Hi

Just bought an 07 Reg Ford KA Studio with an 8v 1.3 Duratec engine, 55k miles, full dealer service history and one company owner. We bought it to replace our 52 Reg KA (Endura) which had got to an age and milage where we saw it as a liability so decided to quit while we were winning!

We have done about 200 miles in the new KA and its superb, accept for the presence of a Ticking/swishing noise comming from the engine which not present in our old car. I assumed the Auxiliary Belt was to blame so for the sake of £12 I replaced it with a reputable brand but the noise is still there and although low in volume annoys me! Some findings so far:

1) It is revs and not speed dependant 2) can be heard easiest when idelling or when driving with the windows down between close houses 3) when spraying water or WD40(old belt) there is no change 4) fluid levels all fine 5) turning the steering wheel or putting the rear demister on have no affect 6) I have PAS but no aircon 7) with the old belt removed all pullies/auxiliaries rotated smoothly 8) There is no sqealing or shirping whatsoever 9) No difference after warm up period

I thought the tempo was more in line with the belt cycle rather than the engine speed so I counted 100 reptitions with the car idelling and timed myself. I then did some maths with the belt lenght, Crank Pulley diameter etc to convert the Tempo into RPM and the answer was 750 RPM so this confirmed my original thoughts.

Unfortunately I did not think to start the car with the belt off.

So, firstly is this normal for a KA? Secondly, am I right to assume that because the tempo ties in with the belt cycle that the pullies/auxiliaries are unlikely to be at fault because if they were then the tempo would be allot faster? Thirdly, any ideas as to what I do now?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!