Newbie. First Puma!

[Grant_R]

Evening all, hope all is good.

So a brief intro on me; 31 year old male from sunny Slough - some of us have to be.
Been driving since I was 17, incident free for 14 years and counting, hope it continues!

Had a lot of motors over the years, everything from Nova's back in the day (yeah, was one of them!) borrowed E-classes, Transits, a Punto sport from brand new, you name it!

Am a windscreen / bodyglass fitter by trade, although I left the industry a couple of months back now (it's f*cked) and am currently just in a driver / re-stocker role.

Having sold the 03 Punto a while back now and having relied on a company van, which I had to give back obviously once I left the vehicle glazing world, going two months without a car was starting to get a bit of a strain.

So, with a mediocre budget of 500 quid, became the owner of a 1.7 99 (V) plate red Puma yesterday. Love it already, good solid little Ford and was (nicely) surprised at how quick it shifts to be honest. The girlfriend runs a 96 MGF 1.8 and having a quick lead-footed moment down the Windsor relief road yesterday, absolutely left it for dead. :grin:

I got the garage down to £460 and I'm pretty sure I've picked it up for a snip. 73,053k on the clock as from about an hour ago, MOT until October, £350 fully comp insurance (14 years NCB, but still not bad for living in an SL postcode either)

A few issues with it, which the sales bloke in fairness did mention -
- Key fob isn't functioning, IE, have to just use central locking via key-to-door the good old-fashioned way.
- Door open warning light constantly on, although there is nothing open, including tailgate etc
- Exhaust is a little corroded on the backbox (was an advisory on the last MOT)
- Brakes to me seem to not be as they ideally should be
- Slight knocking / thudding sound when going over certain bumps. Doesn't sound too clever, but I'm hoping shock absorbers... :?

Mechanically, engine-wise, seems to be running a dream. Idling fine as well. Air con works as well, was amazed, as do the electric mirrors. Haven't been able to test the heated screen yet.

Am more than happy over the next couple of months to spend a little bit more than what I paid for it yesterday to put the above right, given the bargain I THINK I've got and the definite low mileage on it, seems worth it. Plus the fact I'm loving it, newly-converted Ford head now I think. Far from over the whole 'hairdresser motor' worry as well. I really don't think it is. If it was a pink MX-5 or a Ka, then you'd get it.

Appreciate some of that rant is technical, just thought I'd drop a quick overview in and say how-do. Pictures to follow as well.

Look forward to chatting with you all. If I can answer any questions for you, be more than happy to do so.

Cheers,
Grant

 

[quest63]

Welcome aboard Grant :thumbs:

There's a how to guide here on setting up the fob but a battery change would be a good start
Door open light can be bonnet or bootlid related i.e bonnet switch copper contacts on tailgate or other tailgate issues.
Backbox's are cheap but maybe an excuse for a little mod :grin:
Brakes are not impressive on Pumas but the later ones have slightly larger ones by circa 18mm larger disks, and slightly larger rear drums. Fiesta ST 150 disks and calipers are a good simple straight swap though and are 280mm.
Knocking if its on the rear might be axle bushes which is a pain but pretty cheap.

 

[Grant_R]

Thanks mate. And cheers for all of the advice / possible causes.

I'm gonna pop into a Halfords or key cutters / similar tomorrow for a new battery, as hopefully this is what it is. Hopefully not anything that needs re-tuning so to speak or transponder issues.
Bonnet and tailgate are definitely securely shut, needs to be sorted though as that light is getting on my nerves a bit now.
Was thinking the same on the backbox!
Didn't know that about the ST discs either, learnt something new already. :idea: :lol:
I'm no F1 technician, but definitely 110% sounds like it's worth getting these things done (possibly upgraded) and doesn't sound like I'm gonna have to take a ten year finance plan to put right either, so spot-on.

 

[Grant_R]

Hmmm, couldn't get those images to show, but will look to get them on shortly.

 

[YOG]

Hi, I lived up the road in Cippenham for my first 24 years!

You'll need to programme the key for the central locking after fitting the new battery:
http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=39" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Check the white plastic tab on the boot lock to see if it is broken:

Boot Switch

• YOG
• Oct 13, 2011

IIRC, the rear box is double skinned, so may just be the outer skin gone.

As quest63 said, the standard Puma brakes are not good. I have the ST150 discs/calipers on mine and are much better.

You didn't say whether the knocking was front or back. Front is usually either top mount, anti-roll bar bushes, or drop-links. Rear is usually axle bushes. Have a read through the "How To Guides", they will show you how to replace these, and well as many other things.
http://www.projectpuma.com/viewforum.php?f=51" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[tuonokid]

Hi Grant
The door open light is most likely to be the bonnet switch which is located on the slam panel. Open the bonnet and get someone to press down on the switch whilst you're sat in the car with the ignition on. If they press hard enough and the light goes out you need a new switch or put a spacer on the bonnet that presses down firmer on the switch.
Barry

 

[Grant_R]

Evenin' Yog / Tuono, cheers for the responses boys, very much appreciated.

Cippenham a, haha. Small world, about 5 minutes down the road from me that is, know it well. Too well for my liking! :?

I'll have a bit more feedback for you both after Saturday. I don't get in from work until about 7.30 most nights and by the time I'm in, settled and sorted, it's getting dark, or I'm parked half way up the road because of the pathetic divs that live around here and the endless war for car parking spaces.

At my Mum's on Sat for a barby though, nice big driveway that can park about five motors, so will get my teeth into all the little niggly problems from there, in peace and quiet! Great help from both though, watch this space and I'll keep you posted shortly on the findings etc.

Tuono - like with most bugging little knocks and sounds, it's difficult to fully tell 100%. From what I can make out and deliberately going over small bumps on just the nearside and offside to try and decipher where, it sounds like it's the O/S rear. It's a difficult one to try and describe the sound, but think of driving over a small pothole for EG and it sounding a lot louder than it should. Almost a bit like someone punching through a cardboard box.

I'll get some pics up in a bit, show you the beast.

Cheers,
Grant

 

[tuonokid]

Hi Grant
It wasn't me that answered your suspension question, I just answered the door open light.
Barry

 

[Grant_R]

So it was, been a long day :grin:

Thanks for the help though all the same, still need to get that light sorted ASAP!

 

[Grant_R]

 

[Grant_R]

 

[tuonokid]

Good colour Grant, same as mine
Barry

 

[red]

Welcome to the site!

Sounds like most of your woes have been answered for the most part for now.

Another thing to drop in for the clonking is top mounts. Basically anything rubber should be checked!

The bonnet plungers for the door open light get pretty worn over time, check this first I'd say.

Good luck

 

[Grant_R]

Thanks guys. I'm running it into the garage next week to identify the suspension issue and probably give it a full service at the same time.

I replaced the battery in the fob, didn't immediately work. So ran through the procedure in the link above (ignition to position 2 and back to 0 four times) - this works, but only with the door open weirdly enough. The rear fog light comes on for a few seconds, but the key doesn't register still which is annoying. Battery connections all seem tickety-boo as well. :?

 

[red]

Could be a crack in the solder somewhere.

 

[Grant_R]

Hmmmm, feel like a quick visit to Ford could solve it, but don't wanna end up with my trousers around my ankles over the cost either. :?

 

[Puma Babe]

I have nothing to add but hello and welcome

 

[Puma Babe]

I have nothing to add but hello and welcome