I noticed when I start my car I can hear a noise that kinds sounds like a bearing, but it seems to come from about the front middle upper part of the engine. if I rev the engine up a few times, the noise goes away. I am thinking it is a dry tension pulley or idler pulley. Does this make any sense? Car has 134k on it.

 

Be careful...

And someone with better knowledge of the 98 will correct me...

​​​​​​This may sound extreme. But if the car is truly new to you,,,, remove one (passenger side is easier) of the cam covers and inspect the timing belt tensioners! It's very important... If they are the old type with the plastic body replace them.

I might be ringing alarms for no reason, I guess the sound is not exactly the same, but yes, alarms do go off when I hear folks say they are hearing funny noises from the front of the engine on theses cars - especially if new to them.

Check to see if the tensioners have been upgraded no matter what.

 

Get a mechanics stethoscope, even a cheap Harbor Freight on and you should be able to tell which one is causing the sound. Another way to check is remove the belt and spin them by hand.