Another 30,000 miles have gone by. It is once again time to
replace the timing belt. I remembered all of the gotchas from
the last time. This time I purchased an 8" C-clamp from Harbor Freight for $8.
It made compressing the tensioner relatively easy.
I couldn't find the retaining pin that came with the tensioner. I read the FAQs and tried the nail and drill bit.
The nail bent significantly. The drill bit bent enough that I couldn't
remove it from the tensioner after I reinstalled it.

I went to Autozone and was told that they had nothing suitable.
I went to Home Depot and got some 5/64" Cobalt and Titanium drill bits.
On the way home I stopped at Walmart and checked out the tools section.
I saw a set of 16 metric and standard Allen wrenches for 94 cents.
I decided to try to Allen wrenches first.
I tried the 5/64" Allen wrench and couldn't quite align it with the second outside hole. It remained usable(didn't bend too much).
I then tried the 1/16" Allen wrench and it easily went through all three holes.
It bent a little, but not significantly. It wasn't too difficult to remove.

The timing belt is now installed.

If I have to do this again, maybe I will remember this solution.

If I remember correctly, the trick is to make sure that the pin/allen wrench/whatever goes all the way through and sticks out the hole on the far side, but not too far that it prevents the tensioner from being re-mounted. The tensioner will bend almost anything that isn't stuck all the way through.

-s

On my 200, I just loosen the Tensioner, grab the Belt and pull. As I pull it moves the tensioner, while holding the belt in the pulled position, I retighten the Tensioner.
Put the new Belt on and loosen the tensioner.
--
'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony's%20cars.htm

Nice trick! I remember that the tensioner was the hardest single thing to do right. I have used Allen keys for several different uses (I have a set in the trunk), but I never thought to use them with the tensioner.

Thanks!

Ari