The £650 Puma

[The Arch Bishop]

Rick kindly came over this evening to have a poke around under the wheel arches and the source of the noise was very soon apparent. The good news is that there is no cost in fixing it other than a bottle of brake fluid. The bad news is that it was due to poor workmanship from someone who I have always trusted to carry out good work although I'd have to say that, due to mitigating circumstances, I can understand why.

The noise was due to the top of the brake pipe not being secured in the bracket. To be fair, the HEL lines for a Puma don't have the necessary flat to secure within (or even fit through) the bracket but couple that with the fact that the other bracket that holds the pipe to the strut had been left of and a cable tie used crudely in its place. Not good. This meant that the metal fittings on the brake pipe that were being held away from the bracket due to the tension placed on it by the cable tie was being forced into contact with the bracket when the strut extended thus creating the clanking! Never expected that!

Anyway, Rick (for he is, quite literally, a jolly good fellow) is coming on the Sunday and we're going to tuck in and do it properly. Luckily, I found all the missing parts needed to put it together properly and the bracket can be filed out to accept the fitting so it shouldn't be too tricky a job. It's never simple though.... :roll:

 

[PhilDiggle]

Interesting project read. Kind of reminds me of mine!

Without going too off topic, bought mine in March this year for £700 (£800 as I got him to put 6 month tax on it too) Drove fine for one day, then Drop Link went on Driver side. Fixed that up after copious amounts of swearing. Wheels buckled, so paid to fix that. Batteries now dead so need that replacing and many other minor things.

As long as you feel like you're getting some enjoyment from fixing it up and seeing the improvement then all's good. I love doing mine up even if it is putting a dent in the bank!!

Hope your list of things to do is going down now 8)

 

[The Arch Bishop]

The list isn't exactly going down PhilDiggle... More sort of hovering around the same point!

It's a hobby and when I get to drive it, it's always worth it. I think it's fair to say that there is no such thing as a bargain Puma. You either spend out initially around the 2k mark for a good 'un, or you buy a cheap one and spend up to about 2k in total fixing it up to be a good 'un. The choice comes down to the satisfaction in fixing the faults that you find and if you're happy to do so or whether you're more in to just driving it. I tend to get a bigger hit from the former and form more of a bond dragging things back from the one foot in the scrap-yard state!

It helps that my wife is very good about these things and doesn't complain. She pointed out that she can spend similar amounts of money on the garden or her other hobbies and doesn't expect to see a return on the investment in them other than personal satisfaction. Just because it's a car doesn't change this! She has a very good point!

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Progress definitely made thanks almost entirely to Rick and his astounding array of tools. This is how the mechanic had left the front brake lines;

Cable ties in vogue here...

Union not secured in any way to the bracket...

After Rick's magic...

Note that the guard springs were refitted to the lines. Not entirely necessary but Ford must have fitted them for a reason so it seems daft to leave them off. They only take a min to fit anyway. The brake fluid was pretty dirty so new fluid was pushed through from the reservoir.

We were hoping to get the rear lines on also, but a severely knarlled and stubborn locking wheel nut put paid to that. It's going to need drilling off professorially as the removers don't fit on this type of nut.

Got to take it for a quick test drive this afternoon and the knocking noise has gone and Jegger drives very nicely again! There still seems to be a bit of sponginess to the peddle but they can definitely stop the car in a hurry if needed. Nice to see some progress at last even if it isn't down to my hard graft!

Once again, huge thanks Rick!

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Took Jegger into Autowise at Burgess Hill this morning to get the bolt removed (at no charge). Also had them re-gas the non-functioning aircon while it was in. I now have a steady stream of very chilly air through the vents and I'm properly chuffed. I was expecting a major leak in the system but was told that it was still holding just under half of its charge even after 14 years. The lack of pressure meant that the compressor refused to switch on at all but after the full aircon service its working very well indeed!

Hoping to get to the rear brake lines on tomorrow. Fingers crossed that it all spins apart properly....

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Three steps forward and one back...

Rick returned today to do the rear brake lines which went pretty well considering the age of them.

Old lines...

New lines on...

We then bled all the brakes and the clutch in sequence which got the last of the filthy and gritty old fluid out. As a consequence, the brakes are far sharper all around. Very pleased with them!

Before Rick arrived, I had a go at my very yellow headlights with some T-Cut metallic followed by some scratch-X then some polish. They came up remarkably!

Also bought some new number plates as the last person had fitted them on the slant and my latent OCD tendencies were going nuts.

Much better.

Now for the step back. I found this on the drive this afternoon....

It seems that my freshly re-gassed aircon couldn't take the pressure after all and the bottom of the drier has blown out. So that's £60 out of the window and back to square one. That will teach me to be smug about something working! Still, it was nice for the 8 miles I got to use it I guess...

Oh and I've got a drive way that would look very funky at night with a black-light... :roll:

 

[yippeekiay]

Lights looking good k:

Aircon not so

 

[The Arch Bishop]

New aircon dryer was fitted last weekend and worked very well until Wednesday when I picked up my daughter from the childminder.

'Daddy, why's the car hissing like a snake?'

'Ummm...'

Looked under the bonnet to find that one of the aircon pipes had popped of the top of the dryer. Sigh...

I took the car back to Autowise today and showed the guy who, to his credit, seemed mortified and pointed out that the square clip that holds the connections together had pinged off somewhere. The clip on the other connection was also confirmed as being on its way out. It's booked in for another go next week. Third time lucky?

