timing belt covers yes or no

[Mr overkill]

im thinking of not using the timing belt covers at all iknow a lot of people dont use the top one but im thinking of not using the middle and bottom piece ???

any one do this ok or not ok????

car isnt a daily driver just shows and fun time and all

[GLHS592]

I have neither one in the Shelby Charger.

[cordes]

I have neither one in the Shelby Charger.

+1 for my omni.

[TurboGLH]

I was always told that the bottom one is the more important of the two, keeps rocks and other debris from finding their way between the timing belt and the seal retainer.

[turbovanman²]

Yep, I would keep the bottom one, stops crap that gets kicked up by the wheels from getting in there, especially if you don't run the plastic wheel guard also.

[mcsvt]

I am running the top one right now because the new fuel lines are dangerously close to the belt... I should put the bottom one back on for the reasons mentioned above.

[johnl]

In CA, an adjustable cam gear is emissions illegal, so if you have one, you might be better off with the cover - not to cover it up but to protect fingers:eyebrows:

[22mopar]

OK folks, I've seen A LOT of debate on this exact subject... especially in my years of dirt track racing. some think NO cover because anything that would get into the belt would come right out.. with a cover, if say a rock got into the belt, it couldn't come out and therefore causing the belt failure (we build our engines to interference levels with 14:1 compression and BIG cams)....

the other end of the debate was to run a cover to prevent stuff from getting in at all... I always ran a cover and never had a failure. I customized my belt cover on my 2300 fords so the top half was removeable for making adjustments to cam timing.

additionally for safety reasons, having a belt cover would be a good idea. since we are talking about TD's, goodness knows you'll constantly be under the hood trying to fix something. with the engine running and no cover over the belt, you don't have much protection from sucking your hoodie sweatshirt strings or your bling-bling stuff into the belt.. thereby causing severe injury.

[Orangetona]

+whatever on keeping the bottom cover.

[Mike_Shepard]

I dont have any at all on my Daytona but they are going back on once it's running again

[Turbodave]

I usually run them, keeps vacuum lines, fuel lines and the coil wire out of the belt. When my van had the adjustable sprocket on it I just left the bottom bolt for the cover loose and didn't use the top two nuts, the A/C bracket keeps the cover in place, so I could pull it off to adjust the timing without any tools (other than the allen wrench needed to adjust the sprocket).

[Tony Hanna]

I usually don't run them. I've never had a belt failure as a result and when it comes time to change the belt, it makes the job so much faster. With our engines being noninterference, I think it's all a matter of personal preference.