OK so i have a p0341 code that only temprementaly comes up on my 2003 CRV, in Philippines.
Ive ripped the chain cover off to find that the tensioner is at its maximum allowed service limit of 16mm, but the camshafts appear to be ahead of the crankshaft! so this means the prievious owners mechanics tried to make a stretched chain work better by putting it forward a tooth!
Now, i have discovered that there are 2 different possible advertised ways to line up the chain, and its pissing me off and I need someone who knows whats going on to read and understand.
Some chains have 2 coloured links per camshaft dot, such that the dot sits between the 2 visible links, and others have only one coloured link, which they say lines up with the dot, YET BOTH TYPES HAVE ONLY ONE DOT FOR THE CRANKSHAFT!!! FOR cryign out loud, that means that depending which chain you purchase, you will be either an even amount of teeth away or an odd amount of teeth! COME ONE, what is this nonsense?
Some ghonda k24 diagrams show the links being lined up one way and other the other, so i have no idea whats going on.
So who knows, why are there 2 types of chains, dose one type of engine have a differnet chain guide or somethign? if so hwo the hell do i work that out.

 

Just go with the timing marks on the cams and crank. Ignore the colored links just like doing a timing belt.

Turn the engine over by hand before pilling the pin on the tensioner and see if the timing marks all line up. Should be pretty easy to see by eye.

And remember these engines turn clockwise, turning them backwards will show the incorrect timing as the slack in the chain will be on the wrong side.

 

right ok. im a perfgectionist and tryign to avoid any more codes and i guess im desperate to understand why 2 authorative pieces of litterature have 2 different ideas about how many links you should end up with between crank and cam, that frustrates the hell out of me, because it means some ppl have differnet timing with the same damn engine. thats nto good!

 

I cannot speak for ALL brands of aftermarket "K" series timing chains, but if you are referring to OE timing chains, the K20 style/size has three marked links and the K24 style/size chain has five marked links. Since these two chains are not interchangeable, your concern about cam-to-crank orientation would not be an issue.

 

well, heres the thing, all the k24 chains available here for me, have 3 coloured links, and i just took my cahin off and rubbed every link to find the coloured ones, and there are only 3. Also, ive managed to reinstall the chain propperly with all the dots lining up, and iut revelas a stretched chain of aboiut half a link. if i were to have lined up the top marks between the visible links, like the 5coloured link method, there is no way my timing woudl ever line up, it would either be 0.5 teeth advanced, or 1.5 teeth retarded.
So its jsut wierd, the world msut have differnet k24A1 motors!

 

ok wow, slap ,myself in the face, i thoguht i had a k24 since the day i bought it, after researching on the net the enigne that the 2002-2006 crv came with., i just opened the registeration and found displacement = 2000cc, and then opened the user manual, and found k20A4, then found the special mention of the SEA variant on the k series wiki page its a k20A4.

85 links on the chain. so ive been looking at the wrong engine the whole time.