Progress!
Tore down the front end of the motor today.
All auxiliary belts (AC/Alt/PS) and pulleys are okay. Water pump has no shaft play. Lower timing cover has abrasions and wear from the outside - Something's been rubbing. The lower corner also has old damage, from the PO.
With all accessory belts and pulleys off, and the timing covers off, I ran the motor.
To be fair, the car was having a 'good day' and it only made horrible noises for a minute when I moved it into the garage - All subsequent startups were quiet.
But... With the timing covers off the whole motor was very quiet. I suspect that the timing cover was vibrating against something or not secured completely - in addition to the hydraulic tensioner being suspect.
With a screwdriver on the fulcrum arm the tensioner acts against, the motor was run again. I could feel it vibrating in lower RPM's, but when the magic 2500 hit, it settled down significantly.
I'm looking for two things right now - A hydraulic tensioner I can beg, borrow, or steal. I think mine's bad, but I want another to compare it to - I can compress it most of the way in by just pressing it against the bench.
The second thing is a lower timing cover. Does anyone have a good 6 bolt lower cover? (I'll also post in the parts section).
In the meantime, I'm going to order up a timing belt kit and VC gasket (It looks to be leaking on the one face of the motor). If the tensioner proves to be bad, I'll go with OEM. As the water pump shows no signs of wear, I'll leave it alone.
