I recently had my timing belt done at a local shop. (I typically do all of my own work, but I have a full time job, 2 kids, and a wife....so I have no free time. )
Anyways, when I asked the tech that did the work about how he tensioned the belt, he shrugged and said "It's an automatic tensioner." I know it is not an automatic tensioner, and there is supposed to be an 6mm-10mm gap between the tensioner and the tensioner pulley. Should I be worried? I drove the car and it runs fine, but I am concerned that the tension isn't set correctly. Any ideas? I am going to talk to the shop today.

 

I would be suspicious simply from the cavalier attitude. The AMB tensioner has a "pointer" on it, with two small holes on the opposite side. They're meant to be an attachment point for a locking bar that mounts on the center cam sprocket bolt. By setting up the tensioner with the tool, or aligning it as if it were in use, this sets that 8mm gap. It's possible to install the tensioning system and have it out of position. I don't know whether that'll set you up for a failure or not but I do know that there's a reason the setup is meant to be put together in that way. If they didn't set it up correctly, it'll either work or not. On my car, I wouldn't want those odds.