Im incredibly embarrassed so please go easy on me.

b16a, gsr trans, 98 civic hatchback. Long story short someone removed the belt without my permission & without loosening the tensioner. I now have a belt that will almost slide back over the intake side but I cant get it, nor can I undo the tension pulley. Im lost on what to do. I have a mechanic ready to help but I dont want to move the car without the belt on & I have no idea what to do at this point. Ive been reading posts & watching videos the past few days and nothing helps unless I can loosen the tension/belt itself, which I cannot.

Im afraid if the car rolls without the belt on, damage. Im afraid if I dont get it timed correctly or near in my driveway, damage. Right now im doing my best just to get it to the mechanic but is there a way to get in on a tow truck with the belt off safely?

any what to do in my situation, tips or tricks is massively appreciated!

 

Why can't you loosen the tensioner pulley bolt? Did you strip it?

 

I think the guy may have used loctite or something. the engine is in the car so theres not much clearance but its clearly put on way past the 40lb torque spec

 

There should be no reason to worry about rolling the car with the belt off. As long it's in neutral the engine itself will not rotate.
Try getting better access to the bolt and use a longer handle socket wrench or a piece of pipe on the wrench to extend it. It will break free. Align the pulleys, slip the belt on, rotate the engine to double check then turn 3 teeth past head surface and tighten the tensioner. Boddabingboddaboom!
Your probably looking at a $300 bill for a tow and someone else to remove a simple bolt.

 

Wow I feel so stupid!! I didnt even think of that. I didnt have a breaker bar & my pipe i normally use was to big to fit where I could get any leverage. In my panic trying to figure out what best to do I read so many warnings & threats talking about bending valves, like in the haynes manual( do not turn anything with belt off or risk damaging valuves), I let it get in my head.

What exactly do you mean by " then turn 3 teeth past head surface"? When I go to tighten it back will it auto tighten with the sping or will I need to push on it to get correct tension? Ive heard, read & seen both used as examples.

As of now once the tensioner is free I would have to rotate the lower pulley to match with TDC, then align the cam marks, then but the belt on & rotate to check. Its seems pretty straightforward but knowing what it would cost if I messed up got the better of me. And your 100% correct, its 300+ just to get the car to the mechanic, not including what he would charge.

 

Sorry I was little vague with that. Once you have everything lined up - cam sprockets UP at 12 o'clock, horizontal lines flush with the head and the line on the lower crankshaft timing belt cog/sprocket (#1TDC mark) inline with the arrow on the oil pump, get the belt on.
With the tensioner 1/2 turn loose- rotate the engine a couple times double checking alignment marks then once you reach #1 tdc again, rotate the engine until 3 teeth of the cam sprocket have passed the top surface of the head and then tighten the tensioner bolt. That will give the belt the correct tension.

 

Its cool. I really appreciate the info! I was over looking that paragraph in the haynes manual. Sadly I dont think itll matter now. Finally got a breaker bar & hooked in np, bolt started to strip both with a 7 point & normal socket. Not sure what to do now.. Kinda mad that the last mechanic either put it on with a impact gun or maybe used locktite, if not both. Definitely not the 40lb torque spec. Best idea I have short of taking to another mechanic is, get a new bolt & use an extractor nut & hope it bites, only issue is the lower cover is still on so that may cause me more trouble getting to it
Ill upload pics if it will help any

 

Getting 1 of those socket set kits that removes stripped bolts that have the reverse spiral flutes cut in them work great. I got a kit for under $40 and has multiple sizes. Then you'll have it for future f-up jobs

 

How about another way since the tensioner is problematic ???

Since you have a service manual, I am not going to type out a complete step-by-step... but basically, you are going to remove the camshafts (even though you won't actually be removing the camshafts). Once all cam cap/rail bolts are removed, you can "Tip" or "Lift Out" the distributor end of the cams so as to lower the cam gear end slightly... and while you are doing this, you will have additional space to slide the belt on to the gears. Once the belt is over all gears and pulleys, torque your cam caps/rails back down to spec and you should be good.