Impending problem?

[Walsted]

Edit: I totally mis-diagnosed where the problem is coming from. It is getting louder, and occurs whether the clutch is depressed or not. (Possibly, this is an additional, more obvious, problem, and is masking the original problem.) When I listen under the hood with the engine running, it sounds like it is coming from near the cam gears, (possibly lower, possibly behind them,) and coincidently, the frequency is about half of engine RPMS. Opening the oil fill cap doesn't make the noise any louder. It is loudest when the engine is cold. Installed a new timing belt (with cam seals, water pump, tensioners) as of a couple of months ago. The new belts seem to be riding close to the rear of the gears instead of centered. Replaced the oil, plugs, air filter, and PCV valve last week right before I started noticing the noise, but that is probably coincidental. The noise becomes less noticeable as the car warms up.

At least it looks like it ISN'T the transmission.

Previous Incorrect guess: Driving out of my driveway the past few times, I've noticed a faint clicking sound, sort of like one would hear if differential u-joints were going bad. I only hear it when in first gear with the clutch released. I hear it both accelerating and decelerating. If I depress the clutch it goes away, but will come back if I shift back into first and release the clutch. The clicking frequency is directly related to the rpm of the drivetrain, and sounds like it is coming from the area around the clutch disk.

My first inclination is that it was a problem internal to the transmission, since it only occurs in first. Hopefully, I am wrong.

Any suggestions/ideas? ('99L with 226K miles)

Thanks

[HudsonHawk]

Sounds like a throwout bearing.

[Radio-Active]

My last through out bearing on a previous vehicle only made noise when you depressed the clutch. This does'nt sound like the problem to me.

You could always change the fluid and look for metal particles in the fluid and on the oil plug.

[Walsted]

Updated symptoms above