Puma 1.7 Rebuild Mk II

Mate, tracking a parcel on DHL or whatever is not even remotely close to the coverage we are getting here...! :grin:

He'll be here in 2 or 3 minutes.

Sweet baby Jesus and the orphans I'm excited.

Ed

Got the car. She's running well, there's a few minor issues that need addressing:

1) There's a ticking/rattling coming from the gearbox when idling. When you press the clutch in, it stops. J reckons it could be a gearbox bearing. An old work colleague thought it could be the clutch release bearing.

2) First gear is difficult to move into on the gearstick. It's not impossible, but it requires force and sometimes slips out of gear before you move off and you hear grinding :roll: To remedy both of these a reconditioned gearbox would be in order. I'll get some local companies looked up online.

3) There's some sort of ticking sound coming from the front left wheel. J said to get the car back to the workshop tomorrow afternoon to do a once over and check all's ok and work out what the issue is with the wheel noise.

4) The Mondeo throttle body hasn't been fitted. He said he'd need parts from the original one to modify the Mondeo one I bought off eBay. I'm going to get a cold air induction system and then get that all sorted along with the gearbox in one go.

5) Struts and door cards need fitting at a later date. But at least I've got the car back


Other than that, it's running real nice. J said the power band seems most apparent after 4k revs and he's right - it's awesome. A few brief seconds to 5k but I'm keeping it between 1750-4000 rpm mostly. Accelerating and then easing off allowing the engine to slow us down. Work that rev range son.

40 miles since rebuild so ECU should have adapted by now. I'm just uploading a video to YouTube at the moment and hoping it picks up this gearbox noise.

I forgot how confidently these cars handled. Whilst the engine can't be worked hard for a week or 2, the handling can. Mind you, I also forgot how, at 6'4" a Puma's cabin isn't suited to my proportions. Neck tension.




Ed

See what you think to that supposed gearbox noise (34 seconds into video). Even if it's not being caused by the gearbox, the fact that it's a struggle to put it into first means I'm going to want to get a recon box anyway.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlMds44nfUM[/youtube]

Plenty of local gearbox specialists nearby. I'm going to ring some tomorrow. Get some ideas on pricing for a recon. Not sure if I'd have to get a gearbox and send it to them or what. Either way, I'll be fully at ease once that's sorted and the engine is broken in.

Seriously though, I'm over the moon. Going to get a full tank of petrol at 10pm and go for a late night cruise on some twisting, turning B roads. :twisted:

Ed

Sorry, third update of the night. So, the car is jerky at sustained low revs around 2k. First it's not noticeable, but if you hold steady at 2k in any gear there's a noticeable jerking sensation that slowly starts to build.

Above 2.5k it's smooth as anything and past 4k when the power band seems optimal it really sounds like it means business. When I came to a stop at traffic lights the revs dropped below idle and almost to the point where it felt like it was about to stall.

I'm not sure what this could be? I seem to recall, when I had the car before the rebuild it was jerky at low revs as well. I recall accelerating hard and then letting the engine brake as I came to a roundabout and the car was juddering very noticeably. I recall being somewhat alarmed at this occurring. When J picked up the car, the next day I specifically asked his wife if the car behaved oddly when he drove it back to his workshop and she said no. I was of course, referring to the jerkiness.

So, what could this potentially be? I'll be honest, I'm hoping this is gearbox related and then the problematic 1st gear, the ticking/rattling when the clutch pedal isn't pressed and the jerkiness could potentially be fixed with a reconditioned gearbox.

Or perhaps it be the Newman cams? Any ideas or advice would be appreciated

UPDATE: I've had a look through old posts on the forum and it seems a few people have encountered low rpm judder. Seems there's a list of things to potentially try which include the idle control valve, lambda sensor, MAF, throttle position sensor, fuel filter, coil pack, leads and plugs...bloody hell this could be an expensive and time consuming issue to try and fix.

Ed

£187.39 all in for all the parts listed above from eBay.

