Road trip with the Puma

[martinblueprint]

Evening all,

Man, I really should start posting in here more again. I miss it.

Going on a bit of a road trip this week with the Puma..and 13 friends. Changed the oil today and got some proper tyres fitted - got some Toyo T1R. It feels much better than the budget ones which were nearing the end.
Also gonna be getting a last minute clutch replacement as I'm pretty sure it's about to disintegrate.

Has anyone ever driven to France before in their Puma? I still gotta get all their regulatory crap sorted...like a 1st aid kit(???) and those stickers which divert the beam. Probably not necessary on a Puma, right?

How much have any of you been charged for a clutch replacement - The car's done about 20k since I've had it, and I've not changed it. Is £250 for the part and fitting reasonable?

Martin

 

[pumadad2010]

The previous owner changed mine costing £260 parts and labour on the receipt 3 months before I bought the car June 2009

 

[STEAVIE]

yer thats a good price! you will also need a hi vi jacket as well! stupid french! lol!

 

[martinblueprint]

HA. Yeah I heard. Need to get kitted up!
As if I'm competent enough to use a first aid kit!

Sounds like £250 is about the going rate then - the cat has lost its prowess when pulling off...it feels like rolling off in a wall of revs.

 

[Dal]

Have a read of this for headlight adjustment:

http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?t=3140" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And this one for driving in mainland Europe:

http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=3131" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

k:

 

[Scotty1.7]

13 sounds like fun! Clutch sounds like a good deal as long as it includes the slave cylinder. Its about a hundred and eighty quid for the parts alone.

 

[martinblueprint]

Thanks for the useful Links Dal. Interesting to see that others have just moved the beam adjuster on the dash instead with nobody flashing them.
I sometimes put my beams on and people don't flash me.

Are there speed cameras in France...I expect there are, but are they visible? Even in Ireland they're not obliged to be conspicuous.

 

[yippeekiay]

I paid under £100 for my clutch AND slave cylinder so £250 is about right as I believe it's down as a 4 hour job.

Been to France a couple of times. Think the linky Dal gave pretty much covers it. I did however take a Hi-vis jacket for my son too as I'm sure all passengers should have them available.

I didn't bother with the lights, I just moved them to their lowest position with the in car levelling thingy.

Another thing to remember is have a lot of change or a debit/credit card for the toll booths if you come across them which cost a bloody arm and a leg!!. After hitting a few expensive one's last year I decided to go the non-toll road route which was a more enjoyable drive anyway.

Also, get a European Health Insurance card, they're free and could save you a fortune if anything happens god forbid.
https://www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/home.do" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Can't think of anything else but to say have a nice trip

 

[yippeekiay]

And yes, there are speed camera's but not many as far as I remember. My tomtom warned me so can't remember if they were that visible or not but I think you get well warned of them.

 

[martinblueprint]

cheers man. I applied for that card. Looks to be a good idea!

 

[mort666]

depends on the area for speed cameras, but you generally get a warning sign before them (I believe they are 300-600 meters before the camera normally) to let you know:

they aren't that easy to spot sometimes though as they are often painted grey

 

[pumapilot]

Are there speed cameras in France.

Also i believe on French toll roads, your ticket is time stamped, and if you arrive at the exit toll under the average time, then you will be fined.

 

[martinblueprint]

ahhh. A sinister policy indeed. Them foreigners.
Thanks for the info.

 

[martinblueprint]

Hey again.

We're back from our road trip to rural France! Well, have been a few days now. It was a place called Villedieu-les-Poêles.
I saw many of those speed camera signs, and a very well-hidden speed camera. We even saw the po-po hidden away at the side of the road with speed guns. Not as conspicuous as over here.

The Puma survived just fine; the liability was the driver, forgetting momentarily which side I was meant to be on :? Durrrr.
Was an epic drive though, spanning about 15 hrs or so, made more fun with our CB radios and some in fancy dress [pics!]

As soon as I got back it was a bit of a rush to get my car MOTd in time to update the tax. She passed luckily, but I have an oil leak it would seem. Having to put plastic bags under the car on the drive :s

I'm told it could be the drive shaft leaking...is that a reasonable diagnosis? Not really sure what to do about it. It's leaking from the front, just off centre to the nearside.

But apart from that, a fairly textbook run.













Just for clarification...I did not dress up myself. Maybe I'm a square.

 

[XIIVVX]

Welcome back. I am glad you enjoyed it - I love driving in France, the roads are so empty.

A tip to all, transferred from something I learned about flying.

Once abroad, every time you turn the key to start the car chant out loud "We are in France - We drive on the right"

Mrs XIIVVX and I do this almost in unison EVERY time the engine is started. This is particularly important on the brief stops. Popping into a shop, changing drivers, whatever. Those are the really dangerous moments when you have relaxed from your initial nervousness about driving on the 'wrong' side and have other things on your mind.

PS: Just clicked on one of your images and Avast blocked it - "Trojan detected"

 

[FRP368]

Bang on sir - I do exactly the same!

Brings back very happy memories of driving down to Monaco and back. Clearly the puma is quite rare down that way - lots of 'WTF?' looks from our fellow motorists.

 

[danellis]

When we went when I was a kid we always helped Dad to an hearty verse of Monty Python's "Always drive on the right side of the road!"

dJE

 

[martinblueprint]

lol, good suggestions there! Some places don't seem to have the Puma — I didn't see any in Scotland, and none in France!

 

[yippeekiay]

Good observations there, come to think of it I was getting some weird looks from cars passing me last year. And a few weirder looks in Monaco as my car clearly stood out...lol