Thanks chaps, yikes

Ford garage said they used all the stuff you'd normally try - penetrating oil, heat etc but as said they told me nothing worked. Here's the horror stories I found earlier:

https://passionford.com/forum/esp_se...+belt&type=gcs

...what's a Ford Puma Timing Tool?? As you can see some folks have had right trouble and written in to here for urgent help. I appreciate you've all managed it but to me it sounds like a nightmare - for a start, I'm just assuming you did it all with the engine still in the car?!?

What's piss easy for some can write off a car for others I'm about happy doing a CVH belt (not a trained mechanic) but these Zetecs are way more complex, saying that I'm sure I could change a silvertop belt but all this VCT floating pulleys & pins etc on the SE just freaks me out

When I said drop a silvertop straight in I know the manifolds are different, I'd use adapter plates / get another manif for exhaust also I guess top rear engine mount might be different but will it go in other than that, on the 1.8 or 1.6 sump and using existing (1.7) flywheel & clutch? Also is there anything electrical that might not work, like will the old VCT module be okay with nothing to control etc? I'm sure I read about someone on here with a 2.0 blacktop in theirs...

Other than that doubt I'll have the bottle to get stuck in myself, prob take to a non-dealer garage for this job or drive til it breaks won't be paying £790 though fo sho