Ford Repair: Engine Repair 4.2L 6 cylinder, head gasket, valve job

Question
I had a head gasket give way and fill a cyliner with water.  I discovered this when the engine would not spin and I pulled the sparkplugs. I spun the engine by hand and water gushed out the center cylinder on the passenger side.  I removed the head had it pressure checked, resurfaced, & a valve job completed on it.  The head checked good.  After reassembly of the engine it starts fine,& reacts to the accelerator smoothly. However there is a continous pecking sound which I initial thought was a collapsed lifter. I am unable to identify where the noise is coming from. I tried running the engine without the belt being installed just to eliminate the obvious components. I have not tried driving the vehicle for fear of doing further damage. Is it possible that it is a bearing? How can I verifiy or pinpoint the problem?


Answer
Hello and thanks for the question...I'll try to help.
 What I would suggest you do is run the engine and disconnect ONE spark plug at a time. Starting with the one on the cylinder that filled with coolant. It is VERY possible that you bent the rod.
 Other than that, you would need to pull the engine and verify each bearing.
Hope this helps,
Erik