Jrjg

There is a handy little 'window' in the wheel arch that you should be able to peep through, wheel will need to come off first though. If it is indeed the bottom boost pipe then just take the under tray off, refit and realign the pipes then get drilling. JRJG

Hard done by as in refusal share custody or see his son, then being sent to prison for trying to see his son. JRJG

The fella posted on the Facebook page. Seems he has been really hard done by. He also said it wasn't worth that much as there is some body work that needs doing. JRJG

Self tapping screws will be your cheapest and most permanent bodge if you need an easy way out. Through the sleeve and through the inner section too. Bang a few in at different 'points' I.e. Three o clock, six o clock, nine o clock for piece of mind. Held perfectly for me. JRJG

He missed out fitting bigger brakes though :tut: :tut:

I read this last week and meant to post it, what a brilliant add. Haha JRJG

The experience curve continues: Bought some hexes, a removal tool and headed out to Brown Cove Crags at Helvellyn again. This time with three friends, my main walking companion and two less experienced friends (luckily they chose the grade two scramble up one of the gullies). Dave and I chose the grade 3, we harnessed, roped up and started to practice 'moving together'. In very rudimentary terms. We succeeded in finding natural anchors, although we never actually placed the hexes. So under prepared. I had seen the forecast (full sunshine, 15°c) and hadn't in the slightest anticipated there being snow on the ground. Bad form by me. Hence we had not brought crampons or ice axes. This made the traversing across to the start of the grade 3, down climbing a gully 50m or so to get to a chimney particularly hazardous. Thankfully the snow was soft enough to kick toes into and made for good holds. Then came the chimney. Three quarters of it was a simple enough snow slog, the last quarter however, was a definite climb. In snow. With no crampons, axes or adequate protection. The dog went in my ruck sack once things got too steep even for a Quattro enabled creature. Once out of the chimney there was still a few obstacles that really had us pinned down and thinking on our feet. We came away from it humbled. I intend to forego further grade 3 scrambles in snow, in favour of grade 2 where we can plod along practicing our moving together and protection placement. The day after my friend went straight upto Keswick and spent £200 on rope, slings and a full set of nuts. We now have nuts, removal tool, slings, hexes, rope, belay devices and harnesses. I will be buying some more slings as they would of been ideal as easy pro on natural anchors whilst moving together, also requiring little effort to remove/'clean'. We'll both be watching many a 'moving together how to' tutorial online before our next outing too. We knew we were out of our depth when I came across old pitons hammered into the Rock... Not particularly encouraging to see when you intended to be scrambling, and definitely not rock climbing! Off to the wall again tonight to continue practicing lead climbing. Also off to Lancaster Grand Theatre tomorrow night to see the 'Banff Film festival' a collection of adventure, mountaineering and climbing short films. Should make for interesting viewing. I await your abuse and concerns for being ill equipped and under prepared! I'll accept it on the chin. JRJG

No longer for sale.

Rare to find if I remember rightly. Dealers may be an option, although they may of been discontinued. eBay may be your best bet. JRJG

Buy the 335d estate... Serious car. Stop worrying about dpf's, as mentioned above, you do enough mileage. Get ready for back end action (is that a euphemism ) JRJG

In a word: Yes. Over 100k you'll be wanting to prepare yourself for clutch, turbo and bushes. If you can find one that has had a recent clutch/turbo replacement then winner winner. JRJG

Fair enough, piece of mind that way isn't there.

Just come back from a ski trip in Austria, had a huge amount of snow down over the week. Me and my climbing friend were drooling at some of the arètes and frozen waterfalls there. On one of the busiest days we had (queueing for thirty minutes for lifts at one point!) I really wished I had left the snowboard in the chalet, hired boots, crampons and an ice axe and gone for a hike. It would of been much more enjoyable.

