what to do with timing idler?

[RadioFlyer90]

A couple years back, the timing belt in my wife's '98 4-cyl. Camry got to flapping pretty bad, so I replaced the timing belt. I followed the instructions in the service manual, and everything worked fine. Over time, some of the noise from the timing belt started coming back, so the other day, I loosened the bolt that holds the idler pulley, which allowed the spring to take up the slack, and then retightened the bolt. This took care of the noise.

The last thing the book says is to loosen the bolt 1/2 turn to allow the spring to put tension on the belt, but doesn't say anything about retightening it. That doesn't seem right to me, since a loose bolt is at risk of falling out, which would be a disaster. Am I right in keeping the bolt tight, or should I be leaving it loose?

[ghettosled]

i personally wouldnt leave that bolt loose in fear that it would rattle loose (but i think the bolt is suppose to be a little loose to pull the belt taut as the belt stretches slightly). for me, the first time i let the spring pull the belt tight, then tightened the bolt. i put everything back together and i heard the belt flapping into the cover. so i tore it apart again this time i used a pry bar with only a little bit of pressure to help pull the belt tight then tightened the bolt again. its been 47k miles since i did that and its still as quiet as can be and running great.