please watch the video. it is not the alternator, ps pump, or ac unit. all 3 belts were removed. the sound seems to be coming from the timing cover area....so im thinking idler pulley?

http://vid164.photobucket.com/albums...ps1foj4vyp.mp4

thanks for all your help everyone. the timing of the car seems to be ok. its not bogging or running terrible. idle did bounce back and fourth from 1700 to 2200 or so 10 seconds after the car was started the morning after the tow back to my house.

 

I would also say idler pulley. As long as you are in there, replace the water pump.

 

well i put a junkyard motor in the car 2-3 years ago, maybe 10-20k miles ago or so....did the timing belt/waterpump and a bunch of other things too. seems like a waste of money for the waterpump, esp since I would go honda and not aftermarket. but thanks for the tip

 

^FYI -- There's no need to remove the crank pulley to access the idler pulley.

OP - The idler pulley is for tensioning the A/C belt. Is that what make the noise?

An over-tensioned timing belt can cause noise. Try tensioning properly.

 

well, the it sounds like it is coming from the very top of cover for the timing belt. doesnt sound like its coming from the idler pulley beneath that. i guess I was getting idler pulley mixed up.

the timing belt has been on the car for years, no problems. i find it odd that it would suddenly start making this awful noise.

 

Okay, so don't check the timing belt tension. It's your choice.

Still, if the sound is truly coming from under the timing belt cover, you need to remove the crank pulley to figure it out.

The A/C idler pulley is not under the timing belt cover.

 

The crank pulley will come right off, no belts are on the car now. I will check the tightness of the timing belt as you suggested.

In your experience, does this sound, sound like something is seriously wrong with the engine itself?

 

Have you ever removed a crank pulley?

It's easy, so it's worth a try.

Hard to know without more information.

Did you use an engine stethoscope to pinpoint the noise? Is it definitely coming from behind a timing cover? Lower or upper cover?