wouldnt worry about condition of old belt unless there are clear signs its not running true., such as more wear on one side of teeth than other..from that pic, cant see any problem..but as you've said, changing it anyway is good practice, replacing a used belt is a gamble that could cost

dont forget you really need to change tensioner too, should be supplied if you buy a timing belt kit

Cheers, Wase.

I've just fitted the new belt and tensioner, and the Ford Workshop Manual talks about tensioning the belt using an allen key.

However, I'm sure I read somewhere that on this 'newer' type of tensioner, I just bolt it on then pull the pin (hand grenade style) and Bob's my uncle. Tensioning is done automatically.

Is that correct?

they are different tensioners, not sure if they are interchangable.

think there were 2 types of tensioner that were sprung loaded and adjusted with allan key [again, not sure if they were interchangable)

the other was an auto tensioner that once all was bolted up/timing set, pull the pin

so depends which type you have, if new one is different, would double check if they are interchangable

The old one and the new one are the same - and the new one had a pin to pull out. The old one had a hole where the pin would have gone so I assume they both tension automatically.

On another note, I've tightened the crank pulley bolt but I'm not sure I've got it to 40 Nm plus 90 degrees - mainly because my screwdriver slipped put of the flywheel while I was tightening it those 90 degrees.

Be that as it may, I ended up pushing hard on a 23" handle attached to an 18mm socket on the bolt and it wouldn't turn any more. I've got it to about 150 Nm.

Will that be enough?

Needless to say, it would be something of a nuisance if I tore the head off the bolt or even rounded the corners, rendering it immovable.

And why can't Ford just give us a total tightening torque in Nm?

As long as its tight I would not worry about it, as you say it would not move any more, personally as for this type of thing I dont get hung up on torque of bolts, rebuilding an engine yes, putting something on No, so I would of put a little bit thread lock on for good measure and piece of mind as torque of bolts can be affected by dirt in threads old bolts to new bolts ect so as i said in these cases I take it with a pinch of salt, you know if its tight enough.

The job's done and the car started perfectly - and it drives as well as it ever did too!

Many, many thanks to all who've offered advice and support on this thread.

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D