Adding an Aux Input to Ford Car Stereo Radio CD6000/5000

If you want to add an Aux input for a Ford CD6000 radio then using a Connects2 box as per this video is a very easy way to do it. This took a matter of minutes to do in my Ford Puma.

Ford Puma Millennium Special Edition Review - Yellow with Recaro Sports Seats

The Ford Puma Millennium is a special edition model of the Puma range that is immediately identifiable by the bright yellow paintwork that they sport. It was launched in late 1999 as part of Ford's Millennium celebrations along with similar editions of the Ka and Focus with limited numbers of each produced. There were 1000 Ford Puma Millennium editions produced and as of early 2016 there are now around 300 left. Each one was individually numbered, I own number Puma Millennium 186.


Ford Puma Millennium Review

In addition to the yellow paintwork, the interior is also unique amongst Pumas in that the seats are all recaro leather sports seats. Although other Pumas such as the Thunder and Black editions have leather seats only the Millenium has Recaros meaning some cars get broken purely for the seats.

The Puma Millennium (or as the DVLA specify on the V5C document, the Puma Millenium) has exactly the same engine and mechanicals as the standard Puma so performance is no different. However the Millenium was only produced with the 1.7 16V engine so no genuine Millennium editions exist with the 1.4 or 1.6 engines.


Puma Millennium interior with leather recaro sports seats

As a driver's car the Ford Puma is one of the most exceptional bargains at the moment. The drive and handling are superb even after this time although you want to make sure that all suspension components are still in good condition to get the best driving experience.

The 1.7 16V Zetec engine has variable cam technology and from around 4000rpm the engine just flies. The VCT Zetec engine is very flexible and pulls well all across the rev range which makes it a very popular donor engine for Fiestas giving another source of Pumas being broken for parts.


Unfortunately the Millennium edition suffers from the same rusting rear arches as the rest of the Ford Puma family although many of the ones I've seen seem to have less significant rust than other Pumas - maybe they were treated differently by owners as a special edition?


As with my standard Puma the fuel economy on the Millennium edition is very good and achieves 40mpg on average mixed driving. The fuel tank isn't massive so although you won't be spending a fortune to fill up you also won't have a massive range. I've only just managed to get over 300 miles from a tank up to now.


It's often suggested that the rear seats of the Puma aren't suitable for passengers but I've actually found them far more useful than expected. I previously drove a Porsche 911 and the Puma is much more comfortable than that!

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.