I've had my Cougar for a few months now...

martw80888

martw80888

Club Member
May 25, 2015
2,142
3,656
Poole, Dorset
...and I only discovered this forum a couple of weeks ago! I've been lurking for a bit so thought I was time to say hello. I bought a black V6 last September (I say "I" bought, really my wife owns half of it - I'm fortunate enough to be married to someone who likes Fords almost as much as I do). We got it from a used car dealer who'd got it from an older couple in part-ex on (of all things) a Peugeot 307CC.

It's fairly clean, there are a few dings and scratches on it - it does seem to be a magnet for those, probably as a result of having no rubbing strips down the side, but I do tend to think that if you get too precious about that sort of thing you'd never enjoy driving it anywhere :). It's completely bog-standard, apart from some clear side repeaters (they were fitted within 2 days of getting it home - can't stand orange ones!)

I'd put a couple of pictures up but I can't figure out how to (slightly embarrassing...), can someone help me with that? I don't normally do a lot of posting on forums, and when I do I usually struggle with getting to grips with it.
 
Mines an ebony too.
Shows every little dint and scratch until you take a pic.
At this point they magically disappear.
Mine was relatively mark free when I got it.
Supermarket car parks and wayward children on scooters soon put pay to that.
Can't justify the cost of repairs yet until I can get somewhere alternative to park it.
 
Glad you're enjoying it mate. I don't worry too much about those little body bits and pieces after all you can't see them from the driver's seat!
 
Hi and welcome to ukcougar.org, your in the right place for all things cougar related. You will also be able to find all the fixes you need in our subscriber sections. Have a browse around the open forums and get a feel for the place. Remember! ukcougar.org is the only workshop manual for the big cat.
You can get you photos and vid clips etc uploaded to photobucket, then download them to the forum. THIS should get you started. (y)
 
martw80888 said:
It's completely bog-standard, apart from some clear side repeaters (they were fitted within 2 days of getting it home - can't stand orange ones!)
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I like you already. Welcome to the club.

martw80888 said:
I'd put a couple of pictures up but I can't figure out how to
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I don't see the forum the way you do, so will stop short of local advice. But you could use Photobucket or Imgur and just post links here.
 
Thanks for all the warm welcomes, I think I might have the picture posting thing sussed:

Cougar1_zpsrrjuxdve.jpg
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Cougar2_zps0yrbnx8b.jpg
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There we go. It's not without its problems but nothing too serious. Upcoming jobs include (but may not be limited to):


Remove and clean IAC valve - one for this weekend if the weather stays good

Replace RH front wishbone - the one that's on there looks like the original and is very crusty, one for some time in the next few weeks when my brother-in-law's free to give me a hand

Odd little bits of rust treatment on sills and arches

Rear subframe - I was underneath it looking at this the other day, it's still solid, no holes, but pretty crusty, think I'm gonna get back under and give it a good going over with some rust treatment and give a coat of paint - I know I'm only delaying the inevitable - I had a problem with one of the anti roll bar brackets snapping off at Christmas, fortunately I have a decent garage near me who were able to weld it back up and reinforce it ready for the MOT back in February. I'm hoping that a bit of treatment now should help it hold together for a while, I think I'm gonna be looking around for a new one next year though

Investigate mystery problem with left rear light cluster


I hear that if I ask nicely and promise to supply tea/coffee/food/booze there's a chance of getting some help with big jobs like replacing the aforementioned subframe? If that's the case, then I may be wanting to take advantage of that, although hopefully not til next year. I will get around to subscribing soon too so I can get to all the handy looking info on this site - I've found that a Haynes manual for a Mondeo will only get you so far...
 
