I have 2021 Vauxhall Combo 1.5 diesel. This has reported issues with the camchain that links the camshafts – there is also a dry belt from the crankshaft. The smaller Fords use the same engine. Currently for the 1.5 engine there is change of oil spec from Jan this year that even the dealers don’t know about and a revised set of camshafts, 8mm pitch chain and rocker cover (not cheap!) that seem to be impossible to get hold of. If the current chain goes pop the engine is lunched.

I expected emission control issues on a modern engine, but not basic engine architecture.

Sobering

https://www.data-avalanche.org/avalanche/1713293054366

The lift closed on Friday and on Monday, as they were PREPARING for avalanche control to ensure the closing of the mountain was safe, this happened.  Under that snow there a number of avalance defences that were simply overwhelmed.

We took the plunge and bought a 3yo Peugeot e-2008 with 20000 miles on it. Now the charger install shenannigans can begin…

Both to 8 years.

EDIT: Or 100000 miles. That might be the clincher…

We have been looking at used electric cars. We have narrowed it down to 2 near us, one is 4 years old Pug 2008 with 68000 miles on the clock, the other is a 3 years old Corsa, with 19000 on the clock.

Will do about 12000 a year.

Both are identical in terms of battery and drive,  the Corsa costs a bit more at £13000, Vs the 2008 at just sub £12000. The 2008 is a bit bigger and nicer inside.

Should the 50k extra miles put us off?

@Pat12 There are good recommendations above. My observations would be that you can get everything you want in a mega resort like La Plagne, but you pay for the access to a massive area, and little legs might not be up to it, and it is unlikely to be optimum value for money.

My boys, now 10 and 13, have graduated from ski school. We religiously put them in each holiday, but they often leapt up multiple levels as we would get meaningful practice in in Scotland.

They started their learning at Aussois, in the Haute Maurienne, just south of the 3Valleys. Aussois is odd in that it is south facing, and small. Although it has a total of 8 lifts, 90% is covered by two high speed 6 man chairs. Everything funnels down to one point, and you can’t get lost or go wrong. It is a perfect Sunny beginner friendly resort.

From there we moved on to Val Cenis, also in the Haute Maurienne. Here you will find 125km of piste, all on the north facing side of the valley. The bottoms of the lifts are spread throughout the 3 main centres that make up the resort, and are linked by bus if you need to take an easier route home. Almost all of the accommodation is in the valley bottom along the road so you won’t be in an apartment on a steep hillside.

The skiing ranges from around 1400m to 2800m, and we haven’t found it lacking at Easter for the past few years. We have been with the extended family with 10 adults and 11 kids (3-13) and everyone is catered for skiing-wise.

VC is just big enough to allow kids to get a decent shot in ski school in the morning and then ski the whole area in the afternoon. To that is simply impossible in La Plagne. An adult can only ski for an hour and a half before returning to collect the kids, and then your afternoon adventure is limited to less than the whole area.

Another benefit to the Haute Maurienne resorts is that the skipass covers the “home” resort for every day,.and you get one day at each of the other 4 resorts – La Norma, Valfrejus, Aussois and Bonneval sur Arc. You really can have a ski safari adventure, but do need a car.

VC offer discounts of up to 60% on liftpasses booked in advance via their website. You can get a week for less than £100. I booked our ski passes for Easter 2023 on the day after the 2021/22 season ended and saved a fortune. Alternatively book last minute with Sunweb or Snowtrex and you may get accomodation and liftpass included for less.than £200 per person

We had a fantastic week in Paradiski last week (30 March – 6 April). This week we are in St. Sorlin d’Arves in Les Sybelles. The high temps have had a massive impact and the Le Corbier sector is closed, along with all the lower villages. There are couple of runs above La Toussuire, and the links over to St Sorlin are intact, but everything is very sticky, even at 2500m. Water is pouring off the mountain.

We decided not to ski today as it was pissing with rain this morning ,and gradually turned to snow this PM. It is freezing outside now at 1600m, so hopefully things will have freshened and firmed up a bit tomorrow.

This week only cost an extra £175 pp for accommodation and liftpass, and we knew in advance it was the last week of the season. Even so, a lot of  local bars and restaurants are already shut. On Friday we’ll start the drive back to Scotland, where I think conditions have been similar!

Does anyone use an audible additive? I have purchased a 125ml bottle of Wynn’s Crystal Clear. I am a bit nervous about putting it in the tank.

I think Matt is talking about straight-up redundancy, not being declared surplus. I work in Clacks which I think has a “no-redundancy for teachers” policy, but Stirling will be different.

