Adding Aux/Jack Input to Ford Radio CD Head Unit

If you have a Ford car with older radio designs then the chances are it doesn't come with the facility to play music via an AUX socket and 3.5mm jack lead.

There is a solution using a product from a company called Connects2 that utilises the CD changer socket to provide Aux input to the radio unit. I successfully used this aux input connection in my previous VW Golf so bought a unit for my Ford Puma with the Ford 6000CD head unit in it. The CD button on the front of the unit allows you to switch to the Connects2 unit and to control the playing of music.

Adding Aux input to Ford 6000CD radio head unit

The unit I bought from Connects2 was the Connects2 CTAFOUSB003 USB Interface for Ford which allows the use of USB sticks, SD cards as well as AUX input to the 6000CD radio unit. Unfortunately I've found that the unit is fairly intermittent in being detected but the support from Connects2 for resolving the issue has been fantastic so watch this space for more info.

Ford Puma Millennium Update

I managed to arrange some time to be able to collect the Puma Millenium edition (I wonder why Ford use the name Millenium rather than the correct spelling Millennium?) and it's now back home in the garage.

The car has 118,000 miles so it's interesting to compare to my existing silver Puma which has a very low mileage of 69,000. The Millenium does feel a lot looser than the silver, gear change and steering both feel less precise than in the low mileage car. I know there are a few jobs I need to sort out with the car but it's nice to be able to have it back and start checking through the service history to find out what has been done over the years.

One thing I did find out was that the history includes the original sales invoice and the first owner paid over £16500 for the car! It also showed me that the number plates front and rear are still original as is the tax disc holder.

Ford Puma - Severely Rusting Rear Wheel Arches

One unfortunate design fault on the Ford Puma is a severe lack of rust resistance especially on the rear arches which tend to rust on almost every car. The rust on a 5 to 10 year old Ford Puma is often worse than that on my 26 year old VW Golf MK2 which was very well galvanised.

Ford Puma Rusting Rear Arches

Unfortunately for a permanent repair the only solution is to cut out the rusting metal and weld in new parts that will not rust in future. Ford Puma rear panels are no longer available but fortunately Peugeot 206 front wings are a perfect match to the shape.




Ford Puma - serious Rust on Rear Arches

Ford Puma Millenium Edition Yellow

Having bought the non runner Y513CBV which a friend has now bought off me, I spotted a 1 owner, massive service history Puma for sale on one of the Puma forums. The Ford Puma Millenium was a limited edition version with only 1000 produced to celebrate Ford's award of Millenium design status. The car was only sold in bright yellow so is a very distinctive colour!

The Puma Millenium edition comes with recaro leather seats and 9 spoke alloy wheels. As with all Ford Pumas it also invariably comes with free added rust on the rear wheel arches.

Ford Puma Millenium Edition Recaro leather seats

The Ford Puma Millenium Edition Recaro leather seats are far more comfortable than the Puma standard seats and can be very sought after. In fact many Millenium Pumas get broken to remove the seats from them.



Ford Puma Y513CBV Cambelt Failed

Thanks to the Puma Owners group on Facebook I found out about a Ford Puma Y513CBV that had cambelt snapped and was a non runner but was in fair condition with decent wheels and radio/CD changer. I managed to get it for £50 by far the cheapest car I've ever bought in 25 years of motoring!



Ford Puma Y513CBV Cambelt Failed

Although we don't yet know how much damage the timing belt caused to the engine when it failed I've now managed to get hold of a replacement engine for the princely sum of £30. So other than some time in labour to fit it we should be able to get a running Ford Puma for under £100.


We've now managed to tow the Puma to a barn next to the car with the donor engine so will start the swapover early in 2016.

You Tube Review of a Ford Puma 1.7 VCT 16V

When searching online I found this review of the Ford Puma, the owner sounds very happy with their purchase and only paid £840 for it so they got a similar bargain to me. Nice to hear others enjoying the cars just as much!

Ford Puma TV Advert Steve McQueen

One of my memories when the Ford Puma originally came out was the TV advert featuring Steve McQueen that blended original 1960s footage with current footage of the Puma and was quite ground breaking at the time. My Puma is now safely stored in my new garage which unfortunately is a lot more cluttered than the one in the advert!




www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SlV5Eh2Sgk

Removing Rear Seats from Ford Puma - Fitting New Leather Interior

Having bought a complete leather interior for my Puma on eBay, the next stage was to remove the rear seats from the Puma so that I could fit the new leather seats and rear door cards.

The first stumbling block was finding the lever to put the rear seat back into the flat position - it was actually behind the rear light cluster not anywhere close to the catch mechanism as in other cars I've owned.

Ford Puma interior

Removing Ford Puma rear seats

What Size are the bolts holding the Ford Puma Rear seats?

What Size are the bolts holding the Ford Puma Rear seats?

The 4 bolts holding the Ford Puma rear seats in position are Torx T40 bolts on the bottom corner of each side. Once the seat back is flat then it's easy to be able to access and remove these bolts.

Once the 4 bolts have been removed then the seat can easily be taken out of the car and the seat base lifts up and unhooks. The base is clipped in place each side and can be lifted by pulling the seat up either side of the base.

