FEARS FOR PUMA STEERS
Its MoT time for the Ford Puma but are the potential fixes going to cost more than the car?
2000 FORD PUMA 1.4
It is fair to say that my faithful Ford Puma hasn’t received much attention from me in recent months due to some thrilling drives in my Pininfarina-bodied Peugeot 406 Coupé. But the MoT has now forced my hand to get the Puma on the road again. It has completed the odd little trip to keep it ticking over but I recently noticed some grinding noises when steering so I feared the test might be pricier than hoped.
Once inspected by MoT tester Craig at Dawson Motors in Peterborough, he verified that the steering issue was down to a faulty track rod end that needed replacing. The good news was that the Puma didn’t require anything more than that to pass the MoT.
To get at the track rod end ball joints we needed to get the Puma up on the ramp and remove the wheels so we could access the area. With that done we then proceeded to undo the lock nut on track rod arm with two adjustable spanners, one to prevent the track rod end turning and the other to remove the nut. With an Allen key locked onto the thread of the ball joint we were able to prevent it spinning while using a 15mm spanner to undo the nut. With that removed we were able to turn the ball joint freely and ensure we remembered exactly where it sat on the thread. Counting how many turns gave us a fairly reasonable idea.
With the old lock nut removed we screwed the new one in place, being careful to ensure it lined up in the same position as before. The lock was then tightened while holding the ball joint still with a spanner. We then set to placing the thread back through the knuckle and, while holding it firm with the Allen key, tightening up the new nut. After careful inspection to make sure everything had gone together as planned, the wheels were put back on and I had a fully working track rod ball joint on the Puma.
More work in the pipeline will be to replace the rusty wheel arches on the Puma. It’s well-known that Fords from this era rust from the inside-out. so I’d like get the bodywork future-proofed so the same thing doesn’t happen again. I took the car to a local body work centre that was able to quote me the same amount as the car is worth. I might be spending another £500 on fixing the arches, but I could quite easily pay the same amount for another Ford Puma but still have the same sort of problem.
Although I’m happy to have this fixed in time it may have to be a job for another day. Until then, the Puma lives to steer for another year, so I’m happy!