The "If I can do it, you can" thread...

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g-whizz

Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2012
Messages
285
Location
Southport
...ok, so after my Newbie intro and info. (found here: http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=29347) this thread is for those who just can't engage with engines; who just don't radiate at the thought of radiators; who falter at filters, or, are just plain mechanically muddled. Like me. :grin:

If so, it'll hopefully give you a bit of inspiration, the odd laugh, and occasional tip, such as how to avoid a petrol eye-bath when changing the fuel filter, something I really wish I'd read before doing it! :D

So, feeling flush with my HCV success (see thread above) I formulated a plan. Unlike others, and hats off to them for it, my aim wasn't to do a thread on an engine swap or the like...though I have gone gooey over the thought of an ST180 lump and started a tiny bit of research :lol:

No, my plan required steely resolve to not get ahead of myself and definite not-so-bold action. It meant small steps, doing jobs that wouldn't cost much to fix if I messed up and using the "How to..." guides to help build my general maintenance skills but MOST importantly to build my confidence. :cool:

Now the easiest job going has to be changing the pollen filter, plus things get less whiffy if you do, so it's a win, win. You simply buy it, open the bonnet, look to the right side at the very back of the bay and there's the housing tucked away under where the rain gutter/scuttle (I think that's what it's called) is. Just pop open these tabs:
054 by G Whizz, on Flickr
swap old filter for new and you're golden, or, to be more accurate, carbon, if you've spent the extra few quid for an activated one. It really is that easy.

Here's the filter(s):
045 by G Whizz, on Flickr

044 by G Whizz, on Flickr
You can easily tell which is which as new ones don't come with leaves in them...though maybe they do with the ecoboost range? :)

There, you've done your first "job" :yay: ...see, nothing to this car maintenance lark is there?

Next post, the air filter (and more) but be warned it's a whole other level of complexity as you need to remove four bolts ...and, gulp, they might even be torx heads if original, eeek!
 
moondustka said:
[post]347442[/post] Good on you for getting involved :thumbs:

Cheers "moon" not sure I'll ever get to your level but a journey of a thousand miles and all that :wink:
 
I started not knowing anything, all taught by reading and giving it ago myself. I'm a firm believer in getting the right tools for the job though and over the years of getting more and more involved just get the tools as and when you need them.

:grin:
 
...ok, so replacing the air filter! FYI, I'm not going to re-invent the wheel so if I used something from PP to help me then I will just reference it and if anything popped up from doing it that might be useful to a fellow novice then I'll just add my ha'penny worth... I'm not yet knowledgeable enough for it to be worth tuppence :)

Ok, to just replace the filter you undo the four bolts here:
054 by G Whizz, on Flickr

and pop in your new filter. If original the bolts will be torx 25 IIRC (I will check and edit) and you need something slim and with a longish reach to get down to them. Two of mine were badly cross threaded though so they were a bit of a pain to remove, plus, in looking around at how to do the filter swap I'd seen this: http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=17099 which details how to clean the MAF.
So what the heck, I decided that it didn't look TOO difficult as long as I followed the instructions, which left me with a rather dirty airbox on my kitchen worktop...
009 by G Whizz, on Flickr
...and after bit of a faff getting the cross-threaded bolts out, using a screwdriver and then some pliers to lever them and so put under tension to get the "bite" back to unscrew...my "prize" was one skanky looking air filter:
018 by G Whizz, on Flickr

A warm soapy wash of the air filter box, rinse, dry and bit of Auto Glym plastic polish later and the new filter now had a nice clean home to sit in too:
017 by G Whizz, on Flickr

After doing pretty much the same to the induction pipe (the corrugated rubbery pipe that connected to the MAF/airbox on the right and the throttle body on the left), I then started on the MAF itself (see the thread above) and just followed the instructions, cheers Tomlin! :wink: The only thing I didn't do was disconnect the battery, which is generally good practice but not strictly necessary.