Currently EIS rep is shrugging shoulders and being chocolate fireguard/parroting employers statements without checking LNCT/Job Contract.

Sadly, this is what I expect from the EIS. Contact the the main office and explain that the Local Rep is unable to provide clarity.

Holey Moley. Tyres are expensive. I recently bought a new to me car. I wanted All Seasons. National Tyres had a deal on Rotalla Setulas (budget) for 4 for less than £200. I bought them as I am not a performace user.

(Un)Fortunately they weren’t available, and I was offered Falken As210s instead for the same price. The garage that supplied my car bought back the part worn Continental ECO-summer-whatevs for £35 each, leaving me with 4 new not-quite-the-top-of the-pack-but-still-decent All Season tyres for a total of outlay of £36. I think that was just right place right time. I hope thay last more than 12K!

I have a large Thule Alpine something-hundred roofbox. I moved to aerobars with t-track fitting. To make this as secure as possible I fabricated some large 2 or 3mm alloy spreader plates and rivetted and jbweleded them inside the box covering the hole zone. I then re-drilled the holes. The plates are maybe 100mm wide, 300mm long.

I reckon the t-track bolt to the box is a stronger interface than the t-track head in the track on the roof bar now.

Generally my roofbox is rammed full with skis and poles, then boots and helmets, then soft stuff. Once the lid is closed, nothing is moving in there.

I trust the 3 point locking mechanism. I notice all the Dutch and Belgians have an extra orange strap flapping about around the outside of the box. I award points for outstanding vibro-strap.

I don’t know about Serre Che and Montgenevre but it has been dumping in Risoul, Vars and Les Orres.

We are off to Paradiski on 30 March for 1 week based at Les Coaches for easy access to Les Arcs and wider La Plagne.

After much deliberation we have just booked for the following week, 6 April, at St Sorlin d’Arves, for the princely sum of £700, all in, accomodation in a 6 bed appt with an indoor pool, and lift passes for 4 of us. It could be a disaster of late season speculation, or it could be the bargain holiday that we bang on about for years.

2 years ago we paid £536 for 4, appt and liftpasses in Valfrejus, and had a brilliant time in the Haute Maurienne. Here’s hoping that Les Sybelles deliver. Paradiski is a hard act to follow, so expectations are tempered.

I work in pastoral care in a secondary school. We are overrun with bullying over Snapchat, occasionally Instagram, WhatsApp doesn’t even feature EVER.

It is all about being added to groups and then slated, or fake accounts spreading malicious rumours. I’d also add that it isn’t always just children. Often it is parents too.

I get confronted with a raging Mum who wants me to listen to the recording of her having a foul mouthed barney with another Mum via Snapchat, at the weekend, and then demands that I do something about it!

@mc If you were here, I’d give you a kiss. I have disconnected the 5 connections at the fusebox, and normality is restored. I havd already disconnected the fuse piggybacks, btu removing pins 47, 49 and 52 did it (see stage 18)  I assume these issues will be resolved when I get it coded. It will remain unconnected until then.

Absolutely sick with worry…

I am certain that both fobs are fine. Once the car has been unlocked with the key, they will lock it and unlock it no problem until the car goes to sleep – interior lights go off and dash goes dark. After that they won’t unlock it.

Both keys do exactly the same. Due to the fact they both work to lock/unlock the car after it has been used. I am convinced that it is an issue with the reciever on the car now going to sleep for some reason.

I might have disturbed a SHUNT fuse or something – https://frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=63248&start=15

Yes, I have tried that and a BSI reset. It isn’t that the fob doesn’t work, because it does once the car has been manually unlocked.

It is more that the centreal locking signal reciever is going to sleep after a few minutes of the car being locked, and can’t be “woken” by the key fob signal.

OP + 1. It could be age (48), but I really don’t like how I am at the moment. I seem to lurch from worry-crisis to worry-crisis.

Has anyone seen any good uninsulated ski trousers in the sales?

Decathlon do some good Simond branded ones.

I am considering a week in Le Corbier (Les Sybelles) for the 2nd week in April (from Sat 6 April), but despite @Highlandman ‘s glowing report above, the webcams are totally putting me off.

https://www.le-corbier.com/en/webcams/

Especially the Front de Neige Le Corbier. Brown snow is not a good look…

Am I over thinking?

Amateurs! Let it form a puddle on the floor, than unwittingly stand in it, then traipse it the through the house. The carpets will do a very effective job of getting it off your shoes.

Thanks @Wally , I have bought the specific Can-Bus kit for the vehicle from PFJones. I haven’t bought the towbar yet as I am overthinking it.

I will fit it all myself and get the vehicle coded to recognise the wiring kit.

