My admiration goes out to anyone who changed the tensioner when other than being home with their tools. ...
vic
I can't believe it gets done so easily by others.
I noticed that the 2006 belt wasn't riding evenly on the tensioner pulley.
For removal I used Seans suggestion and disconnected the turbo intake manifold hose. That did make access from above better. Removal went fairly well.
Install... not so much.
I again had trouble getting the bolts started. I got the inside one started and figured that I'd just snug it up and then start the other bolt while held in position. The bolt began to bind as I (ever so slowly) turned it in. Great. I probably cross threaded it.
I decided that better access would help to get things back right. I proceeded to disassemble the front end to get the fan shroud out of the way. It turned out the fan shroud didn't need to be removed. Wedging the radiator stack out a bit using a block of wood on the right (passenger) side provided the clearance/access I needed.
I started the outboard bolt and snugged it in to get the tensioner basically in place. After it was in I started the other bolt that I thought was cross threaded. Fortunately it threaded in fine. It wasn't cross threaded at all. It must have been binding against the housing.
The disassembly was worth the extra effort. Otherwise the thought of the bolt possibly being cross threaded would have nagged at me.
Anyway.
Disassembly to allow tilting the radiator does take a bit of extra effort (grill off, headlights loose, top bar removed, etc.), but tilting the radiator moves the fan shroud back just a bit for more clearance and does provide much easier access for my ham hands. Next change I believe that I will just do the extra work to tilt the radiator. For me it will avoid aggravation.
The removed tensioner had an uneven gap similar to the 2004 tensioner that I show in post #5 above. If the belt isn't riding evenly on the tensioner, the tensioner is definitely on the way out and should be replaced.
vic
P.S. - A 8mm or 5/16" 12 point socket kinda fits, but the proper E10 socket makes things a bit easier.
This "Deepwell" E set will be my next coupon purchase.
E10, E11, E12, E14, E16, and E18
6 Pc 3/8 in. Drive E-Socket Set
https://www.harborfreight.com/6-Pc-38-in-Drive-E-Socket-Set-68016.html