Ford Puma - any good + what is a Nikasil Lining?

The message from "mlv" contains these words:

Google too clever for you, is it? (insert smiley of choice here).

It should be a very hard wearing liner and has been used in two stroke engines to good effect. IIRC it does mean that it can't be rebored though.

In theory yes, but in practice, all the Yamaha designed 1.25 / 1.4 / 1.6 /

Tim..

I have been known to master it - on a good day. ;-)

Never gave Google a thought, to be honest.

I really wanted owner's feedback on Pumas and added the Nikasil question while I was at it.

However, Nikasil does seem a good reason not to buy a 1.7 Puma (or several models of BMW, for that matter).

I wasn't aware anyone had built an engine like that. It's a bit s*it, innit?

Not if they never go wrong :-)

Chris

Should the design be exclusive to Honda then?

That's very s*it for anyone who prefers to run older cars rather than pay the depreciation on newer ones..... I've never had a crank problem on a car, but I'd hate to scrap a perfectly good car because some idiot decided that you never needed to replace crank bearings.

How did they manage that? Rivet them on? Can't weld alloy main bearing ladder to iron block. Have to get exactly the right bearings as some have extra crush to compensate for oval main bearing bores.

Nikasil is Nickel Silicon and is a ceramic. Only way to repair is grind Nikasil coating off, then put a new coating on and regrind that to stock size, or replace block. There will be no rebores as no oversize pistons. Very hard wearing and long lasting so long as you use low sulphur petrol.

BMW had a lot of issues with Nikasil as UK government allowed the UK petrol co's to sell cheap low quality fuel made from oil stocks that had high sulphur the in UK long after the rest of Europe had gone to low sulphur.

You can replace the big ends IIRC (but don't exchange the bearing caps as they are matched) and it is also possible looking at it to feed the pistons up the bores and swap them.

If the crank journals or mains go though it's scrap.

Well I have a 2001 Ford Puma Black - owned from new.

Anyone who has read the thread I started about how to cut costs on annual servicing will see that I'm looking to change this car in the near future as they are NOT family friendly and we just had twins!

With a disabled relative who is wheelchair bound - getting the wheelchair in was a performance in itself. The rear seats do fold down but it's more hassle than a conventional hatchback to do it.

The boot space is very small although quite deep. Your golf clubs would be more comfortable across the back seat!

The car itself runs like a dream. I have never had any problems other than a derailed electric window which had to be reset.You can throw this car round corners etc and it holds the road beautifully. It has the required amount of 'oomph' to whizz past other vehicles quickly on overtaking.

To fill the tank up from empty will cost you about £35ish.

I'm not a techie so cannot talk technicalities but as a very satisfied owner of one - which I will be very sad to part with - I can say it is a brilliant little car.

chas

In article , mlv writes

Chap at work has a late model Puma. I've noticed it's already going rotten around the rear wheel arches. Can ask him what he thinks of the car if you like.

OK, thanks.

Guess he might still like it, even if it is prematurely converting to ferrous oxide.

Mike Tomlinson wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@jasper.org.uk:

A lot of cars have a kind of lip inside the rear arch that collects dirt. IME, relatively few car owners bother to clean this out or are even aware that it exists (some cars, like my Volvo, don't have it because the plastic liner covers it). I may be wrong, but I believe that this collection of dirt is the main reason that some modern cars continue to develop rust there. I always used to wash the dirt out with a hose and my fingers. Might be worth doing as a preventative measure, if you do go for a Puma.

Alusil. Although before that in the USA, they went back to cast iron blocks for the sixes.

It was my understanding the high sulphur petrol was imported rather than refined in the UK and only sold through some 'independant' garages and some supermarkets in the north of England and Ireland

Yep, my celica has quite a lip on the rear arches - and quite a lot of accumulated mud.. rust doesn't seem to be an issue with those though....

My old saab 900 had lipless arches which were easy to clean and held off rust well. Very few rust-traps on that car - quite good for an essentially

Very true. I have a 1990 Celica GT4. About the only rust it has, is on the exhaust pipe clamps and bolts. None on the wheel arches or bodywork. Mike.