SlowPro, not at all. For me, it's just that I want my how-to to be correct, accurate, concise and NOT confusing. Most of all, I don't want to point anyone in the wrong direction and have them eff up something with their VX.

The "chocolate monkey" thing might just do that (), so I always point people to the original how-to here:

http://www.nofuture.com/myvx/how-tos/tb/tbelt.htm

The above link is from my website, and if I make any revisions, you will see them there, but not in the PDF that Tom made of my original how-to back when I originally posted it. In fact I do think there are some minor changes on my site that ARE NOT in the PDF currently. Plus, I think my website is a better format and easier to follow. While the PDF is easier for people to find, I encourage everyone to visit the instructions on my site over the PDF.

I think the most confusing part for me now, is I sit here wondering what would have happened if I was to:

A) remove the tensioner
B) remove the original belt
C) turn the crankshaft pulley to move the notch to the right side, aligned with the mark on the oil pump housing, with the green line on the top of the pulley on the other side
D) put new belt on

Would my timing be OK or off? It's just so weird in my head because with the original belt still on, when I turned the crank shaft pulley to align the LH and RH camshaft marks, the notch was ALWAYS at the 9:00 o'clock position and the green line always lined up with mark on the oil pump, so I figured I had it right.

Personally, I think the Isuzu shop manual sucks. It's vague, the illustrations are terrible (they look like 10th generation photo-copies), and it assumes you have been a mechanic for 25 years (can't fault them there though).

Are there any other folks besides Mark who have done the timing belt change themselves? I'd be curious to know how things look for different people. SlowPro, you did the swap yourself and aligned the notch in the back of the crankshaft pulley with the mark on the oil pump. So, when you did it, did your marks on the LH and RH line up as well? So weird.

Bart

PS - I started working on a new how-to for the tranny fluid change but my camera's flash crapped out in the middle of doing it.