Stick a long screwdriver on things, and listen for where the noise is coming from. My money is on the water pump.

cheers

James

Wrong noise for water pump. Bad pumps sound like a whirring noise, and don't go away, this goes away once running for a few minutes, if I understand the post correctly.

I'd be looking at camshaft or tappets.....come to think of it, my red car does that very slightly when its cold too, for about a minute. That's due to be flushed and full synthetic put in so I'll let you know results.

My WP made that exact noise when it was on the way out. It's worth a try with a long screwdriver, at least.

cheers

James