I just did a timing chain on an 83 22r and in the process I removed the AC from it, it was busted and in the way so I took it out.
On the photos below on the left hand side with the 2 3/16 and 3 3/16 the larger holes on the left does the 83 timing cover need those bolts if the AC bracket is removed?? When I did the job I very carefully took each bolt out and pushed it in a piece of cardboard with the cover traced out on it. I don't recall these two bolts being part of that process.
Right now there is nothing in those on this cover.
I am not sure if I need bolts in there
thanks

 

the 3 1/16 bolt goes through the oil pump into the block. I would say yes. The 2 3/16 I believe goes through a through hole in the block and I believe this helps seal the oil pump passages going into the block. Both holes are taken up by bolt in mine and I don't have factory A/C. Hope this helps. Not sure if the bolt lengths are the same with/without A/C though.

 

do you have your AC mounting bracket on??? I took the bracket off totally that is where I am running into an issue.

 

don't have bracket, as truck never came from factory with a/c, nor power steering for that matter.

 

this is the best I can do right now with 10" of snow outside, dark and cold. haha. BTW I was wrong about the through hole, but it's a hole all the same.

 

It looks to me like there is a bolt in the lower one. The upper I can't quite tell.
thanks for the pic!!

 

yes there is, it goes through the oil pump. had to modify mine inside the cover as that bolt on my rebuild got broken inside the block. Machine shop couldn't get it out so I would up helicoiling the cover itself so I didn't loose the oil pump bolt. I had to use a threaded stud and nut on mine instead of the bolt.

Oh wait did you change the bolt sizes since you posted? 3 1/16 to 3 3/16? Anyway yes there is a bolt in there. Probably one of the more important ones as these are the ones that get torqued down harder than the others. the bolt looks exactly like the one you can see in that photo that is just below the far left water pump bolt.

I know yurs is the 83, mine's the 87, I can't imagine the cover being that much different other than the dual row chain.

 

Yes, there should be bolts in them . They seal the corner. Had same problem,very leaky gasket. I always thought it was the oil pan gasket. I would put them in and torque them to the same as the rest of the timing chain cover.