timing belt covers

[Shun]

I'm going to be replacing my timing belt in a couple of weeks and thought about leaving the covers off afterwards. is leaving the timing belt covers off simply a thing of aestetics? are there any advantages? are there any concerns about the belt's integrity in regards to outside debris?
I will probably leave it off if there's little chance of it being damaged

[G-forces]

I think it's mostly for safety, so you have to try really hard to get your finger or shirt-sleeve caught by the moving parts, while observing a running motor. Other than that, it might help keep abrasive grit off of those same moving parts if someone ever had to drive through some cloud of gravel and dust that got kicked up in some odd way.

[TXFO]

its ok to leave the top one off but leave the others on. The thing is this, even a piece of plastic finding its way into the belt will cause it to jump time. Ive done it myself on a damn miata. brake the cam sensor pulling the vave cover and a small piece of plastic fell onto the belt. When I cranked it over it jumped about 5 teeth and backfired loud enough to send the office guys running out into the shop to see if I died.

On a zetec, you wont bend valves if it jumps but imagine the hassle of driving along and some piece of road debris flying up into there and wrecking things.

On a related note, a friend of mine left his top cover off after I put news camshafts in and a new belt. a few weeks later he rear ended an SUV and pushed the hood up. since the cover wasnt there, it cut the new belt.

[Shun]

Lol well that was just bad driving. But thanks for your input. i'm still 50/50. probably wont make up my mind until it comes time to put the motor mount back on

[grbrgrnzx5]

Unless you are installing some BLINGIN' timing sprockets and want to show them off, leave the upper cover on. It serves a safety purpose for being there, so leave it.

Just my two cents. Besides, who wants to look at rusty, dirty factory sprockets?

[hEaT]

I leave mine on. The tensioner is completely exposed with that cover off. My car has over 96k on it and the tensioner still looks brand new.

[Liquid_02_ZX3]

Cut some half moons in the cover to show off the gears, while still covering 75% of the innards. Not to mention slightly quicker cam timing adjustments for the dyno. Set the cams, run the dyno, shut hood and drive home. If you really want to look spiffy, throw some leds in there and cover the windows with some plexi.

Some DSM 4G63 guys are running these: