I finally got round to doing the timing belt on the cabrio on sunday. I won't go through a full "How To", just a few tips and pointers.
To improve access I removed the PAS pump and its bracket, but left the hoses attached and just pulled the pump out of the way. The expansion tank was removed and the bottom radiator hose removed to drain the coolant - I was replacing the water pump so needed the coolant draining out, anyway.
First, the crank pulley bolt. I ended up (after trying several methods) rounding off the end of a long Allen key and jamming it into one of the holes in the crank pulley. Once that was in, I was able to wedge it against the chassis rail and attack the 17mm crank bolt with my breaker bar. In the end I had to hold onto the bumper and push with my foot - but it got there. The same technique was used for tightening. I tried a bolt first time but that just bent but the Allen key is more rigid.
Take care when pulling off the pulley - I found that the "woodruff" key on the crankshaft came out easily and could have dropped out. I removed it from the crankshaft and taped it to the pulley for safe keeping. Sorry about the lousy photo (autofocus camera looking at the wrong thing). :
Before removing the belt I removed the cam cover and locked the camshafts with another couple of Allen keys. To be honest, the cams didn't feel as if they were going to move anyway:
Then I removed the lower timing cover and took off the lower cambelt guide washer behind the pulley - it's dished so you need to note which way round it goes for re-fitting (it curves outwards, for reference). I then released the tensioner bolt (14mm), drew the tensioner down and re-tightened the bolt. After removing the belt I removed the tensioner completely in order to get better access to the water pump. The tensioner felt very smooth so I took a chance and re-used it (the car doesn't do much mileage, just 5,000 per year on average):
To get better access to the water pump (which I was changing on a "just in case basis") I removed the upper engine mount (2 x 14mm bolt, the upper one of which is partially hidden) - but the cam pulleys have to come off first (12mm bolts I think) and each of those has a small, easy to lose woodruff key. The engine was supported under the sump with a trolley jack and block of wood:
After the mount has been removed, disconnect the alternator bracket from the water pump (14mm bolt) and then the pump can come off (4 x 10mm bolt) - 2 at the top and another 2 at the bottom. The water pump bearing felt really "gritty" so I'm glad I decided to change it:
Putting it back together was just, as the Haynes manual says, the reverse of removal. The new cam belt was noticeably more tight than the old one. I took the chance to fit new PAS and alternator belts and also do an oil change. As always, I turned the engine over by hand a few times to make sure that it felt OK before attempting to start it. I reckon that I took about 5 hours all told but that would be a lot quicker next time (if there was a next time!).