Hi guys,
Many of you helped me out this weekend when I got stuck replacing the timing belt on my 99 4cyl accord and found that the crankshaft bolt was torqued on there by superman. I had just finished the job when i realized I forgot to replace the gasket on that lower cover.

Anybody who has done this job knows that SOB lower cover is hard enough to get off and on again let alone having to worry about the darn gasket so do you guys think I should go back in and put it where it's supposed to go or just pretend like I did it properly?

thanks for your advice :-)

 

When I bought my 95, the lower cover gasket was not installed. Mine was fine without the gasket for 90K miles

IMO, that gasket prevents oil or any other liquids from getting on the belts in there. It will also prevent debris like stones from the road from getting in there. There was nothing under my cover after that time. I would make sure there are no gaps between the engine block and the lower cover.

 

good to know. i'm assuming you've changed the t-belt since, did you notice any oil on it? there was some oil on mine so i just replaced all the cam seals.

 

Personally, that is more of a "dust" shield as stated by PA-keeps stuff out. If you replaced the seals you should be good to go. On the 95, I've replaced the belts three times(160k, 260k, 360k). Only once did it get a new seal on the lower cover...that was only because I either forgot to replaced or the seal on the tensioner bolt fell out...so the crank pulley rubbed a hole in the cover (took close to 100K to do that?), meaning the new lower cover came with a new seal....hang onto it and replace it next time.

 

Depending on where you live, it keep out snow. I once drove through a snowdrift (82 VW) and snow got under the timing belt & skipped 1 or 2 teeth.

I'd recommend you put the cover back on, but don't get overly paranoid about it.