Crankshaft cover necessary? TT 5.3

[TheBlueBomber]

What started as a clean up the garage and get ready for some projects turned into a run around all day one step forward ten steps back kind of day.


Long story short. I broke my oil pan for my 5.3 (LM7) swapped in (along with oil pickup because they are different lengths) for one from an l33. Everything matches up except for the bracket that the pickup bolts too... it's more like a cover for the crankshaft. Is this bracket/cover necessary? And if so can I just cut around the part that is preventing the pan from bolting up? It's giving me problems specifically where the oil filter slides in.



Sorry for the crappy pic. Basically I'm talking about the cover with the over spray on it. The hole on the driver side rear by the flywheel needs to be widened a little to clear the pan.