Weird noise coming from the passenger side of the engine.

[Ian_92]

Hey guys, I bought a 2003 Mazda Proteg LX with 173xxxkm on it last week, everything seemed in good shape, alot of mainetance done on it, every belts are new etc.

Last week I was driving to work and my check engine light came on, nothing seemed to be out of order so I thought maybe a sensor, shortly after I had to do some work which required for me to unplug my battery temporarily (which made the check engine light go off), it's been a few days and it hasn't come back on yet.

Today I was driving and I had the feeling that my engine sounded a bit different than before, I parked and opened the hood, and there's a little ''click click click'' sound which seems to be coming from the left side of the engine (passenger side)

I'm very worried it could be serious, anyone knows what it could be?

Video for sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h69ZEgRcU3o&feature

Edit: Forgot to add, the noise isn't there all the time, when I rev up the engine it seems to die down a bit and I noticed it the most when I was on Idle

 

[fkmp5]

pull the plugs and see if any of them look to be mashed in/tampered. if so you might have something inside that chamber. use a telescopic magnet to see if you can pull anything out.. if it's a little bit of metal it might be a smashed up vtcs screw that got sucked in. i'm not mechanic, but i just went through something similar with the protege5.

 

[Ian_92]

I've got absolutely no tools at my apartment, home is 350km away and I'm not much of a mechanic, might have to take it in the garage then, I just hope its not a rod knock or something expensive, student budget

Did you fix yours yourself? If so how complicated what it, or did you follow a tutorial?

If not, how much did it cost?

 

[chaosProtege]

I can't check the vid since the computer i'm on doesn't have speakers. If you had something in the cylinder it would be pretty loud and increase with revs instead of decreasing. Never hurts to check tho. There is a TSB from mazda on the VTCS screws so they might fix it for free at the dealership if it qualifies. You will get some "ticking" from the injectors at idle, which is normal. Check your belts and pulleys for any stray cords or broken pieces off the pulleys. Just some suggestions before you take it in to a shop. You may also want to try an auto parts store, they sometimes have people working that know wtf they're talking about- like me

 

[tweety2300]

Could be water pump. Can't watch vid on my phone bit does it increase with rpms?

 

[fkmp5]

I've got absolutely no tools at my apartment, home is 350km away and I'm not much of a mechanic, might have to take it in the garage then, I just hope its not a rod knock or something expensive, student budget

Did you fix yours yourself? If so how complicated what it, or did you follow a tutorial?

If not, how much did it cost?

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/member.php?15092-boostdprotegelxforum member boostdprotegelx (Exile motorsports) fixed mine. He's local to me so i'm lucky. He came to my house and did the intake manifold (two screws missing and the plate was inside the manifold). I had already removed one crushed screw from chamber #1 with a telescopic magnet. I still had some problems beyond that so he took the car to his shop and I ended up having the valve seals replaced, timing belt & tensioner replaced and also egr valve. Finally, it seems to be running smooth again!

 

[Ian_92]

Could be water pump. Can't watch vid on my phone bit does it increase with rpms?

Nope, It seems totally random, I could be driving, and then I stop and it takes a few seconds, or sometimes a minute and then it slowly starts like ''tick..... tick..... tick tick tick...'' it really sounds like a small ball would be bouncing around, The only relief I get from that is that it's most likely not critical like a bend rod knock lol.

 

[fkmp5]

that's identical to what i had. send boostdprotegelx a pm, i literally just got my car back like 2 weeks ago from him. he might be able to give you some insight/advice

 

[c7scayman]

Place your hand on the engine. Do you feel the vibration of the sound on the engine?
If so, where? Make sure the sparkplugs are tight. That tapping sound good be coming through one of the sparkplugs from inside the engine if they are loose.