Ok, so I kept putting things off, and never took care of this problem. I am now 1500 miles from home, visiting relatives, and have no place or tools to work on a car. The check engine light came on. I had Autozone check it, and got the code P0496. They had the part, and I got it. My question is, will continuing to drive the car cause any further damage? I've already put almost 15,000 miles on it with it making that ticking noise. It is definitely coming from that part. I am hoping to get back home before working on it. It runs fine, not running rough or anything. This issue slipped through the cracks, because since buying the car last September, I have changed the oil and filter about 15 times, transmission fluid 3 times, completely flushed out the cooling system and put NON dexcool coolant in it, replaced the front brake pads, had the steering/suspension aligned, put new tires on it, new windshield wipers, had the windshield replaced (thanks to a gravel truck), replaced the water pump, thermostat, water outlet assembly, serpentine belt and tensioner roller, battery (almost $200) and a few other minor things. I have never had to do so much work so soon after buying any other used car, but I knew it had been abused and neglected when I bought it.
