is this a normal sound for the engine? its an 03 hardtop S and I have had it for about 8 months now and I'm pretty sure it has always sounded like this. I've never heard an engine make a rattle/chatter like that.

http://s86.photobucket.com/user/Anbu..._1514.mp4.html

 

hello. i hope someone can offer advice to what that sound is. mines doing the same thing and i dont think its a valvr. i opened the valve cover,oil cap, and the noise didnt get louder. it comes and goes, when its cold or hot driving fast or at idle. in nuetral, in gear. no clue...

 

I don't hear anything glaringly abnormal, but it kinda sounds a little more "clicky" then it should. A few things to think about.
-The dual mass flywheel can be very noisy. The sounds can come and go. If you push on the clutch does it get better or worse?
-A bad valve lifter? But, the frequency of clicks at idle sounds a little too fast to be valve train noise to me.
-Fuel injectors. Yes, they make noise. Some engines just have loud injectors. My MKII Jetta Digifant sounded like sewing machine when you stuck your head under the hood. It was completely normal (I've owned several of them over the years).
-Belt tensioner and/or crankshaft pulley. Very common failures on these cars that usually coincide with weird clicking noises. Most noticeable when the engine is under load.
-Timing chain.

Take a ~3ft length of rubber hose and use it as a makeshift stethoscope. Stick one end in your ear, grab the other end and fish it around the engine bay to pinpoint the location of the noise.

 

I do get a noise that goes away when I push my clutch in, my throw out bearing but this is different. This noise comes from the passenger side of the engine compartment so that could be a pulley. I'm an auto tech student and asked my engines instructor, he said it could be valve timing too.