Timing chain replacement: Accord K20 - chain — HONDA
Timing chain replacement — Accord K20 - chain on Honda: 74 steps, engines K20A6, K20Z2. What to remove, in what order, and what to check after.
Replacing the timing chain on the Honda Accord with the K20 (K20A6 and K20Z2, 2.0 16V) means supporting the engine on a jack, taking off the engine mount and bracket and removing the timing cover. Before anything is disturbed the crank goes to TDC for cylinder 1 and the marks are checked; if the old chain is staying, its running direction is marked. The tensioner, guides and chain come off, and the new chain goes on with marks aligned and a locked tensioner, the pin being pulled once everything is in place. The cover is sealed with fresh sealant, and the window for that is short: parts must be fitted within 4 minutes of applying it. Clean surfaces and correct mark alignment make or break this job.
🧭 Before you start
Support the engine on a jack with a wooden block under the sump, remove the drive belt, cylinder head cover, engine mount and bracket, and set the crank to TDC on cylinder 1. Remove the timing cover, tensioner, guides and chain. Fit the chain with the marks aligned, refit the guides and the locked tensioner, then pull the locking pin. Clean off old sealant, refit the timing cover within the sealant working time, then reassemble the mount, VVT solenoid, hoses and covers and reconnect the battery.
Fits: platform codes 2.0, 16V
- Timing position: the crankshaft or camshaft is set and locked during this job
- Special tools named: locking pin
Don't miss
- Set TDC for cylinder 1 and check the timing marks before removing the chain.
- Mark the running direction if the old chain is going back in.
- Fit the tensioner locked and only remove the locking pin once the guides are refitted.
- Fit sealed parts within 4 minutes of applying sealant; clean off all old sealant first.
- Use a wooden block between sump and jack when supporting the engine.
Written for this job from the workshop steps below · TorqFix editorial.
📋 Procedure
Preparation and removal
- Crankshaft pulley:
- Check the timing marks
- Turn the crankshaft to TDC for cylinder 1
- If the timing chain is to be re-used, mark the running direction before removal
- Align the marks
- Remove the ancillary drive belt
- Clean off the old sealant
- Disconnect the power steering line from the cylinder head
- Disconnect the breather hose
- Use a trolley jack to support the engine
- Note: Put a wooden block between the sump and the jack
- Remove the engine mount
- Remove the bracket
- Remove the tensioner
- Remove the chain guide(s)
- Remove the chain guide(s)
- Remove the chain
Installation and checks
- Refit the chain guide(s)
- Fit the locked tensioner
- Refit the chain guide(s)
- Remove the locking pin
- Refit the timing cover
- Refit the bracket
- Refit the engine mount
- Reconnect the earth cable(s)
- Refit the VVT solenoid
- Refit the cylinder head cover
- Note: Parts must be fitted within 4 minutes of applying the sealant
- Refit the dipstick
- Reconnect the breather hose
- Reconnect the power steering pump hoses
- Refit the vacuum hose
- Refit the engine lower cover
- Reconnect the battery earth cable
Other HONDA procedures
Who makes these pages, and how
TorqFix was built by a mechanic — after a 2,700 km drive with five roadside repairs that no diagnostic tool could explain.
The figures on this page come from manufacturer workshop documentation and are shown as they are. The page is assembled automatically from that data — it is not written by an AI. The AI works in the chat, where it answers for your specific car. It writes nothing here.
Variants of the same model differ. Cross-check torque against the factory manual for your engine before final tightening.
Seen a figure that does not match your manual? Write to us — we correct it and note when. support@torqfix.com
The story behind TorqFix →Workshop data on this page last updated 20 Sep 2026.