I forgot to take a pic' of my MAF when first out but suffice to say that although generally sound there was a bit of oxide crud where the hose meets it, which I rubbed back to smooth, and a darkish build-up on the sensor wire. At first I decided to use Halfords electrical contact cleaner for the wires as it leaves no residue but it seemed a little too gentle, as it didn't really do much, so I tried some carb cleaner, gave it a minute or two then straight after used the electrical cleaner to get any residue from the carb cleaner off. Did it a couple of times, it came up shiney, so me likey:
013 by G Whizz, on Flickr

So now feeling adventurous, and as I'd bought the carb cleaner, I thought I'd give the throttle body a shot too, given it was now all exposed and easy to get to in-situ. Mine didn't look that bad gunk wise, but I unplugged the electrical connection to the throttle first (just in case) and gave it some carb cleaner and also used a toothbrush to get in there. Not a huge change despite giving it a few goes but at least I know it's one more thing done, and more importantly one more thing I'VE done :grin:
So before:
023 by G Whizz, on Flickr

And after:
008 by G Whizz, on Flickr

One thing I am curious about was the groove in the throttle body, is that normal anyone know?

To put it all back I simply put the throttle's electrical connection back on and then reversed it all just as I was told in the "how to... MAF" thread, although I'd forgotten that my airbox bolt threads were now shot due to the cross threading. I needed to do a bit of improvisation so I went to Homebase and found these coach bolts which were a bit longer, and looked a tiny bit wider but with the same size thread (M6?) and which basically re-tapped the plastic airbox when I screwed them in.
001 by G Whizz, on Flickr

Someone else might have a different solution but at £1.40 for pack of six it got me out of a hole and gave me something else that was shiney :grin:

OK, so it went a bit further than just the airbox...but barring the bolts it was a doddle, you can easily do this, get stuck in!

Next, as I've started on a service (well the two filters can qualify) I might as well do the rest....
 
moondustka said:
[post]347454[/post] I started not knowing anything, all taught by reading and giving it ago myself. I'm a firm believer in getting the right tools for the job though and over the years of getting more and more involved just get the tools as and when you need them.

:grin:
The only real "tool" I've got for the job is me :lol:
 
Great job so far, best way to learn is "hands on" I had the slight advantage when I was young (so many years ago) of being a trainee mechanic in a garage (Rootes dealership!!) but only for just over a year, from then on it has been trial and error and a lot of sweary words!
Most things I can tackle now, though more modern cars area pain due to all the electrical garbage on them.
A lot of the time so long as you are methodical and take your time you should be ok.
If you get stuck you ask, simples :thumbs:
 
Cheers all :eek:k:
zinc2000 said:
... from then on it has been trial and error and a lot of sweary words!:

...you must live next door as you've obviously been watching/hearing my efforts so far! :lol:
 
....so on to the next service bit, another filter but this time fuel, which sits underneath the car at the rear. Go to passenger/nearside wheel arch and come up towards the front wheel a few inches, you'll need to get down low and have a gander down there, about a foot or so in is your fuel filter, just sitting there all pretty (or pretty rusty depending on the state of it all) and waiting for your tender care.

This is not as daunting as it may sound, and this guide just lays it all out for you:
http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=56 so a big thanks to Red :eek:k:

It really is child's play...apart from the fact that you should not allow your child to play with highly flammable liquids of course! :shock: (Mind, if the naughty step isn't working? :twisted: )

Possibly as punishment for thinking such things, or simply because what might appear crystal clear to the more experienced isn't to us novices, despite this job being so easy I still ended up with a petrol eye-bath and hair rinse.

As a result, I will add a little advice to following this thread. Firstly, and this applies to all of the guides tbh, it pays to read all the responses too, they often have vital snippets as well as the congrats on the guide replies. I'd gone through them for this thread and noted the advice re. the bungs on "the pipes"...BUT, pipes to me (and it might just be me) meant fuel pipes, so the fuel lines... uhuh, are you getting the picture?

Yup, having jacked up the car, put the axle stand in etc.etc. and then gotten myself under the old filter with the bungs from the new filter at the ready, quick as a flash I disconnected the fuel lines and tried to stick the somewhat reluctant bungs into them as that's where I thought the fuel would be coming from: wrong! It took about .5 of a second for me to realise something wasn't right which was just enough time for about half a cup of petrol from the filter to give me a fuel facial. Nice! :oops:

So, just to be clear: the bungs go on the old filter once the fuel lines are removed to stop it spouting fuel, oh, and do not lie directly under as you do the job! I also learnt that the underbody of my car can't be that rusty or my head would have gone through it given how hard it smacked it when the petrol hit me! :lol:

Another little bit of advice for the novice on this one, in the thread it says release the clip that holds the fuel filter in place but this type of clip is not one I'd come across before... I spent a few mins trying to push it together to release it only to realise it's a clasp type thing, so just get a small driver in here:
fuel-filter-clip by G Whizz, on Flickr ( I used your photo Red for continuity, hope that's ok? )
Get it into the gap and flick it out, the clasp pops easy then! I used some long nose pliers on the clasp when putting it back together as pushing alone wasn't working then either.

