You will have to be extremely careful, maybe the crank/cam pulleys on this engine have no Woodruff key in which case loosen it and all bets are off unless you have the timing locking kit, thats possibly what Haynes is referring to.

Volvo engines of 70/80's were probably the best of the lot for this, a new belt would be marked by the manufacturer and those marks would correspond to marks on the pulleys, so it mattered not where anything was on the non interfence engine, you simply could not get it wrong, all sprockets locked with Woodruff keys...oh joy....just thought i'd mention that...:-)

KISS keep it s.....g simple.

''Bet this was done to save a few pence in manufacture!''

The cynic in me thinks its more about making things as difficult and expensive as possible for aftermarket repair outside the dealer network, too expensive to maintain/repair means new car more economical in the eyes of many.

Pleased you're going to persevere and DIY it though, not led by the nose and bent over like too many are.

Have you had a poke nose on the usual auction type sites for timing kits? i haven't but i would expect them to be available.

Thanks for all the comments and I agree with what you have to say.

I am reluctant to accept that I cannot do this job but due to time constraints and my gut feeling that something might go wrong and cause damage that would easily cost much more that getting a garage to do this job.

My wife likes her fiesta and it has been very reliable, only thing that seems to go are rear wheel bearings, I think water must get in, we have replaced both sides and the pass side needs changing again.

Cheers, Oldrover