Last issue to think about for the day. What could be causing a clear CLINK every so often from engine compartment. I've never heard it until recently when I was letting the car idle and standing over the engine. Almost sounds like a box wrench is loose and every once in a while taps against something. It's not consistent, sometimes a full minutes would go by without hearing it, then it would clink once, then it would happen 15 seconds later 2 or three times within 10 seconds. ??? I'm stumped, hoping it's nothing serious because it is very audible and clear with the hood up. Like I said, it would be like holding a wrench and bumping it against some metal.

 

Hmm...exhaust cooling and contracting?

 

I would agree with swift, but I have on question: do you hear this after you shut off the car, or can you hear it while the car is running. When the car is just shut off, this sounds like the normal cooling noise swift was describing.

 

Ha, no. This noise is when the car is running and it's similar to but much more noticeable than the cooling of the exhaust (by noticeable I mean louder). I'm wondering what could be loose somewhere. The car's AC was very loosely mounted (little to no tension) when I checked the belts and was missing the rear AC mounting bolt. Who knows what else is loose under the hood that I just haven't noticed yet.

Engine Mounts maybe? I'm planning on tackling those soon along with the Tranny mount. Good times.

 

Hmmm, that's strange.

 

accessory mount bushing maybe?

are the belts "jumping" any when the clinking noise happens?

 

hmmm... good suggestion. I'll check that out next time I've got the hood open. It doesn't affect driving, or the way it runs at all, so I'm just driving it and trying to not worry about it too much.