The first thing a professional would do is listen to what type of sound it is, how rapidly it occurs, what area it's coming from, and whether it changes with engine speed, engine load, or any other variables. We don't have the luxury of doing that over a computer.
If you think it's related to something run by the serpentine belt, remove the belt from the crankshaft pulley, then run the engine just long enough to verify the noise is gone or still there. If the noise is gone, bearings in idler pulleys are a common cause of a buzzing noise that changes pitch as engine speed changes.
If the speed of the noise doesn't change with changes in engine speed, a common cause of a clicking noise is emissions valves being switched on and off. That often occurs once or twice per second to control the flow rate of the fuel vapors being purged from the charcoal canister.
If the clicking is from inside the engine, Ford had a common problem on some engines with wear between the tops of the push rods and the bottoms of the rocker arms. You'll need new push rods and rocker arms to solve that.
Collapsed lifters cause a clicking noise that all mechanics recognize when they hear it. If only one or two are doing it, there is likely sludge buildup in the oil from missing oil changes. If they're all doing it, it's usually due to low oil pressure which is due to excessive bearing wear or low oil level.
There's dozens of other things that can make a clicking noise. You have to look for other symptoms or clues that could be related, otherwise anything is a guess.
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Tuesday, December 24th, 2013 AT 2:20 PM
