It sounds like its comming from the passenger side of the engine. It doesn't seem to increase/decrease much with RPM's, maybie a little. When it idles it randomly goes away and comes back, when your driving its pretty much random, but if you accelerate it usually goes away. I also discovered the other day that when its idling if you shake the car it starts. I'm thinking this is somthing with the AC or smog pump, any ideas? Could it be an exhaust leak, lifter or valve?

 

Sounds like an exhaust leak to me. Check your manifold or header bolts.

 

If it were an exhaust leak, wouldnt it increase as his RPM's increased?

cant AC compressors make ticking noises that generally are only heard at lower speeds/RPM's?

 

It does tick at a higher RPM, just if I increase the RPM's quickly it usually goes away, but it can come back at the higher RPM.

Would it kill the car to run it without the belt on for a minute, so long as the car was cool when I started it, or would the water pump being off for a minute be bad for it?

 

Sounds like something is loose.... maybe the converter heat shield, or the air pipe that goes down to it, something like that.

 

Not 100% sure what the converter heat shield is, but I think I checked that. Its on the driver side with the pipe going into the air filter right? If it is I just put on an open element so that cannot be the pipe, and I already checked the bolts. I guess i'll just go poke around a bit and see if I can find anything loose.

ON the front of the AC compressor, you can push that plate in a bit, could that be it?

 

Ok, after screwing around with it, it only started after it warmed up, and the AC compressor definatly does play a roll somehow. If will start/stop/change when the compressor is turned on or off, but nothing consistantly, it just changes.