So, another step completed, and it only took longer than the time quoted as I needed to wash my hair after, you shouldn't need that now :grin: Next, the oil change.....drum roll please!
 
...actually it's really not deserving of it...read this: http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=2446 (cheers Jacko)
and be a bit Nike*... that's it! I ain't kidding, you are simply throwing away cash to mechanics by not doing this sort of stuff I now realise!

The only things to note for me were that I did have to get a bit messy as the oil filter was solid, so had to use the screwdriver "lance" method. I didn't follow the 1 & 5litre top up info, instead, I cut a 2litre soft drink bottle in half, kept the top bit and cleaned it out and used this as a funnel for the new oil. All very easy.

Oh, and if your CD cuts outs mid-Bowie like mine did...finish the job first and forget it! Do NOT do as I did and go to turn your ignition on, and v. nearly re-crank the engine with no oil in it! Thankfully my brain, though a bit slow on the uptake, kicked in early enough to not actually make that final bit of the key turn (phew) but I'll be leaving them out of the ignition from now on just in case. :grin:

So this car is now nearly serviced (BY ME!)...just the plugs to go...how weird is that?

This though is where things got a bit more tricky....so not so much of a drum roll needed as a duh, duh, duuuuuuh....

*Just Do It!
 
What happened on the plug change?? I'm intrigued by the cliff hanger!!

Also fine for the image, I'd update the guide with your comments but I feel that anyone undertaking these things should read this thread first now :grin:
 
red said:
[post]347476[/post] What happened on the plug change?? I'm intrigued by the cliff hanger!!

Also fine for the image, I'd update the guide with your comments but I feel that anyone undertaking these things should read this thread first now :grin:
Thanks for the interest Red, and the comment, and funny you should ask :wink: ....
 
So, "we" left you all on the edge of your seats and biting your lip in trepidation, concern etched across your face and crying out "What terrible tragedy has befallen our novice? What could possibly have unseated him as he galloped along righting his little Puma's wrongs? Have the spark plugs caused him to lose his sparkle?

...Weeeell, the plugs it seems were intent on playing dirty, not only that but they'd called in the heavy mob to assist... Coolant and Oil!!

So, this is the backstory bit: Ever since the cambelt change my rocker cover had wept oil, and even with my limited mechanical ability I realised that it was probably the gasket hadn't sat quite right after. It was something I'd decided was a garage job when I got round to having the "overheating" addressed. As you can see it was a bit of a messy pain but nothing more:
024 by G Whizz, on Flickr

026 by G Whizz, on Flickr

Snapping back to present day: Even with my new-found sense of purpose, tackling that issue seemed a bit advanced to me... however, as in every great epic "Hero" quest, Fate decided to intervene, pushing him on to even greater challenges and victories!

The moment of destiny occurred when I took off my engine cover (see the threads below for how-to-guide) in prep for the spark plugs to find not only was it generally a bit yukky, I believe that's the technical term:
031 by G Whizz, on Flickr

and there was a bit of oil down in the spark plug channel, but there was this as well:
035 by G Whizz, on Flickr

"By the Gods, What evil lies yonder?!" thought our novice, "Is it the terrifying slime of the Styx? Could it even be the ghastly goop of the Gorgons?" (I think I may be getting a bit carried away with this theme tbh :grin: )

Yup, basically as a novice I had no frikkin' idea what it was but it looked nasty, scary and daunting.

So our "hero" did what any sensible hero would, he retreated, and quickly went to consult the Oracle (PP) whereupon he realised that this diabolical creature was, in fact, known as... cylinder head core plugs leaking coolant, or "Leaky Plugs" to his mates.

As such your novice was now at something of a crossroads in his journey and blocking his way were the spark plugs, the coolant/core plugs and the oil/rocker cover issue! He knew that he couldn't tackle just the spark plugs alone, it would be cowardly, and rather foolish in the long term. No, it would have to be all or nothing/the garage... and nothing wasn't an option! (Fanfare please!)

So armed with these magical potions from the Oracle*:
1) http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?t=9307
2) http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=20065&p=262630&hilit=changing+spark+plugs#p262630

...our novice hero ventured forth to do battle.....