I had to withdraw some funds this week #gutted

I am in the “ignore at your peril” group.

I did myself in trying an 8 mile each way commute, 5 days a week. The problem is I always NEED to go as fast as I can. In the morning its getting the kids out the house and to the childminder, then getting to the commute, getting to work and then getting changed and ready for work. I am on the go all day and sometimes don’t eat or drink or pee, then bolting home at the last miniute to get kids and take to Judo or swimming or Cubs etc. I felt I was going to have a heart attack, die in a car crash (part car, part bike commute), or get fired.

I was getting dizzy spells with retina burn type blotches in my vision, particularly riding home, knackered.

An ebike has helped a lot, but I haven’t been able to do it since November – illness, wheels rebuilt, other stressors, school being inspected, etc.

I am going to try again from 1 March. I won’t be putting the studded tyres on!

I have had both done as a former intensive ww Kayaker. Thigs should get better whn the swelling goes down, Do you have any swelling at the elbow too?

I crashed in the halfpipe at Tignes a couple of weeks before the 2nd operation. I absolutely mullered my wrist, bending it right back with a nasty crunch, to the extent that I initially thought I’d broken it. I also forced so much snow into my left ear that I knocked a perfect cast of my ear out into the palm of my hand!

Anyway, when the pain subsided – hours, not days – my wrist felt as good as new. When I contacted the surgeon and said “I’m cured!” he wasn’t having any of it and I still went under the knife!

Thanks for all the advice. I have sold it to Arnold Clark for £900 and will be a buying a 2021 Vauxhall Combo with 30000 on it.

Throwing money at the Doblo gearbox could well have been a fools errand.

I bled a friend’s brake with water halfway down the KLL side of the Devil’s Staircase. We went on to ride the Cieran Path and no-one died. I did warn him to keep the speed generally low. It was sub-zero too.

He popped a piston in a cack handed and ill-timed pad change.

Cairngorm have managed to destroy their skier customer base. It used to be that 4 out of every 10 skier says in Scotland we’re at Cairngorm. Now it is less than 1 in 10.

I destroyed a SunRingle where the actual hub shell deformed around the ratchet ring, which was also egg shaped. There was no coming back from that. I have moved to DTSwiss Ratchet drive hubs now. I blame singlespeeding in my younger days….

IMO the fork is wrecked. The sliders are corroded and the seal has popped out for a reason. Clamp the steerer and cut off through the spacers.

I have had Gen3 Levo cut out, but only once or twice I think, but I actually think it is the battery connector rattling loose. It threw an error message in the app, but once cleared, it disappeared. Once I had the codes, but hadn’t noticed anything as I think it happend on a ragged downhill.

I had over-run issues with a Gen1 Levo, and the motor was replaced 3 times. I think the sprag bearing or torque sensor can cause the over-run.

It is kinder to the motor to sit and spin at a higher cadence, rather than grind out climbs single-speed-style.

I have concerns about motor noise as it heats up. Mine is now noticably loud once the motor warms up after 30mins+ of climbing.

I bought DIY Kitchens for the units and the worktops. The units were all delivered fully built and I have had no concerns regarding quality.

I bought all the appliances from eBay on 20% off deals. Usually from AO as they didn’t increase prices, and they offered reconditioned stuff.  I spent 6 months hoovering up bargains and the spare room was full with oven, fridge, induction hob, dishwasher, extractor and sink.

IME, French cookies are much drier than British ones.

Good find. I have Doblo Mk2, so logged in my memory for future.

Col de la Mousiere carrying a 25kg Specialized Levo nearly ended me. It was so bad that in reflective enjoyment I thought “It can’t have been that bad!”, so went and did it again. It was that bad. I think I hallucinated at the Col.

Last time I climbed straight up the bowl on the west side. That was still physically hard, even on the Levo, but ridable. A full squad of Pyrenean Mountain Dogs (at least 9, plus 2 Collies) made it a memorable ride. Asseye toi!

I climbed Cairngorm via Fiacaill Ridge, with the bike (Giant Reign) strapped to my back and the wheels in my hands, using them like walking sticks. It meant I wasn’t always carrying the weight, and they provided stability and balance. It worked well.  Never go through the Chalamain Gap with a bike though, and defo not in the snow. 3D cold, slippy, rocky, wrestle-a-bike.

How do I do it with the multimeter? Normally I might test brown to blue, looking for 230v, but what would i earth the Earth to?

Today the fitter has identified that all the copper pipework and the earth circuit is slightly live! It doesn’t shock, but his magic pen thing lights up. The electrician is going to have to get to the bottom of that too…