Thanks for all the warm welcomes, you lot are a friendly bunch. I did try to post a reply earlier on, I managed to get a couple of photos in it too, but after I hit post it just disappeared - something flashed up briefly about it being moderated but then nothing more. I'm curious now to see if this post shows up - I guess if it does then that means the other one's been lost. I did end up taking my time over it cos I kept getting distracted and maybe it just timed out. If that's the case then no worries, I'll try again tomorrow.
 
martw80888 said:
Thanks for all the warm welcomes, you lot are a friendly bunch. I did try to post a reply earlier on, I managed to get a couple of photos in it too, but after I hit post it just disappeared - something flashed up briefly about it being moderated but then nothing more. I'm curious now to see if this post shows up - I guess if it does then that means the other one's been lost. I did end up taking my time over it cos I kept getting distracted and maybe it just timed out. If that's the case then no worries, I'll try again tomorrow.
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It should be there now.
It had to be approved because of the photos which I have now done. (y)
 
martw80888 said:
<Pics cropped from reply>

There we go. It's not without its problems but nothing too serious.
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Lordy, that is one smooooth Ebony. You should be very pleased.

martw80888 said:
Replace RH front wishbone - the one that's on there looks like the original and is very crusty, one for some time in the next few weeks when my brother-in-law's free to give me a hand
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What about the nearside one? Please don't tell me that someone replaced just one side and the nearside's newer? I'll resist going on a rant, but you absolutely must do both at once unless you know their provenance. Mixing them up is a good way of exploring Britain's hedgerows.


martw80888 said:
Rear subframe - I was underneath it looking at this the other day, it's still solid, no holes, but pretty crusty, think I'm gonna get back under and give it a good going over with some rust treatment and give a coat of paint - I know I'm only delaying the inevitable - I had a problem with one of the anti roll bar brackets snapping off at Christmas, fortunately I have a decent garage near me who were able to weld it back up and reinforce it ready for the MOT back in February. I'm hoping that a bit of treatment now should help it hold together for a while, I think I'm gonna be looking around for a new one next year though
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Just go for it. Based on my recent experience, I don't think you'll be delaying anything (and possibly making things worse) if you just do the visible parts of it. You could do this job in a day if you aren't replacing anything else and start early enough for the paint to dry.

martw80888 said:
Investigate mystery problem with left rear light cluster
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I hate doing auto electrics, but would like to hear what the problem is please. What's it doing?


martw80888 said:
I hear that if I ask nicely and promise to supply tea/coffee/food/booze there's a chance of getting some help...
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You don't actually need to be a subscriber, but as a new member it will buy you a lot of goodwill - after all, you are a long way away from most of us and it would represent a big investment in fuel and time unless you can find someone near the midlands with room on their drive. Of course, that's not impossible either.

Good luck on your journey!
 
Mako said:
Lordy, that is one smooooth Ebony. You should be very pleased.
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To be fair, that was just after a wash and a going over with some Demon Shine, it certainly doesn't look like that everyday, especially once the seagulls at work have had their way with it! But yes, very pleased thanks.


Mako said:
What about the nearside one? Please don't tell me that someone replaced just one side and the nearside's newer? I'll resist going on a rant, but you absolutely must do both at once unless you know their provenance. Mixing them up is a good way of exploring Britain's hedgerows.
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Almost hate to admit it now, but yes, the nearside one does look newer - a whole lot newer as it happens. I don't know when it was done - I got very little history with the car (I got the service book full of Ford main dealer stamps but no receipts for anything). However, at the risk of incurring your wrath, at £150 a go I'm only doing the one for now.


Mako said:
I hate doing auto electrics, but would like to hear what the problem is please. What's it doing?
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Odd one this. When I indicate left, the left rear indicator is dim and the left brake light flashes dimly in time with it. If I brake while indicating left (therefore lighting up the brake lights) the indicator doubles in speed - come off the brakes and it slows back to normal. The sidelight and reversing light on the left side behave completely normally and don't seem to be affected. This only started happening in the last couple of weeks, and annoyingly it doesn't happen all the time which makes it even harder to pin down.
I've had similar problems in the past with other cars (an old Sierra and my wife's old Escort), that was caused by water ingress causing corrosion inside the cluster. I'm suspecting that something similar has happened here although I've had a quick look and the wiring, bulbs and bulb holders all seem OK, there's nothing immediately obvious wrong with them. I need to have a closer look at the weekend.


Mako said:
You don't actually need to be a subscriber, but as a new member it will buy you a lot of goodwill - after all, you are a long way away from most of us and it would represent a big investment in fuel and time unless you can find someone near the midlands with room on their drive. Of course, that's not impossible either.
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Subscribing will happen, it just has to wait until payday. Of course, I would never just expect the help, especially with me being a complete stranger to all of you, and if I did need to ask I would be more than happy to attempt to find a suitable place nearer to those doing the helping.
 
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