Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
There is a trick to the CR-V's serpentine belt. I can change our '08 belt in about 10 minutes. You have to remove the power steering reservoir from its mount and let it hang free. Also, remove the plastic radiator cover shroud. With these two either free or removed, you can rotate the tensioner forward enough to do the belt from the top. And it takes little effort.
I was crawling under the car until I found that trick. I don't know about a 2nd generation CR-V (2003), but it may be similar. I wouldn't pay $200 at a dealer...
I'm going to say that you simply better dexterity (and skill level) than me. I removed the p/s reservoir and the shrouds, and it was still troublesome.
The main issue I had was with slipping the belt over the top pulley. When you have a wrench on the auto-tensioner, there is not enough space between the wrench and the frame rail to pull the belt over the top pulley.
The only way that I was able to get the belt on was with a second person pushing the belt onto the tensioner pulley...while I was dis-engaging the tensioner from underneath.
If I ever make it over to your neck of the woods, I'd love to see you do this job - because this one still has me baffled.