I am in the mist of putting in my new vt shortblock finally and I rememberd people leaving the black timing cover off. Is there an advantage to this? Im kind of leary exposing the belt. Just wanted some opinions.TIA

i think the only advantage of leaving it off would be:
-if you have adjustable cam gears, they are easier to adjust
-it would make it easier to change the timing components

i would leave it on to protect the timing belt. if you do have adjustable cam gears you could cut off the top part so that they are easy to adjust.

that, and you can see the status of your belt easily.

I left mine on and cut a hole in the front to hve access to th ecam gears.

It is possible for debree to get in the timing belt, like a rock or something and cause damage or skip a tooth... it, however, is not very likely.

I didn't want to have any hastles come time for tech. inspection at the track so I left mine on with the hole cut.



15.9 @ 86.7mph

Injen CAI, 55mm TB, P&P Intake, Crower Cams, Hooker Header, ERT/Catco Cat, GS-T Muffler, AFX UDP, Crane Ign Amp, S-AFC

have had mine off for a long time..no probs.. It def makes removeing that damn motor mount plate MUCH easier :)