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Still buntering along with Jegger. We've clocked up about 2.5k miles so far! I've been doing some smaller jobs this last week mostly to do with irritating noises!

Firstly, I had a screeching noise when turning hard left which I traced to the tyres rubbing on the brake hose springs. Wheel off, Cracked of the union a touch and moved the hose closer to the body and tightened it up again. Noise sorted.

The next was some tailgate trim rattling loudly. The lugs have broken on one end so I used some adhesive pads to stick them together until I find replacements.

The only problem with sorting out noises in a car is that you invariably uncover some slightly quieter ones underneath. Now I find I have a really annoying squeak from the nearside front suspension. I reckon it's something I've failed to grease properly when assembling so I'll whip the wishbone bolts out and give them a sound covering.

I've also found a small scraping noise from the rear that I've yet to investigate. It could even be the wheel brace knocking about behind the little boot panel... I hope.

I still have the major noise left which is a dull knocking at the front. The symptoms are when one wheel hits a bump that the other doesn't. Going over a speed hump doesn't produce a knock. This narrows it down in my mind to the anti roll bar bushes.

Any advice on changing these is appreciated. From what I can tell, you can get them out by undoing the rear subframe bolts by an inch so you can get a spanner on the rear bush bolts.

Anyway, I found a temporary solution to the noises which was to fit a Connects2 kit in place of the multi changer this evening. Superb!

If anyone wants a cheap Alpine six-disc changer with all the cables and the control boxes to fit a standard Ford radio. Give me a shout!

 

[slayllian]

Those headlights are looking good, I managed to polish mine too much and have removed the outer layer, which has made them get worse! so will be buying some new ones off ebay, hopefully get them like yours! :thumbs:

 

[The Arch Bishop]

They stay looking nice for a week or two then start going yellow again but it doesn't take much to do them again!

Forgot to mention, the aircon was sorted out again and is currently holding!

Also, the squeak is now gone! It was either the wishbone bolts or the the anti roll bar bushes which have a lot of play in them as a quick wiggle showed. I sprayed them with some GT80 while I was there. New bushes on order.

 

[slayllian]

I found my squeak at last, was the top mount, so that will have to wait a little bit untill I get the gear to sort it.
Just been reading your thread about the leaks, this is really fitting for me as I keep waking up to a wet footwell when it rains, it seems to drip down past the ecu, nightmare! thinking about sealing up the bulkhead like you, did you stop your leak in the end?

 

[The Arch Bishop]

It certainly stays a great deal drier now, but after a heavy rainfall, a few drops still get in. The nicer weather means it's taken a back seat for now! I'm sure I'll regret it later...

 

[slayllian]

lol! :lol:

 

[The Arch Bishop]

With the birth of my second daughter, work and progress has taken a dive but still found time to put some new wipers on the front and rear screen. Much better; they actually clear the rain away now! It's the little things that make a car so much better.

Other than that, it's been business as usual and Jegger has been doing the business toting me back and forth from work. Some alternative routes have put smiles on my face. Of particular note is the back road from Lindfield to Horsted Keynes which is a bit like a narrower version of Prescott hill climb course. Couldn't believe just how quickly you can hustle a car up there in the rain!!

I'm going to take Jegger for a pre-mot soon to determine whether the rust is terminal or not. As an every day proposition, it's a far better car than my Citroen in so much that it fits the country roads, is quicker and much more economical. I tried to sell the C4 recently but no one wants a super-low mileage A1 condition petrol family hatch for £4000!

Providing the Puma can be economically repaired then it gets granted a stay of execution. I dearly hope so as I can honestly say it's the first car that doesn't have any elements that wind me up enough to bother me (other than the laughable rust prevention). It also drives like the car I've always been looking for and has been very dependable.

Worst case is that, if an MOT is a distant dream, I'll strip everything down. The engine, gearbox brakes etc are in rude health. All I'd need is a clean body shell..... I can't imagine not having a Puma now.

 

[slayllian]

It certainly stays a great deal drier now, but after a heavy rainfall, a few drops still get in. The nicer weather means it's taken a back seat for now! I'm sure I'll regret it later...

Don't know how your leak search is going but just thought I would update you, was reading through your thread and I think you have the exact same leak as mine. Mine was coming through that joint you mentioned in the scuttle plate, but awkwardly right under the pipes up against the edge. Have you had a chance to look up under the dash, I could see mine coming through there, sealed it up both sides and the car is finally dry! :thumbs:

Up top offside corner behind dash, directly under scuttle plate:

050 by slayllian, on Flickr

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Is that image from underneath the dash or underneath the scuttle? I'm not sure I fancy stripping the dash out!!

 

[MattJAbela]

Good to see your slowly but surely sorting out your puma mate Keep it up Yours cost a smidging less than mine, picked mine up for £700

 

[slayllian]

Is that image from underneath the dash or underneath the scuttle? I'm not sure I fancy stripping the dash out!!

Its up under the dash, directly bellow the scuttle (just follow the wheel arch up, above the alarm) You can see it if you lay in the foot well. it was coming in more or less where you said, but just a little further across under the pipes, I looked on another forum and it seems a fairly common leak. I just had to pull some sound insulation and the carpet out of the way to see it. But you should be able to seal it from the top.

its been 100% dry inside now, even after days of monsoon rain!

 

[The Arch Bishop]

Will have to have a go before the winter sets in although time is limited. Family tends to cut into Puma time somewhat! :lol: