M20 Mysterious noise. And bog.

[Edirtyy808]

So I have an m20 that's making a mysterious noise. Sounds like (say chick 10x fast), it happens when I start the car, but it disappears when I accelerate, but when in neutral it comes back again. It's coming from the front end of the car, near the alternator and fan area. Please help me diagnose the problem.

Also I have a weird bog usually around 2.5-3.5k rpm, on 2 thru 5th gear. Why? It smoothens out around 4-5k rpm.

[bmwstudent]

have you looked under the hood? maybe at belts.

[mpowerful]

How long has it been since you changed the timing belt and water pump? Enough slack can cause the belt to jump a tooth and run like crap. The ticking could be the tensioner or the water pump.

[Edirtyy808]

How long has it been since you changed the timing belt and water pump? Enough slack can cause the belt to jump a tooth and run like crap. The ticking could be the tensioner or the water pump.

It's been 4 months since I changed the belts. How much slack is too much?