Pontiac Repair: engine noise, pontiac trans am, metal shavings

Question
1988 pontiac trans am 305 v8 throttle body
I have a loud knock coming from the front of my engine. The car runs normal only with a slight to moderate loss of power. The knock is constant and speeds up when accelerating. I've checked the flywheel, all the belt driven pulleys, and the oil for metal shavings. The only thing i can see is the harmonic balancer is pretty worn out. Could this cauese the knock?

Answer
It could be. Check the rubber in the balancer for cracks. If the noise goes away with the belt off, it has to be one of the belt driven parts, most likely the water pump. It could also be the timing chain slapping inside the cover if the noise is still there with the belt off.