And that's why I'm a believer in screw in studs at a minimum, pinning a screw in stud is even better if you plan on high revving.
Clyde

 

Thanks for allthe help. I think I will use it as an excuse to go all roller with a size up on the cam. I think it will be a nice upgrade from a mild cam.

 

Pull the oil filter cut it open and look for metal flakes, once adjusted you shoundnt need to mess with the hydraulic lifter. I would assume the worst case and work back from that.

 

Griff, Thanks for the responce. I did that when I cahaged the intake. No metal metal flakes. I was worried about the lower end so I figured that was the best way. Everyone else is saying bad lifter. It's not a loud knock it's an annoying tick that I hear at idle speed (6,000-7,000 RPM's)Where should I go from here? Thanks Shaun

 

Ummm, that's quite an idle there!
Clyde

 

Sorry Clyde, I'm a bone head. 600-700rpm's. It's just that I didn't think that this tick was all that bad, but now I'm worried.

 

if its only at idle, it may be a leaky exhaust gasket, do you have aftermarket headers, sometimes they make a tick

 

Many things can cause noises under the hood, it not always the engine itself. I had a intermittent hiss that sounded like a vacuum leak, it was really a pinhole in a radiator hose that allowed coolant/steam to escape a while after the engine came to operating temp, shortly after the thermostat opened and allowed proper cooling it would go away. Took me a while to find it. On another vehicle I had a slight tear in a fan belt edge that was just enough to hit the very close AC wiring harness at times. And so on, not all noises are engine problems, you have to investigate/isolate where it is coming from, sometimes it takes weeks if not months to figure it out.Oh, and I've had some small block Chevy engines in the past that ran well for years with a little lifter/valve tick. And of course my '69 Z/28 always needed the rockers adjusted every few weeks to keep those solid lifters performing properly.
Clyde

 

Thanks for all the help guys. You lifted the worry from me. I agree...... If it's something bad than it will get worse, but it hasn't. That's not to say that it won't. I will check the header seals though. That's a cheap fix. They may be leaking.