Engine noise from chevrolet 5.3 L 325 V8

Greetings from Bemidji Minnesota: I'm trying to find what is making the noise from the engine on a 2003 chevrolet 5.3 L 325 .I took the surpintine belt off and still have the noise. At 2000 RPM I can even hear it in side the vehicle while driving down the road with the windows up.It sounds like it is coming from the front of the engine.TICK TICK TICK or CLANK CLANK CLANK.The engine has 203,800 miles on it.

Thanks for any suggestions: Jon

These engines are known to have pretty loud piston slap, try and get a video of what it sounds like so we can hear it. Is it louder or quieter while the engine is cold? if it quiets down as the engine warms up it could just be a bad case of piston slap. If it gets louder as the engine warms up then it probably a bigger issue like a spun bearing or collapsed lifter. Although these are tough little engines, with that many miles anything is possible.