Our 2000 Camry XLE is close to 60K miles running on regular fuel. Couple of months ago the check engine light came on and the mechanic reset it and said the wife need to tighten the gas cap more. This week the check engine light came on again and today I hear couple of noises coming from the engine compartment. One is higher pitch sound like the water pump is going out and the other is lower pitch like a bearing needing grease at low speed - this occurs during ideal speed and not very loud but loud enough to hear it with the hood closed.
I just check the engine again, and for some strange reason unknown to me, both sounds are now gone and is replaced by a slight tapping noise. I guess that tapping sound means I need the valves adjusted. As for the check engine light I have an OBDII diagnostic meter on back order as I don't need to pay the local mechanic $150 to reset it again.
Any ideas of what's going on? Thanks in advance.