Hi All, 

I habeca ford focus mk2, 1.6 diesel with 100,000 on tjecclock. So I'm looking to do a cam belt change. The garages are asking  £380. The parts, including water pump are 120. I'm handy with a spanner and judging from the manual it seems pretty straight forward. With the help if a 5mm and 8mm drill bit to pick the cogs. Or do you think it's worth paying the garage as it's a nightmare job that can go wrong easily.

Thanks for any help on this.

Depends on how confident you are, have you done anything like this before? I've done it on a Mondeo, take your time follow the instruction and you should be alright. Aproper locking tool is the best bet rather than relying on a couple of  drill bits that could snap.

Pretty simple on the 1.6TDCi...even I managed it.  

You can check out @TomsFocus guide here . I have the same engine and just took the cover off to check the condition of the belt and it looks good. 

 

Unless its hanging on on by a thread you can't accurately assess a belts condition without removing it.  Of course, once you've removed a belt to examine it and taken it out of tension its very questionable to re-use it anyway, so there's no substitute for just fitting a new one if there's the slightest doubt at all.

Hi all, 

Very much appreciate all your comments. I've changed everything from springs to brakes so I should be ok to go. I'll take your advice and order a locking tool. Roll on a dry sunny day to give myself some knuckle rash.

Thanks