The part of the timing belt cover that goes over the cam seal is warped and touching the cam pulley. I cant afford to replace it. I'm thinking about cutting the cover where the red line in the picture is. Is this a bad idea?

 

I have 5 Hondas that all run timing belts.
ive changed out 3 of the belts.
i have 3 Hondas that have no covers over the timing belts.
“no issues what so ever.”
WARNInG
please do be careful not to put your hands in that area if the motor is running.

 

I just had that scenario pop in my head after reading the warning.

 

i was actually able to solve the issue by sticking the lower cover in boiling water for 10 seconds and reshaping the cover with my hands and it worked!!