want.
Paul

 

[tuonokid]

Still trying to find a suitable size spare wheel for my Puma now I have 17" wheels fitted. As a Focus ST170 has a 17" space saver I thought that might do.

Obviously not as the Focus has 215/45 size tyres whereas mine's fitted with 205/40s

 

[TGPlayer1]

205/45/16 is the closest other size I can find, unless I've missed something. I may have a tyre in storage, but no wheel to put it on, I'll have a look if it's 45, it may be 40. If it's right you can have it for a negotiable sum.

However, anything bigger than a 195/50/15 won't fit in the spare wheel carrier, as it's a tight squeeze as it is.

 

[tuonokid]

Hi TG
I've thought of that already and it just happens that I have a nice portable tyre inflator and maybe the wheel will go in the carrier if it's not fully inflated, fingers crossed Also 195/50/16 is a pretty near match and will be an easier fit in the carrier.
I suppose finding a wheel is going to be the biggest problem as I'm told Mondeo ones have more inset than the Puma ones.
Barry

 

[TGPlayer1]

Maybe, but i recall, and this is going back over four years so don't quote me excatly, when i got my Puma it had a 195/55/15 in the spare, fully deflated (thanks to the previous owner btw that was really useful :lol and it was a proper squeeze. Without trying you won't know for sure.

It also depends what offset you're running on the 17s, if the inset isn't the same as standard Puma then it's not worth fussing about the spare, and people (including me) use the Mondeo alloys without issue.

I will say that Peugeot do 16" steels with an offset very close, or very far from if you want, to Puma standard. They are 4x108 but you'll need a spigot adapter (65.1-63.4mm)

 

[tuonokid]

Hi TG
Yeah my alloys are already Peugeot ones and I've got spigot rings on them so that wouldn't be a problem. I suppose I could do a tour de scrappies and just pick up a mondeo steel and try it. As long as the rim doesn't scrape on the strut or anything ridiculous like that it should be ok. My spare wheel carrier is already modified so it shouldn't take too much to make it slightly bigger if need be. At the end of the day I don't want to be relying on tyre gel or having a spare wheel in the boot.
Barry

 

[TGPlayer1]

I'm sure you'll figure something out, how hard can it be? A bit of trial and error can't be beaten though, and steels aren't really expensive or anything so that's what I'd do too.

 

[tuonokid]

Cheers for that TG, I'll give it a shot
Barry

 

[trublustu]

Surely any wheel would do as long as your rolling diameter was the same,
will a 15 steel go over your calipers? (bear in mind the puma spare steel is et34)

 

[tuonokid]

Hi Stu
No I will need a 16" wheel at least as I have 300mm discs and ST170 calipers at the front.
Barry

 

[tuonokid]

Finally the car's taxed and tested now so waiting for some fine weather to take it out. I'm going to the Ford Show at Sherburn on Sunday but the car needs a run as it's had so much work on it over the last 2 years. Let's hope it's fine tomorrow.
Barry

 

[Wild E. Coyote]

Niceeeeey! You will have to bed in the brakes, as least. How is your suspension geometry?

 

[tuonokid]

Hi Sinisa
I went for a little drive in my Puma today as for once the weather was nice. The brakes are just about bedded in now and the pedal feels ok so obviously no air in the system. As for the suspension geometry I set up the tracking (in my thread) with a pair of steel box sections to have just a smidge of toe out. The camber is more because it's lowered but it doesn't look too excessive, I suppose I'll just have to keep an eye on tyre wear.
Barry

 

[Wild E. Coyote]

Interesting, my tyre specialist put mine toe just about in. He says with camber of 2 degrees and with toe out the tyre is inevitably going to be worn on the inside... :?:

 

[TGPlayer1]

Mine has epic camber from being lowered about 60mm, maybe more i don't know, and a little bit of toe out, but the car is so light, and i do so few miles, that the tyres are still as new and completely evenly worn after about 5000 miles. I think by the looks of it they'll perish before they wear out.

I went through my original set of fronts because the tracking was waaaaay out, but i had it aligned, and again and again due to new arms and then new coilovers, and it's sweet as on tyres. It depends on how much mileage you do at the end of the day.

 

[tuonokid]

Hi Sinisa and Tom
As regards the tracking I just set mine to an only just toe out going on the general rule of RWD toe in and FWD toe out but looking in the Fiesta 4/5 manual the range for that is toe in or out a small amount. In the drive yesterday it felt stable in a straight line so I'll just keep an eye on the tyres as the suspension still needs to settle down. They're only cheapo tyres that's on the car anyway so if it scrubs them off it's an opportunity to buy some decent ones.
Barry