Ed

J said 3 plug leads are same and 1 isn't. So he suggested leads, lambda and airflow sensor. I've sent him links to parts and will order if they all look correct. I think coil pack and spark plugs can be thrown in for good measure. Leads, plugs and coil pack are all made by Bosch. We might've been enemies in both world wars. But the Bosch might save the day in my puma. Might throw in the cold air induction system too. Few more bhp. All systems full power.

Tbh it's a bit of a relief there's already a plan in action for a fix. I always knew the rebuild would be the first step in this project, I didn't realise we'd be taking the next step the very same night

Ed

Just went out for another spin. Can't get enough of that power when the cams are doing their business - now that's what I call camaraderie :grin:

Ed

Sleek

Regarding the gearbox. Difficuilt selection of first: have you tried adjusting the selection rod? The proper proecdure is this: jack up the car. Put the gearbox in neutral. Detach the selection rod from the gearbox. Put in the gearbox selection rod that the handle selection mechanism bolts onto a screwdriver (a phillips one, medium sized to pass through) and pushi it forward until it clicks. That will select the 4th gear directly on the gearbox. Now bolt onto it the gearstick mechanism rod with the gearstick in 4th gear position. That might save the day for you. You can move the rod about a bit to find the optimum gearstick throw for you and you can move the gearstick position by few cms this way without affecting operation.
Regarding jerkiness at low revs, check the clutch sensor above the clutch pedal and the VSS (vehicle speed sensor)! That one is on top of the gearbox, next to the cabin. When you take the battery tray out, it will be visible. It has a 3 pin connector next to the coolant hose that runs into the HCV but has a holder on the gearbox.
Before start throwing some serious money into it, check these two items as they might save you from the problems you have.

Glad you car is back with you, BTW k:

Thanks for the reply, I'm forwarding it to J now. Regarding the possible gearbox fix, how long a job is that?

Do you have any idea what the tapping might be that stops when the clutch pedal is pushed down?

Ed

If needs be, I've found a company in the town where I work who do gearbox refurbs. They said they'll get me a quote sent over and I can buy and ship an eBay box to them for a recon.

Regarding the clutch - J recommended a stage 1. I've read people using a Focus clutch? Or was it an ST150? Pumaspeed sell a stage 1 for the Puma but it costs a pretty penny.

Any alternatives to consider?

Ed

Going to J's for around 3pm. He said we'll get another lambda sensor, check over the car after the initial run in and check the gear linkages as well. Also try some different HT leads to see if that's causing the juddering.

I'll keep you all posted.

Ed

Honestly, this sounds to me like something misaligned in clutch-gearbox combo. The bearing would whine, not produce metalic sound like this. Has gearbox been taken apart? Is there enough oil in it? Also, what is the state of gearbox mount? Maybe it has sagged and the gearbox is touching something. I really, really doubt you will need a gearbox overhaul.
Check the concentric slave clutch cylinder as well.

And DO check the VSS. Please, do it before starting throwing money at lambda, cables etc....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qmcsmmGCkI
This is how to do it. The puma VSS is identical, you should get 9 blinks pre wheel revolution.

Started the car up and it's not sounding so smooth. I stayed put and left it to see what would happen. It started to feel a bit smoother. But it's not idling smooth. You can feel various vibrations from the engine quite noticeably in the cabin.

Ed

Got smoother after it warmed up but it was a little disconcerting initially

Thanks for the in depth reply. I'll ask J to check these over. Also it's running smooth now. Maybe it was just a cold start thing, I really don't know. Anyways I'm off shortly. I'll keep you posted.

Can't get enough of flinging it into corners.

Ed

I haven't noticed earlier that you have put in new cams. Camshafts should bed in at highish revs. The engine should be kept at 2500 rpm for the first 15 minutes or so constantly. That way you have the highest possible oil pressure and enough oil supplied to the lobes and tappets. You should avoid idleing until camshafts have passed the initial break in

Gear change sorted. Judder TBC. HT leads didn't sort it.

I'm keeping the revs up high, lower gear so it's always around 2500-3000. But no higher than 4500 whilst driving.

When coming to a stop I'm putting my foot on the pedal a bit to around 1500 as it's smoother than the idling.

Ed

I feel cheated in this thread, the puma is a silver one and your avatar is red! :lol:

Good luck getting there!