engine noise

[tuanle16]

as my car gets older, i hear more noise. i have 160k miles now. for the last year or so, i have been hearing a ticking noise from the engine. i just assumed that is normal. does everyone concur? it sounds as if i am driving a diesel engine car.

more recently though, there is a new noise/rattle. it sounds like someone sticking a piece of paper in a fan and it bouncing off the blades. it only happens when i'm in gear. as soon as press the clutch or put in neutral and coast, the noise disappears. i thought it may be related to the serpentine belt, so i just replaced it..but noise still persist. any ideas?

thanks ahead of time.

i thought it could be the front engine mount...but doesn't seem to only occur at 3k rpm as most of the posts suggest. however, on a side note, the engine does make a loud thump when going from forward to reverse and vice versa.