Hey guys, upon opening my hood after a 15 minutes drive, I discovered a random clicking noise. When I say random, I mean there is no set amount of time that passes between it. If I had to narrow it down, I'd say once every 10-20 seconds. The engine also seems to be consuming a bit more gas than usual, when a week ago it was doing better on fuel consumption. It seems to have decent power. I recently replaced the ignition module (for erratic tach action), distributor cap/rotor, all plugs and all wires and it ran great after that.

It also has had a slight knocking sound, but it has been doing that for months, which makes me believe it's a lifter and not a knock. All cylinders have correct compression ratings and are all close to eachother, the coils on the injectors all read the same but I still need to flow check them. This is my only vehicle at the moment, so I'd like to have a general idea where to look before I start tearing into the car and making it undriveable. Also, at idle, it's usually steady but once in a while it will dip then raise. The dips/raises are not associated with the clicking noise. Anyone have any idea?

 

I don't want to sound insulting, but do you have air conditioning? Because that will cause a clicking sound when it cycles, as well as reduce fuel mileage, and cause the engine speed to vary.

 

Haha don't worry I didn't find it insulting. Only half the A/C system is there (since I need new parts) and the sensors are unplugged, so it's not A/C.
The clicking noise is coming from up top somewhere, since it's moderately loud and seems to be right in my face. My guess would be an injector that's screwed up, or a very very noisy/broken rocker. The part that is odd is that there is no timeable delay between each click; it varies.