Enough writeups exist to walk you through this process so I'll just add what I learned from the whole experience and provide some pics that may add to the knowledge base that already exists:
The first part that presents a problem is the crank pulley bolt, I'll tell you right now don't screw around with breaker bars and special tools. Just go borrow a big impact gun, the kind used for taking off tractor bolts and other obscenely large bolts. I borrowed one from my local mechanic (something like a 1,600 ft/lbs impact? it was big!) and it zipped that bolt off in 3 seconds.
The next big problem is getting the timing just right. Make sure all three marks line up on the crankshaft. There is one directly above the key on the shaft the crank pulley mounts to, another one on a plastic oil pump shroud above that, and a third one cast into the block. Get those all lined up perfectly before you do anything else!
To rotate the engine without a crank bolt, all you do is put the car in fifth gear, wedge something under the passenger wheel so it can't turn, and then rotate the hub on the driver's side. I could do it by hand but you may need to put the wheel on the studs and turn that for more leverage.
Make sure your cams are lined up perfectly, you may have to adjust them slightly so you can stretch the belt over the exhaust cam (the one closest to the headlights) without any slack in that portion of the belt. The belt is such a tight fit you have to get as much slack out as you can before you attempt to pull it over the intake cam! It also helps to leave the belt slightly off the edge of the oil pump, water pump, and exhaust cam.
BIG TIP- Remove the spring from the manual tensioner and take the balancer belt tensioner off. This will give you an extra 2mm or so of slack in the belt and is the ONLY way I could get enough slack to get the belt on (it's still tight though). I worked the belt on to the final cam gear one tooth at a time, starting on the top and working my way towards the fire wall. Use a tool to pry under the belt if you don't have a lot of finger/hand strength (I used a seal puller, it's shaped like a flat hook and has a point on the end, it made it easy to pull and slide the belt onto the teeth). Put it all back together before you try to set tension. Also, make sure the belt isn't rubbing against the edge of the balancer belt pulley.
To set belt tension, loosen the adjustor bolt on the manual tensioner (14mm), tighten it again, then rotate the engine 3 teeth counterclockwise. Loosen the bolt again (this sets the new tension) and tighten it again. If you used the optional bracket, lock it down. Do the same thing with the balancer belt pulley when you get that far. Make sure you line up the marks on the balancer belts, they need to be in time with the engine as well!
Rotate the engine a few times with all the parts back on and make sure the belts aren't rubbing each other. Take it to TDC and check all of your timing marks. You don't want to have any doubts in your mind before you start to reassemble, take the time now to get it perfect!
It's actually pretty easy to tear it down and put it back together, I wasted probably 7 hours with the crank pulley and the timing belt before I came up with the solutions I wrote about. Take my advice and it will be much easier for you! I think I could tear another one down in less than 2.5 hours, it's not a tough job and it's definately not worth it to pay someone else!
All the parts you need, search and you'll find the list with part numbers. I recommend ordering the optional bracket to lock the tensioner in place, it helps you keep tension on the belt while you loosen the adjusting nut to set tension on the balancer belt. I spent $180 on parts (buy the H23 balancer belt tensioner for peace of mind).
Keep your parts organized! I laid them out on a towel and wrote down a description by each stack of parts. Come up with your own idea if you want, but this worked great.
Autotensioners suck! Everyone I talked to (dealerships, mechanics, tuners) all questioned why I would want to change to a manual tensioner. I got a lot of BS about how they have never seen one fail, etc. Well this is the second one I've had fail so I think the PO community knows that the manual tensioner is definately the way to go!
This is what it looks like with everything removed, prior to the manual tensioner install:
This is what it looks like with the manual tensioner in place. I figured this picture would help since everything I've seen was with the motor out of the car.
Almost there! Expect to get filthy during the whole process.
Everything back together running great! I decided to paint the valve cover so the car looks less ricer'ish when I decide to sell it someday. If you hear a squeel when you start the car for the first time, it's probably a loose alternator belt. You need less than 1/2" of play in the belts or they will slip and squeel. Just loosen the mounting bolts (2 of them) and then turn the adjusting bolt (10mm) until the belt is tight.
In case you were wondering, these are the parts you throw away (besides the auto tensioner):
Linear Mode
