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how necessary is the timing belt cover

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slow gs

Probationary Member
16
0
Aug 1, 2009
houston, Texas
i was wondering how important the timing belt lower and upper covers are on a daily driver, cus i just got the timing belt back on and i want to know if a have to put tham back or not, any help would be apreciated
 
Do you want rocks and road trash getting in there causing the belt to snap and bend valves?
or throw it out of time?
 
I daily drove mine without covers for couple of months no problems... But i only a Timing Belt and Accessory Belt (waterpump/alt)

Its definetly not recommended, its a risk you take so make the decision wisely...

Dirt definetly get in there because my HKS Timing belt went from purple to black...
 
well, mine didnt seal properly to begin with i can post some pics of that, the top and bottom had a gap due to heat warp or something, are there any aftermarket ones avalible? LOL one made out of carbon fiber would be sweet
 
How important is it to ride a street bike with a helmet? You dont have too but you know the consequences.
 
I have the top cover but.... I have been running w/o the middle and bottom cover through all of this

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I would NEVER!!! do all this shit w/o a cover if I still had BS belt. So far motor is still alive 3 years after the build !!
 
i know its important, but mine doesnt work well, and i would never rally my eclipse, we use the beater for back road fun, LOL 98 dodge ram v6 swb

i dont like the clear one, mostly because i have stock gears, i think im going to sand it smooth, prime it and put fake carbon fiber sticker on it LOL
 
I could've sworn we had a member or sponsor on here a few months back making carbon fiber cam gear covers?
 
The upper cover isn't completely necessary, since the chance of a rock or other debris getting up that high is slim. However, a lower cover is a must. Should a rock or something get lodged between the pulley and the timing belt, the results wouldn't be good.

Even if the lower cover doesn't seal all the way, it will still keep stuff from getting jammed up around the timing belt. :talon:
 
Its like a condom, you can have bare back sex as much as you want and not get sick, but the second you bang that one chick on that one day you get da aidz:)
 
Its like a condom, you can have bare back sex as much as you want and not get sick, but the second you bang that one chick on that one day you get da aidz:)

+1

as long as you know the conditions you're going to be in go for it. If my car was a pure road race/track car i might not have any issues with not running it. for a street car i'm not willing to take my chances.
 
I don't sport an upper cover on my evo, but I do have the lower cover. My eclipse doesn't have either cover. Just keep in mind that there is a slight chance that something can fly up and hit your belt or any timing components and either damage your belt or nock something loose. If this happens, worse case you skip a tooth or lose your belt and....time for a rebuild!
 
i dont like the clear one, mostly because i have stock gears, i think im going to sand it smooth, prime it and put fake carbon fiber sticker on it LOL

The point of the clear one is so you can look at your belt not your gears.
 
I have the top cover but.... I have been running w/o the middle and bottom cover through all of this

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I would NEVER!!! do all this shit w/o a cover if I still had BS belt. So far motor is still alive 3 years after the build !!


Where is this road?
 
Seriously I wrench on my car a lot and believe me I have lost a lot of 12's 14's in that bay as well as misc nuts and bolts, hell no I am not going condomless.
 
DGajre -

You are the Man, thanks for the plug! Don't ever run without an upper cam gear cover, stock or not (ask me how I know!).

We sell them, see them here: Zaklee Corp - Performance Parts for Performance Cars. Thanks!

- Rob@Zaklee

Thats kinda like asking how important is it to go to the mall without any clothes on?! You can go without, but the consequences won't be good.

If you think the stock one is ugly, get the clear one.
STM - ZAKLEE 90-99 DSM CLEAR CAM GEAR COVER

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You can buy new covers on the internet, head to a yard an yank one off of a dead motor, or head to your Mitsu dealership to get you a new one. Do a search on this.

Plain idiotic not to protect your investment with the proper covers....must think of money as paper to burn....

(NOW, it would be definitely cool if Zaklee also did clear lower covers. I can see those jump off the shelves in a heartbeat...)

-DSM
 
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