Anybody's engine ever make a clucking noise?

[Shovel]

I have a strange noise that sort of sounds like a chicken idly clucking..  or like a little elf knocking pieces of wood together at random when my 2000 Montero idles...     nearest I can tell it's the PS pump but I have not yet isolated it by removing the belt for that (one good thing about having three belts, I guess)

I did spray belt dressing on the belt to see if it was just slipping belt,  sometimes those chatter rather than squealing but it's not that, and with no steering input the pressure shouldn't be high anyway right? 

This thread is probably useless without video/sound,  but maybe somebody will say oh yeah they do that! and then later when I actually get out a video camera and record it this thread will already exist so I can just post it. 

Sound is only obvious at idle but that doesn't mean it isn't happening at other speeds,  other engine noises might be drowning it out.   It seems to go away above idle though..

[Crumb]

 Maybe one of the mounting bolts has backed into the pulley, I've seen that before.

[Shovel]

Maybe one of the mounting bolts has backed into the pulley, I've seen that before.

First thing I checked!!  But nope..  I think what I need to do is wait for it to cool off (just drove home) and then remove the ps belt.  That will definitively answer whether or not it's the ps pump.   If it's not the pump (if the noise persists in the absence of the spinning ps pump) then I should record a video with sound for us to play the internet diagnosis game.

[Lordtrunks]

I've also seen the tensioner bracket broken pretty common

[Shovel]

Turns out the cluck is there without a belt on the ps pump.. I took video but have not uploaded it yet.   I hope it's not something more serious  

[PA_JERO]

I would pull all of your belts off and see if the sound still exists. If it does, we may need to dig deeper. Like, pulling timing covers off, checking crank bolt, that sort of thing. Better be safe then sorry.

[Shovel]

Here's a video of the clucking action.. 

https://youtu.be/OsTl3T3oi2o

Sound familiar to anyone?   I don't have time today,  but I guess maybe tomorrow or the next I'll take the other 2 belts off and then see what it does.    Gotta get to the bottom of this,  I'm back to driving my big truck around again until this is settled. 

[jaccox]

Is your fan just grazing against something? I've never heard such a noise lol. But it sounds like some plastic on plastic action from the video to me

[PA_JERO]

My guess is the fan/fan shroud. Get the other belts off and make sure the sound goes away. Then check to make sure compressor and all tensioners have been tightened down. Shut engine off and spin fan see if you feel or hear it rub on something also.

[Crumb]

 You have aftermarket radiator hoses, make sure the lower isn't hitting the AC clutch pully.

[Shovel]

Update on this:  turns out it was the alternator.  I finally had time Saturday to work on this and basically just removed belts,  when the alternator belt came off the noise quit.

So I happened to have a spare alternator and idler pulley, swapped both and reconnected everything,  noise is gone. 

I have no idea what part of an alternator could make a clucking noise like that and have not put any further effort into autopsy...  I guess I'll just hang onto this 2nd alternator as an emergency spare but I'm going to write "CLUCK NOISE" on it in sharpie.