Got my first piece of 'rack' today for a birthday present: A Dmm bug belay device with locking karabiner. I keep looking at bits and bats on EBay. What is the general conensus on buying second hand gear, in my opinion I'd be happy to trust it as long as it hasn't got a crack/tear in it. But what do others think? In the ideal world I'd buy everything brand new but I don't have an endless budget. Luckily I may be able to halve some costs with my friend (rope, quick draws, maybe cams), especially if it is just the two of us climbing somewhere and therefore only needing one rope, one set of quick draws etc, makes sense to halve the price. JRJG

If it's at 150k and you have no plans to tune it (perhaps wise on an engine and auxiliaries with that mileage) then you won't go wrong with fitting a standard dual mass flywheel and a new clutch. Sachs get the best reviews. Had you noticed any signs of slip recently? JRJG

Off to Ischgl in Austria tomorrow morning, forecast is snow snow snow. They've had reportedly up to a metre at upper level in the last week. Low level lenses required I think for the next week though, set for more snow. Get plenty of off pisting done hopefully. Try this new Arbor A Frame snowboard out JRJG

Will consider offers JRJG

To quote from a climbing book I was reading recently; "With adventure comes danger. Just ask all my friends who have died in the mountains". That's one of the things that gives climbing, mountaineering, scrambling etc it's appeal. Mankind's instinct of curiousity and exploration! I'll do my best to stay safe, the learning curve is steep and unapologetic. I intend to spend many many hours (and then many more) preparing and gaining experience yet before even considering booking flights to Geneva. JRJG

Not at all Breckie, I definitely realise that six hours spent wandering up a reasonably steep mountain, in poor conditions in the Lakes is nothing compared to even winter conditions in Scotland, never mind the Alps! My main aim from the scrambling, as well as the scrambling still to come (lots planned!) is to gain some experience in scramble/climbing in boots. I'm also well aware that grades mean next to nothing when comparing indoor/outdoor climbs. I'm sure that pushing myself indoors will only ever help and won't hinder when we finally get climbing outside. I'm fully expecting to attempt my first moderate outdoor rock climb (more than likely being top roped or seconding) and be shaking like a leaf. Although I'd like to think some of the 'off the beaten track' scrambling I have done will prepare me slightly for the exposure, I'm sure most rock climbs are far more intimidating. I appreciate your comments, I'd say you're no killjoy, more a concerned spectator trying to ensure I don't kill myself! JRJG

Slap them on EBay perhaps Hutchy, at least there you're not restricted to a mainly vag owning audience. JRJG

Or boost leak possibly. Regarding the Fmic: best value has to be picking up a good condition second hand one. Keep your eye on the for sale section, but you may have to be patient. Have a search in this (Fabia 1) section for fmic - you should be able to find the thread posted a little while ago exploring a very cheap unbranded Chinese made Ebay fmic, along with a cheap ebay hardpipe kit. Not sure what it's total price was, but considerably less than the Darkside/Airtec setups. JRJG

You can get a custom remap for less than £300, usually if it is done via logs rather than on a rolling road. Where a bouts are you based? Has the turbo or clutch ever been replaced, these are things you need to consider as at that mileage they will already be, well let's say 'not at their best'. JRJG

Spent about three and half hours last night at the wall. Learnt to lead climb, finished the night leading a 6a+ and a 6b. Really happy with myself! Lead climbing is already by far my favourite type. So much more involving and challenging, even the belaying is more enjoyable as there is more to do than just take in slack. Also practiced falling from well above the previous clip, to simulate failing to clip into the next quickdraw and falling as a consequence. Took me a little while to build up to it, so unnatural to throw yourself off a wall. I need to trust my gear more. Also need to buy some quickdraws so we can practice once we're signed off clipping into bolt holes (there are a few smaller walls with just bolt holes) and then I suppose come late Spring/Summer we'll need to buy nuts/hexes etc. still a lot to learn. JRJG

To avoid starting a new thread: Which bushes need replacing for a general 'they've done 115k so will be tired by now' overhaul? I'm replacing both rear shocks as one is leaking slightly, so I imagine the other isn't far off. I also have an irritating squeak when going over speed bumps, as well as a squeak when getting into the car. So which ones are needing changed: Console bushes, Lower arm bushes, Anti roll bar bushes? All of the above and more, are there any that I have missed out? I am planning on doing them all, just so I can tick them all off. Just need an idea as to what I need to buy so I can budget for it. Not uprating, just replacing with OEM or as good as. Many thanks in advance JRJG

Interesting! Thank you for clarifying. JRJG