01 Taurus chirping noise from engine/trans area

[79scout]

My 01 Taurus SES Wagon 3.0 (Vulcan) has an intermittent pronounced chirping noise at idle. Took my mechanics stethoscpoe and narrowed it down to the LF engine bay at the upper trans housing area. Goes away with increased engine rpm. 77K miles, no driveability issues. Has anyone experienced this before?

[hughw]

I have the exact problem with my 2000 ses....intermitent chirp that
goes away with increased rpm.......Its the cam sensor.....The
shaft is turning in the plastic sensor cap..that may be a bit off or warped...and causing the chirping....I understand that the sensor itself is inexpensive...about $30....but the rest of the assembly is $250 or so just for the part. I understand from other postings that all you need to do is replace the sensor (top part) ...which is a pain to get to because of the plastic shielding on top of the engine. Look at top of engine just where engine is attached to trans...you will see a wiring harness....the sensor is just under that wiring...and as you can see the plastic must be removed to get to it....I havent replaced mine because after adding slick 50 to my oil it rarely chirps any more....I'm assuming that some of the slick 50 lubricant got to the "point of chirp" and helped..but thats only a guess on my part..I know Ill eventually have to deal with the problem..but its going to have to get a lot worse before I do the job.

[79scout]

Thank you for the feedback, sounds like a project for when the weather cools off a bit.