hey dave, ive experienced this problem in other vehicles ive owned but not in my trac (knock on wood once again!), but i might be able to point you in vaguely the right direction. did you check to see if you have some sort of oil leak? if you are leaking oil, this can cause low oil pressure and that can cause the timeing chain to rattle. if not and your oil level is good, do you hear the rattle most in the morning when the engine is cold? and if so, does it seem to get quieter as you drive, warm the engine and build oil pressure? is the speed of the rattle consistent with the amount of gas you put to the pedal? how does the oil look? does it look foamy? get back to this thread with some answers to these questions and you might get some good answers. my guess is from the sound of you losing coolant and overheating, coupled with a loss in oil pressure, this sounds like a blown head gasket. if your oil is foamy or doesnt look as think as it should, this might be your culprit. try doing a search on this forum on "timing chain rattle" "death rattle" or "blown head gaskets". good luck and let us know what you find.
