I pulled in from work only to hear a loud, very rapid tick-tick-tick sound coming from the car. I opened the hood and it sounds like it'* coming from one of the belt pulleys. It was tough to hear which pulley(*) might be causing the problem (if any at all).

It sounds like a telegraph. It'* not a constant tick-tick-tick, but rather a tick--ticktick-tick...a random pattern.

I noticed that it does it most while the engine is idling. The ticking volume changes a bit at different RPMs. It also ticks a bit less when the RPMs are increased (either revved or held at an RPM even as low as 1000-1200).

Is this a pulley problem?

For those who want to see/hear it, I've got 2 different videos of it. My server didn't like .avi files, so I zipped them up.

www.terran.nu/media/tick1.zip
(2.4 MB, short clip of the sound)

www.terran.nu/media/tick2.zip
(11.7 MB, longer clip of the sound with a short rev to 2000+, a hold of the revs at 1500, a shut down, and a start up)

Sounds like I'll need a trip to the service department for this, but do you have any ideas of anything else it could be (besides a pulley)?

Thanks!

Couldnt download the second video, however the first sounds like it might be the alt or maybe an idler pulley? Any SES codes? Does the car drive ok? May also be in the valvetrain but hard to hear the car properly. One thing you can do is bend of the passenger side of the hood and stick your head right in the middle of the engine to see if its in stereo or off to oen particular side.

Haven't driven the car since I noticed it, but as of that point, it drove just fine.

No SES Light. No codes thrown when I scanned it. When I put my head over the pulley system, the sound was in my right ear, so it'* towards the front. One of the front 3 pulleys, I'd assume. Not the alternator.

Get a long handle screwdriver and cup the butt end to your ear. Place the blade on different parts of the front of the engine to make sure its not in the block or valvetrain. Check for water seeping from the water pump.

Took it in to the dealership. They called shortly thereafter and said it was the Crankshaft Sensor. It was rubbing on something...so they're replacing it.

Hmm...weird... :?