[jay79cj7]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I am also thinking that its good news that it comes and goes. I took it out to run an errand tonight and I couldn't get it to make the noise. A far cry from my trip home from work when it wouldn't hardly stop.

I lifted the motor/tranny/tcase as a unit a couple months ago during a rebuild. I have never disconnected the engine from the tranny. The engine is a reman (previous owner) with 40-50k miles and the tranny works fine, so I have not messed with them. Its got a brand new set of motor mounts and a tranny mount/arm thats about a year and a half old. (That broke before, so I know what that's like and unfortunately its not it this time.) All the mounts are secure and the engine doesn't visibly sway when I rev it.

I drove by a harbor freight on the way home and tried to pick up one of those stethoscopes. They were out. The darn thing was so loud I was afraid to venture off the path to go somewhere else to get one. Its on the list of things to do this weekend.

I changed the oil maybe 2 weeks ago. Its right at the right level. I used the autozone discount brand Coastal. I have never used it before. I use name brand stuff in my XJ, but I am not as kind to the CJ. I do change it at 3k miles every time though. From what I have read, the discount oil is OK to use as long as you don't go to long with it.

As for whether it sounds like a tick... I don't think so. It sounds more like two things are crashing together. Like if you stuck something in the fan, or the sound an impact wrench makes. Very regular frequency, varies with engine speed, and VERY loud. I've never heard what bad valves/lifters sound like, but my buddy has and he said it doesn't sound like it.

As best as I can tell, the noise is coming from the back of the engine or front of the transmission. And its got me ticked off! Thanks for the help guys. Let me know if this sounds like anything familiar to you, and I will let you know what I find.