Newbie! First Puma, some issues...

[Charlie_C]

Hi!

I bought my first ever Puma in February and I love it! (I used to have a 1.2 Corsa, but since an ambulance did me a favour by writing it off, I've moved up in the world!)

It's a silver 1998 1.7l with 70,000 miles. Excellent service history, up to late 2004, with 47k miles then nothing! Poor Puma has been neglected since then. No sign of a Cambelt change either, which brings me to the issues...

The usual rear wheel arch rusting. Couldn't see any sign until now, I've washed it twice and the marks are beginning to show.

When I first collected it, no problems to speak of. Then I had to drive through a hilly area and struggled to pull off on a hill. It's as though the gears weren't engaged - the engine revved but no power was delivered to drive the car. This also happened a couple of times when I've put my foot down a bit to pull away fast or accelerate quickly - from stationary and when already moving. My other half said it was me over-revving, until the hill incident! I think it scared him a bit when we started rolling backwards...

Since the weather has improved, I haven't felt the issue. Or maybe I'm just getting used to the car?

I'd like to put it through a service, it is about time.
I know I need a new back box on the exhaust but that's no biggie. However:

Does this sound like a cam belt issue? I'm not the most mechanically minded but would appreciate any suggestions!

Thanks!

 

[madhillbilly17]

hi and welcome, sounds like the clutch to me

 

[evilrob]

Hi and welcome - I second the opinion that it sounds like your clutch is slipping and needs to be replaced. Once they start to go, they decline quite rapidly so be gentle with her til you can get the work done or you risk scoring the flywheel and then you're talking megabucks to fix.

Whereabouts are you? There's a list of "good" garages with Puma experience in my signature below, compiled from positive feedback other forum users have given over the years. Steavie (of Performance Puma) in North London (E18) and Tremona in Southampton are the two I use and recommend.

 

[Charlie_C]

Ooh that makes more sense I guess!

I'm in Andover so Southampton is only half an hour away. Any idea of the amount I should expect this to cost? I'm getting married in July so funds are at a premium at the mo!

Thanks gents!

 

[evilrob]

Richard at Tremona did mine in August last year; digging out the receipt, I see it came to £513.76 for:

Genuine Ford clutch kit - £136.56
Genuine Ford Slave Cylinder - £73.07
(make sure whoever you get to do the work also changes the Slave Cylinder, many don't)
1ltr Clutch Fluid - £5.16
3ltr Gearbox Oil - £10.28
3.5 hours labour - £175
VAT - £85.63

They're not cheap, but you'll not find anyone who has a bad word to say about them. Generally regarded as the finest Puma garage there is - in their office they have folders labelled "PUMAS" with details of all the Pumas they look after!

I've seen people get it done for as little as £300-£400, so by all means shop around if you're not wanting to spend too much.

Before you start getting quotes for the clutch, though, I'd encourage you to take the car to Tremona first and ask Richard to give it the once over and tell you what needs doing; if it's not worth spending out on the car, he'll tell you how it is.

My first Puma was a total wreck - drove fine, but needed a lot of work doing to get it up to scratch - he spent an hour going round the car with a notepad, and came back with two sides of A4 with all the things that needed doing and in what order, plus a list of other things that didn't need doing immediately, but could be done while the more urgent parts were being seen to, in order to save on labour in the long run. The level of detail was unbelievable - he even noticed plastic screw covers missing on the door cards and that the glovebox didn't click shut as well as it should!

He said that of course he could fix it all and he'd love to take my money but his honest opinion was I'd be better off just getting rid of it and starting again with one in better condition. You don't find that kind of honesty very often these days!!

More recently, with my second (good) Puma, I'd been having an intermittent issue and took the car there twice for him to have a look at - however he couldn't diagnose the problem as on both occasions the car behaved perfectly (typically).

He had a theory on what the issue was, but to make sure that replacing those suspected parts did actually fix the issue, he installed some spare used parts free of charge, that he knew were working properly, so I didn't have to shell out for a load of new parts I didn't necessarily need (on the condition that I returned his "test" parts and bought new replacements if it did cure the issue, obviously).

I've never experienced service like it. Anyway - in short, they're amazing, but you do pay for it.

 

[lusid666]

mine cost me a grand total of £190, that £70 for a focus 1.8 clutch and slave cylinder and £120 labour. can recommend the focus clutch, its cheaper, has more friction material on it and is a little softer on the pedal than the puma one.

 

[Puma1700Sno]

Charlie, my 1.7 was doing the same. Defo the clutch. As other posters have said, it goes down really fast. From first slipping to completely undriveable was about 350 miles!

 

[madhillbilly17]

im in Andover to so mite see you about,could try millway on the portway they seem pretty good on price when i went there a few years back. http://www.millwayworkshop.co.uk/index.htm

 

[Charlie_C]

Wow. Lots of very useful information there! Thanks for digging out that receipt!

I will have it looked at and keep you all posted!

I have heard great things about Millway, my other half has had dealings with them and they seem very fair and honest. A garage in Basingstoke quoted him £1.5k to get his car through its MOT. Millway said they'd invented issues and charged him £200 inc labour to fix its few issues, and it sailed through.
Immediate thoughts - pop it down there to start with, then go to Tremona after the wedding once that's all out of the way to have it thoughly looked over - but I'll have a think on it and consider the budget.

Madhillbilly I may well see you around. I see a green Puma in the town centre most mornings on my way to work too.

Cheers all!

 

[evilrob]

No worries. Everyone should visit Tremona at some point during their Puma ownership - it's an experience! He is a git though - when I took my second Puma there to get the Richard once-over - he went round the car again, looking at stuff, scribbling on his notepad, poker face on the whole time just like he did before; I was dreading the outcome of his inspection. Then when he came over and handed me the list of stuff that needed doing: it amounted to a wheel bearing, rocker cover gasket and worn auxiliary belt.

At that point a massive grin appeared on his face and he said, "I think you'll be keeping this one!" - he also took me round the car and pointed out stuff that didn't need doing for a while, but that I should keep an eye on - but I just went ahead and gave him carte blanche to do whatever he wanted to do as I'm planning on keeping my Puma until it dies. Even then he recommended not doing several things on the "will need doing at some point" list as they could be done at any time as and when they become a problem.

It's not unheard of that people drive 200+ miles to see Richard; from first hand experience it's not hard to see why. These Millway chaps sound like good eggs too - so let us know how you get on and we can put them on the list.

If you haven't got any evidence to suggest the cambelt has been done in the last 5 years or 80,000 miles, that should be the next job on your list - it would be a shame to get a shiny new clutch/slave cylinder and then have the engine eat itself a few weeks later (statistically unlikely, no need to lose any sleep over it, but it does happen).

Do ask whoever you get to do the cambelt if they've done a Puma before, though, as it's tricky to get the timing right (it's not like a "normal" Zetec cambelt due to the variable cam timing, so installation is crucial - even half a millimetre out will cause problems). We can cover the cambelt "do's and don'ts" checklist when the time comes, though.

Good luck with your clutch!

 

[Neil]

Agreed. After taking my ex FRP to KerchingBuild and BodgeSpeed, I can't recommend Tremona highly enough k: