Timing belts/tensioners

[tihol_tiholov at sd27.bc.ca]

>Word to the wise... if you own one of these engines and don't have a
>record of when the belt was last changed, by all means get
>it replaced.
Thanks for the warning, Rolf.  I really appreciate it.  I have a "record"
on my wife's 1999 Beetle 2.0 that it hasn's been checked ;-(  and the car
has 130, 000 + km.  The Canadian dealer (Edmonton, AB) told me 160,000 km
is the time to change it.

>I've also seen problems with those stupid auto tensioners.  I've >swapped
them out on 2.0 liter jetta's in favor of the old manual adj.
>tensioners.

I need some clarification as I haven't done one of these.  Do I order a
manual tensioner and for what year for that Beetle 2.0?  And does it fit
spot on or what?  Then, do I need a tensioning tool or go 90 degree twist?

TIA
Greetings,
Tihol