Alsvartr said:

total disaster of a day attempting this . I started at 9am, finished at 5 with no breaks and I've still not removed a single head bolt. It appears I do need an exhaust manifold gasket too!! I've snapped a couple of bolts, thankfully I think I can get them out however the cylinder head bolts are SO tight it's stupid. The ones under the rocker cover aren't budging and I'm worried I might snap one. Any advice ?

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head bolts will be tight but i doubt youll snap them just use a breaker bar with tube if necessary

Just to complete this thread I finished replacing the gaskets and job's a good 'un. Definitely a job a near total novice can do but good tools are essential. Took me 2 days. I spent way to long reading the step by step guide in the service manual but it's best to be safe I suppose! I've been driving it for a couple of weeks since and it's all good. Didn't skim the head, made sure the surface was clean of the old gasket, torqued everythin up, invested in a torque angle gauge but didn't fit on the bolts nearest the bulkhead so marked them, this method could be used for all the head bolts but the gauge did save time. Don't be afraid to have a go if like me you can't afford the £400 I was quoted to replace it at a garage. I used Elring gaskets, total job done for less than £40. Big thanks to everyone who helped on here. A little tip for anyone like myself having a go for the first time is don't forget to buy new injector seals/copper washers for when you replace them! Slight delay getting back on the road waiting for them to arrive, wasn't aware they were a 1 use type thing. Cheers again folks. No doubt I'll be crying for help again when I come to replace my tracking arm and suspension bushes next