yea, i mean you can get rid of the timing cover all together. but having it there and not having the cylinder on the bolts as a guide for the cover will result in about a quarter inch of give in either direction. my buddy had to change his timing belt three times and he didnt know why they kept fraying the way they were. it was because the bolts he was using were not the right bolts and the timing cover kept shifting to one side and wearing on the belt. i dont know how he didnt hear the scraping of it, but yea.