200 I6 ticking??

[happystang]

It started as just a little ticking on cold start up, now it won't go away even after it's warmed up!

It's a 200 I6 out of a '66 mustang. (it's in my little falcon now)


I'm running 10w-30 conventional valvoline oil with a WIX filter. Oil pressure is 25psi at hot idle. Unknown miles on the motor. Oil is fairly new.


It runs flawlessly other than the recent tick.

I pulled the valve cover off and didn't notice anything obviously loose. I started it up without the cover on and noticed all the pushrods spinning except for a couple. This bad?


Yes, there's oil in the motor

 

[C5ZZ]

Does it sound like its coming from the rocker area?
I had a clicking noise in my rocker area and noticed that the head had
been worked on by the po so I adjusted the rockers and that took care of it.
Do you have adjustable rockers on yours? If you do then you can go through the
procedure in the shop manual.

 

[happystang]

It's definitely a lifter tick. I changed the oil from 10w-30 to 10w-40 and the tick was still there. I poured in some Marvel mystery oil and the tick quieted down almost immediately then came back but slightly quieter. Once I pour in some more MMO the tick disappears, then comes back quieter again. The cycle goes on lol..

Definitely a sticking or lazy lifter.


New lifters seem to be on the list... My next few questions though:


I've been told I can get away with running new lifters on the original cam, although I'm still a little skeptical. Not too much valve spring pressure on these motors so the risk of doing damage is pretty low, I would imagine?

No way in heck would I do this on one of my V8's. (My six is a hydraulic flat tappet cam, btw) Killed a cam even with new lifters and a new cam even with a proper break in, these things are sensitive!


Will driving with this light incessant ticking do any damage? I sometimes barely notice it, I can't even tell it's there when I'm driving. The car still runs perfect other than that.