Photo of Ford Puma with the rear seat back removed


Photo of Ford Puma with the rear seat back removed



 

Once the seats had been removed the new leather seats could be fitted.  This photo of my Ford Puma shows the new leather rear seats fitted





Photo of Ford Puma with the new leather rear seats fitted



Ford Puma Cleaning Molten Steering Wheel - Replacement Leather Steering wheel covers?

As well as rusting rear wheel arches one of the other common faults of the Ford Puma is the leather steering wheel appearing to have melted and gone lumpy. Originally I had intended replacing the leather cover on the steering wheel but the part that arrived wasn't suitable so I looked at other options.

Ford Puma Cleaning Molten Steering Wheel

It appears that the adhesive can come through the air holes in the leather over time which gives the molten look. It was suggested that this adhesive can be cleaned off using hot soapy water so I decided to give it a go.

After about 20 minutes of intensive cleaning using a scourer pad most of the adhesive had come off and the steering wheel was looking as it should with the small air holes now visible. In hindsight the scourer wasn't the best option to use - it did successfully clean the adhesive off the steering wheel but also scratched the leather so I'd recommend using a cloth so this abrasion doesn't happen.



Ford Puma replacement leather steering wheel cover

Having cleaned off the adhesive and let the steering wheel dry I decided that conditioning the leather would be a good idea so I used the AutoGlym leather care balm for this and the steering wheel is now looking great! If your Puma steering wheel has the melted leather look then I'd definitely recommend cleaning using hot soapy water as a first step before looking at replacement leather covers for it.


Cleaning Ford Puma leather steering wheel with AutoGlym

New Car V5C Not Received

I bought my Ford Puma on 20th July but haven't yet received the new V5 in my name. According to the DVLA you should wait 4 weeks to receive your new V5C. I've checked the vehicle status on the Gov website using the link https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax and this shows that the change of owner hasn't been received.

You can see when the last V5 was issued and if it isn't recent then the change hasn't been processed. If the date is shown correctly then it just means the V5 has been lost in the post to you and has been recorded on their system.

To get the new V5 I need to send the small green slip along with a V62 application form to DVLA. There is no fee if you've not had a V5 in your own name for the car. https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration-certificate-v5c-log-book

Update - I later found that DVLA had entered the address incorrectly and the V5 had been sent to the wrong address. One advantage of the new online system is that you can check it yourself!


New Car V5C Not Received

Ford Puma 1.7 Costs for a Standard Service (Oil & filters)

When I bought my Ford Puma it was due a service so the next day I went online to my usual supplier, EuroCarParts and checked the cost of the service items.

I wanted to do a full service so I bought:

• Oil
• Oil filter
• Fuel filter
• Air filter
• Pollen filter

The total cost for all these items was £34 so the Ford Puma lives up to it's reputation of being a very cheap car to run and service.



Ford Puma Standard Service Costs

Ford Puma Exhaust Replacement Cost

When I bought my Puma one thing I'd noticed on the test drive and from checking previous MOT for advisory items was that the exhaust was in need of replacement.

The MOT had advised that the back and middle sections were blowing but on inspection the flexible front section also needed replacement. Having phoned around the best price for the complete Ford Puma exhaust I got was from Maidstone Exhaust centre at £180. Unfortunately not all the parts were immediately available so I booked the car in to have the exhaust done the next week.

Now the new exhaust fitting been completed and the car is sounding great!

Maidstone exhaust centre Bower Lane

Ford Puma Exhaust Replacement Cost



Ford Puma exhaust MOT failure





Ford Puma flexible pipe exhaust cost

Ford Puma replacement complete exhaust cost

Ford Puma Replacement Leather Interior

Thanks to a fantastic bargain I got on Ebay I picked up a new leather interior for my Ford Puma with all leather seats as well as door cards for the princely sum of £1.70! One rear door car was missing but I've managed to source a replacement for that.

All I need now is some time to clean and treat the leather and then enough spare time to actually fit it in the Puma.

Ford Puma Replacement Leather Interior

Autocar Review of Ford Puma February 1997

I found a copy of Autocar from Feb 1997 with a review of the Ford Puma before it was released to the UK market. Interesting to read the perception and how it was viewed before it was actually road tested by any motoring journalists.


Autocar Review Ford Puma 1997

Click to view the full magazine article

Ford Puma MPG Fuel Economy Consumption

What fuel economy do you get from a Ford Puma?

The Ford Puma has a 1.7 litre engine so it's surprising how economical the car is and how good the MPG fuel consumption is. So far I'm finding the car is getting an average of over 40 mpg with the best fuel economy so far being 42mpg. That's almost the same as the average I get from my diesel Passat estate!


Ford Puma MPG Fuel Economy Consumption

Buying Ford Puma - Buying Guide and Common Faults

Almost 15 years after I first test drove one, I've finally bought myself a Ford Puma! By waiting 15 years I've also saved a huge amount of depreciation as it only cost me £500 compared to around £10,000 back in 2000!

There are a few common faults with the Ford Puma and this one has (or has had) most of them! Rusty rear wheel arches, molten steering wheel, parcel shelf falling into boot, heater valve failure and rear axle bushes deteriorated. Fortunately the rest of the car is great with low mileage and a comprehensive history file. First job is to give the Puma a full service and replace the exhaust as it was flagged as advisory on the last MOT.



Ford Puma Buying Guide



Ford Puma Interior - Buying Guide

Ford Puma Cloth seats



Ford Puma interior space