93 Escort LX 1.9L rattling sound.

I have had rattling sounds, which came from the cam belt not being tight enough. The long dimension of the belt run would then allow the belt to be smacking the long side of the inside timing belt cover. A simple loosening and tightening of the tensioner solved that problem. Other things that can cause similar sounds, would be worn bearings in the tensioner pulley and the idler pulley for the serpentine belt. Also, the a.c. compressor has a pulley and it has a bearing hidden inside it. Its not replaceable on the car, and that bearing going bad can cause the serpentine belt to be skidding over that pulley, and the belt being loose on the side near the tensioner arm. I like to replace the idler and tensioner pulleys about each ten years. The pulleys themselves are not expensive, and come with new bearings. I eventually replace the old a.c. compressors, with a rebuilt, just to have a good bearing inside the compressor pulley; even when the a.c. system no longer works.