you guys are gonna hear a lot from me over the next week. i was putting a bolt in the auto tensioner before i was removing it, not being very competent i tightened it too much and it snapped off. hows the best way to handle this bit with tension still on the belt? i've read that it's going to "slam" forward but i don't know which direction is forward in the article, i'm gonna try undoing the auto tensioner while holding it firmly but i wanna know which way it's gonna slam so first. or is holding it a horrible idea? thanks guys
Remove the lower idler pulley (the one above the a/c). Do not try to hold the adjuster. The stop bolt only needs to be in finger tight, it is only there to stop the auto adjuster fully extending. If you need to compress it to get the correct gap when installing (4mm) wind the bolt in very very slowly. Doing it slowly gives time for the pressure to drop inside tensioner.
i ended up just taking off the tensioner, there wasn't really much tension on it, thanks for your help guys, now i'm up to the intake gear bolts, one day i'll be able to drive it again!
