It seems to be coming from the engine. Either the valves or and exhaust leak. The strange thing is it seems to go away, or at least quiet down alot when you rev the engine up. Every exhaust leak i have been around in the past seemed to get worse when reved up.Any ideas before i call the mechanic? I checked out all around the manifold and didnt see any soot from a leak. Another question for you. I noticed that one of the fuel injectors is leaking a little fuel where the injector goes into the head. What do you suppose it would take to fix that? Thanks for your time.
When was the last time you had the valves adjusted? Deer engines require valve adjustments at regular intervals.
I've seen belt tightened make a ticking sound before as well that I swore at first was valves.
I agree, with S.R.E. I'd run the valves to make sure everything is properly adjusted. How many hrs on the engine? Also, unlike a gas engine, diesels don't "tink" when they have exhaust leaks. You said the noise goes away when you rev the engine up, it is probably still making the noise, you just can't hear it due to the increase of normal engine noise.