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I just got this car the other day for free. Brought it home and it runs, but the engine makes a ticking noise the entire time. Any suggestions? Timing belt and a whole list of things are new. Engine was just rebuilt. It was parked for two years before being cranked again.

maybe thers a bomb somewhere haah jk...umm is the sound coming from the front or the back of the car? could be anything

Does the ticking correspond with engine RPM?

First things first. Check the oil level. If it's not full things will tick. If it's full, you can (assuming it's the right engine...) clean the HLA (Hydraulic Lash Adjusters). It's a day job so I've heard. You have to take off the valve cover, and take out the cams. There's a how to somewhere.

Yes it's coming from the engine. It does correspond with the rpms. I wil probably take it somewhere and have it done if it involves removing the cams. Dont even wanna get into that. I also noticed it doesnt ever drop below 1200 rpms idling.

nick2000 wrote:I just got this car the other day for free. Brought it home and it runs, but the engine makes a ticking noise the entire time. Any suggestions? Timing belt and a whole list of things are new. Engine was just rebuilt. It was parked for two years before being cranked again.

Assuming your t-belt replacement included related pulley h/w replacement - should be no probs there, check these links for some info re ticking HLAs and/or ticking from carbon buildup and how to remove.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tsb/tip_1_0595.html
http://www.miata.net/garage/tsb/s004_93.html

HLA's or timing belt tensioner. More likely the HLAs. I've heard storys of ATX trans fluid instead of the oil... run it for like 10 minutes... then drain it. That's supposed to clean it all up.