Have I made a costly mistake?

I thought I had, now I'm doubting my self. It felt like it would only go in one position. It sort of slotted in.

when i had my water pump done it took 2 weeks for the water to settle down and that was after
i had bled the pipes

I always try to force the water around. But I forced oil out from when gasket went on previous owner

*minty* said:

Head gasket guys?

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Although the K series blows more head gaskets than it should you shouldn't jump to conclusions. Before you replaced the thermostat there were no overheating issues so that is where you should be looking first.
If the water pump has never been changed it might be a good idea to change it and the timing belt now.
Another thing to watch out for are cheap header tank caps which fail from new. I got a cheap tank from ebay and ended up using the old cap as the new one was sh1te.

Thanks, made me feel a bit more positive. I'm gonna change the belt an water pump as I have no evidence that it has been done since new and don't want to risk it.

With that mileage they may never have been changed but should be every 60,000 miles or 6 years, whichever comes first. (I think that is right but you should check)
A 99 car will have tired belts and hoses so maybe a good idea to change all of them, certainly any in the cooling system anyway.
I bought a 04 K series Dec last year and the first thing I did was replace the timing belt, tensioner, water pump, and alternator belt as it had no service history.
Then I changed the header tank, spark plugs and leads but in your case you may also need a distributor cap and rotor arm. A few weeks later the head gasket too as I found mayo in the oil but that is another story and my car had 105,000 miles.
These are all basic service items so should be factored into the cost of running any car.

Sorry for not replying but I've been stock piling parts and getting ready to do all the work.
So far I've changed the exhaust, had a issue getting the bolts out of the cat. Ended up cutting them out. Was gonna drill them out but I don't have a drink slow enough so just ended up ordering a new one. It's not as if they are that expensive. And I'll take the old one to a scrappy. They seem to pay top dollar for them.
I decided before I start driving it about is like to give it a thorough service. So far I've changed the rotor arm and distributer cap. Both had thick oxidisation on the contacts. Waiting for new coils and caps to arrive. They were all brittle and on removal, bits fell off them in to the spark plug holes. Que dyson!
All the belts are here now. You can see the difference between the old and new. Brittle looking and starting to cracks. So I'm off for 4 days is coming week so hopefully by the end of them I'll be out in it. Then it's time to get the play station re fitted and sort the rear window out as it does drop when you open the back door. Unless all goes wrong and it over heats again then it will be a head gasket change.

Adam Gorsuch said:

So far I've changed the exhaust, had a issue getting the bolts out of the cat. Ended up cutting them out. Was gonna drill them out but I don't have a drink slow enough so just ended up ordering a new one. It's not as if they are that expensive.

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You may regret that, aftermarket replacement cats are completely b*****ks. You'll be lucky to get 10-11 months out of a cheap one!

I'm not too fussed at present as long as it last long enough to get me on the road. Plus it comes with a two year warranty so I can always send it back:

Adam Gorsuch said:

I'm not too fussed at present as long as it last long enough to get me on the road. Plus it comes with a two year warranty so I can always send it back:

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Ahh, well a lot of them fail due to not being run in properly - pay attention to any stickers on them when they turn up, you're supposed to get it super hot the first time it's run or something!

Adam Gorsuch said:

Then it's time to get the play station re fitted and sort the rear window out as it does drop when you open the back door.

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The rear window glass is meant to drop about 20mm to allow the rear door to open. Do you mean it goes completely down?

no it doesnt drop when you open it. if you push the glass down when you shut it it does go up by its self.

its all gone very wrong. i started out having a very productive day, new exhaust fully fitted. so thought as im on a roll ill start getting ready to do the belts. wheel off, splash guard off, good clean round, spark plugs out, power steering belt came off easy and with out grief, same with the alternator belt. all was going well.
top cam belt cover off again with out issue, set up the timing marks all good and then i had a brain fart, i put the gear locking key in and tried to undo the crank shaft pulley nut. i also got a neighbour to put his foot on the brakes for me. couldnt get it too budge and without thinking that i shouldnt of put the locking key in yet i got the the nut moved but not undid moved, just clicked moved and now the timing is out. the teeth our one or two teeth out. and when i try to line it up its not lining up. something has moved that shouldnt have. im really stressing now. ive stopped now. what do i do to re align it???

reset the timing by the book

ive got a haynes manual and as far as i can see it doesnt tell you how to reset the timing. please advise

Shouldn't be a problem as you can turn the cams quite easily but you will need a tool to do it. I made one from some pipe and bolts. Look up cam pulley tools and you'll see. So long as the crank pulley is on its mark and the cam pulleys are pointing at each other you'll be fine.

One thing to be careful of is the position of the crank pulley. If it was rotated 360 deg the pistons will not be lined up. Easy way to be sure is take the spark plugs out and check with a thin rod. If their not level turn it another 360 and they should be.

Alibro said:

One thing to be careful of is the position of the crank pulley. If it was rotated 360 deg the pistons will not be lined up. Easy way to be sure is take the spark plugs out and check with a thin rod. If their not level turn it another 360 and they should be.

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pistons will be ion the same position if you turn 360,whether its compression or exhaust stroke depends on the cam

Lol, I stand corrected.
I knew the cams would be out if it was rotated 360 with the timing belt on so assumed the pistons were too.

Best way to describe it is the crank marker is on it mark an then the rear cam sprocket is 1or two teeth further clockwise than they should be and the front crank shaft sprocket is a further 1 tooth clockwise to that one. I'm getting stressed as the light is going so I'm gonna have to brood on it for the night.