(*Ok, I stretched that a bit as the Oracle never gave out magic potions... Ceefax might have though? :grin: )
 
This is brilliantly written :lol:

Annoyingly I can't really help as I never worked on the standard engines and don't know much about them! I'm sure someone will be able to advise of your 'leaky plugs'. Might be worth getting a new rocker cover gasket though, and you should be able to change the spark plugs.
 
moondustka said:
[post]347581[/post] This is brilliantly written :lol:

Annoyingly I can't really help as I never worked on the standard engines and don't know much about them! I'm sure someone will be able to advise of your 'leaky plugs'. Might be worth getting a new rocker cover gasket though, and you should be able to change the spark plugs.
Cheers Moon, have been following your thread too, and would happily swap my storytelling for your "spannering" as that is truly brilliant work :eek:k:
 
I'm enjoying reading it as well, your positive nature is refreshing :)
Make sure you buy a genuine Ford rocker gasket, preferably from a Ford Dealer (not Chinese crap off fleabay) when you get round to doing it.
Barry
 
...so ok, let's leave our novice as he sets out and come back to reality a bit....and the reality was that there wasn't really that much info on the cylinder heads core plug issue (either on PP or other forums/sources) I found, and what there was seemed to be a bit conflicting. Some said the cylinder head core plugs were a doddle to sort, simply remove and reseal, others said they were a bit of a pig to remove. Meanwhile, I called a large motor factor and they seemed confused by the concept of having core plugs in the head at all and tried to convince me otherwise. Worst, for me as a novice, there was no "How to..." guide, this meant I was winging this part a little, and the thought of it caused a little trickle of wee; though it might just be my age :lol:

So, having bought the core plugs from a (different) motor factor (less than £6 for the two) and spent another £6 at Halfords for some Loctite SI 5660 (it's a high temp sealant that is specifically designed to be resistant to "the heavies", Coolant & Oil- basically RTV sealant though it didn't say it on the packaging), I turned my thoughts to the rocker cover gasket.

ScubaSteve's "How to..." guide (the first of the "magic potions" referenced before) is basically all you need for this job, it's a very easy to understand walkthrough (cheers Steve) BUT I had a slight issue in that I'd only relatively recently shelled out for a Ford rocker cover gasket as part of the cambelt change and it had done very little mileage, so basically, "your hero" was being a bit of a tight wad and didn't really want to shell out another £40! As such he was going to try and re-use his gasket....uh-oh I hear you sigh... :roll:

So first of all, I set about cleaning things up. I scraped the crud from around the core plugs, and from out of the spark plug wells, I did this with the spark plugs still in to avoid anything going into the engine as this was the sort of stuff I was getting:
071 by G Whizz, on Flickr
and this:
038 by G Whizz, on Flickr

I then wrapped some decent quality (so it wouldn't just tear up) kitchen roll around a thin screwdriver to collect what residue I could with the spark plugs still in-situ before gingerly removing them (see the other "magic potion" and read the comments as they helpful)...as you can see they were still pretty "yukky":
074 by G Whizz, on Flickr

These are in order from left to right as they are on the engine, I'd wiped no2 a bit cleaner to see if the crud had done any damage...and here's the tips as I know some smart folks can tell a lot from them, like your star sign, shoe size and all sorts of stuff :cool:
075 by G Whizz, on Flickr

Having cleaned up things didn't actually look as horrific, and a thought/hope struck me, that maybe the leak was very small scale and that the crud may well have accumulated over a fairly lengthy time? So rather than just dive in and remove the core plugs, which may or may not be difficult, I decided to try and top seal them instead, looks a bit better down there don't it?:
080 by G Whizz, on Flickr

If it works great, if not I've lost nothing for trying... gung ho is all well and good but a bit of pragmatism never hurts I reckon (hope) :grin:

Besides, I needed all the energy I could muster....because I was just about to join battle with my most tricky foe to date, the rocker cover gasket!!! (War drums beating in distance...)
 
tuonokid said:
[post]347587[/post] I'm enjoying reading it as well, your positive nature is refreshing :)
Make sure you buy a genuine Ford rocker gasket, preferably from a Ford Dealer (not Chinese crap off fleabay) when you get round to doing it.
Barry
Cheers for comment Barry, and as you can see I did as you said...kinda :wink: I figure it got to be worth a shot!
 

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