im about to order up a complete timing belt kit and seals. it just dawned on me that when my engine was swapped in my 98, if a 96-97 dohc ej25 was put in it could have the older tensioner. does anyone know if i can remove the driver's side timing belt cover to check? it looks from pictures it may be covered by the center cover.

 

thanks for your help.

you're pretty much exactly right. it's covered by the center cover, but you can tell by removing the drivers side cover only. have a flashlight handy to look back in there if you don't have good lighting.

 

yes an early EJ25 could have the old style tensioner, i'd check it first. hopefully it is, the old style are more reliable and cheaper to replace.

thanks so much for the quick reply.

 

now hopefully the cover won't crack when i try to loosen it!

you're in luck, those side covers rarely break, should be fine. keep your fingers crossed. just remove the side cover and leave it off until you go to do the timing belt job. some of us, like me, don't even reinstall the front...or sometimes the rears either. i run naked covers and will thank myself next summer when it's due for the next timing belt job. so yeah you can just leave it off until you replace the belt.