Clicking....

[Frizzle86]

Ok, well this past week my cougar started to make a clicking noise. It seems to be comming from the passenger side where all of the pulleys and belts are. The noise does increase in sound and the rate of the tick when the RPMs rise.

No CELs have gone off and atm it seems the car runs fine otherwise.

Any clues?

[soldier989]

Mine just started the same thing.....

Any ideas anyone?

[2002XR]

Mine just started the same thing.....

Any ideas anyone?


Still dont know what caused it, but mine started doing that then turned into a rattle then I needed a new engine.

[jrak123]

A/C compressor? HLA's? How many miles are on the car? What type of oil do you use? and does it do it only when driving? Turning? does it do it in park/Neutral. Does it get louder with RPM's?

[soldier989]

From what I've noticed:

130k Miles
Cannot tell if it increases with RPM, exhaust is too loud.
In neutral I hear it, when Im clutching and in gear I hear it
Motorcraft 5w-30 (Just changed this weekend)
Do not use my A/C
I can virtually only hear it when Im idling because of my car being loud.

Forgot to mention, my CEL does post. It goes on and off randomly. I need to change out that damn O2 sensor.

I have not noticed any performance loss. Thanks!

[jrak123]

Try pulling off the serpintine belt to see if it still makes noise. Just don't run it very long with out the alt. spinning.

[Frizzle86]

I got 80K in miles.
Only mod is the GMK Intake
10W-30 Mobile one syn.
Makes noise up untill 4K Rpms then it dissapears.
I hear it in neutral and in gear, AC on and off.

Clicking does not get louder when i step on the gas but the clicking matches the rpms in terms of how fast it clicks. :(

[Moraki]

Could be anything on that side or in the heads like Jrak said....

Removing the belt and listing for the noise will help you eliminate some things.

If the noise goes away, its either your A/C or Alternator ...which could be the clutch or pulley on either one failing or the whole Alt itself.

If it stays then its something more along the lines of the engine. HLA tap or something else enternal.

[Frizzle86]

So i just take the belt off and start her up and see what happens?

I don't belive it could be my alt, it was replaced just last year and my idiot battery light has yet to go off like it was doing prior to my alt failure last summer.

btw what is the HAL tap?



*little rant* i can't belive what a pos this car can be, i thought about selling it several times but was waiting to pay it off. Then i figured hell i'll keep it and after putting on new tires something else needs to be addressed. :mad:

[jrak123]

btw what is the HAL tap?

it's HLA actually and that stands for Hydraulic lash adjusters(lifters essentially)

as they get old they wear out a bit and make some noise, you can make the noise go away somewhat by using a little heavier weight oil.

And yes just remove the belt and start it up, if you have a battery charger it would be a good idea to put it on your battery while the car is running without the alt. hooked up.