Ford: 87 ford escort, heat sheild, tight job

Question
i have an 87 escort with a 1.9l and when the engine reaches around 3000 rpm a rattling noise comes from engine. it sounds about like a loose heat sheild but it is not. it sounds like it is coming from the area around the timing belt. what could this be? i wanted to get an idea before i started tearing it apart. it also clears up more at higher rpms it right around the 3-4000 rpms.

Answer
Hello


The only way to find out, is to open it up.

most likely it is the belt or tensioner.

It may also be the water pump, but evry timing belt job usually gets a tensioner, belt and water pump, as it isn't worth the few dollars savings to have one of these components fail later.

They may seem fine, but the new belt changes the pressure on the old components and may cause them to fail soon after, and this is a tight job to do.