Andy661

Hi G0RSQ,

Thanks for taking the time to respond...

Judging by the maintenance history of the car that I have, its a 2003 with 51k on the clock and has never had the timing belt replaced, so I wouldn't even contemplate re-using the current belt and would tally with your suggestion that the belt is potentially very worn...

Thanks to the wisdom of this forum i'm consciously aware of the potential risks of dislodging liners by turning the crank with the head removed so that has never been an intention...

In my mind, I just want to be clear that so long as the cams are in the correct position, and the crank is in roughly the correct position, I could in theory remove the head, replace the gasket and refit the head... then once that is done i can set the correct timing of the crank before fitting the new belt?

flywheel locking tool should be arriving tomorrow, so it doesn't make a huge amount of difference if I have to wait another day, but being an engineer I have that nagging need to understand whats happening inside...

Thanks again!