I've owned a few old civic beaters and now my wife has a 2009 accord . It's in great shape with 80,000 miles but the hydraulic timing chain tensioner seems to be worn . Someone told me it's a result of poor oil maintenance in the past but we bought it from a friend that swears it was always taken good care of . She did mention that it sat for about a year without being started so I'm wondering if that may have been the problem . It clacks upon a cold start and drives just fine , it starts without the noise once it's warmed up so now I'm wondering if it can be replaced without removing the timing cover . I noticed there is a small plate on the timing cover where the tensioner is , so can anybody tell me if it can be replaced without removing the timing cover ? Thank you so much .