i did it and it was painless. but watch out, i've heard some people talk about the timing chain jumping links if there is too much slack in it. figure out why you're getting the rattle first. your tensioner gets its pressure from the oil pressure. if your chain is hitting the gaurd, your tensioner isn't doing its job, which means not enough oil pressure. that's the problem i'm having. so, my temporary solution was to put the gaurd back on with a couple of washers as spacers, 2 or 3, between the gaurd and the spot where it was mounted and it stopped rattling. now my oil pump is really failing and it still rattles. but yeah, my 2cents.