Headgasket mountain to climb

[busy t]

hi people

to cut a long story short my headgasket needs doing, i have the metal headgasket and new headbolts coming from g-laderseite anyday now.

i am aware that the head will needs skimming as it has got pretty hot a few times in traffic, and on the motorway. the head is still on the car. i have a full set of tools i can use in my garage and a torque wrench for the headbolts. i am planning to take the head off using the haynes manual but i'm sure you lot on here could give me some tips and advice.

is there any other parts i need to replace other than an oil filter and oil change?

i heared you need some sealing paste...

any help would be much appreciated

regards

tom

[PeteG40]

definately need to replace coolant


good idea to replace the following

cambelt and water pump (belt has to come partially off) if not been done in a while
inlet manifold, throttle body gasket
exhaust manifold gasket and/or downpipe gasket
cam cover gasket

sure people will add if i forgot anything

[busy t]

i seem to remember seeing a engine block sealing kit on g-laderseite aswell, would that be a good option?

[hayesey]

no don't put any sealing paste on a head gasket, just fit the gasket as per the haynes manual.