I've been working on a problem for several of months that I can't figure out. When my engine warms up all the way, it starts making a ticking noise. It is worse under load. I first thought of an exhaust leak but they usually happen cold and go away when things warm up. By pulling off one plug wire at a time and one injector plug at a time, I have narrowed it to #6 cylinder. I swapped #5 and #6 plugs, then #5 and #6 plug wires and the noise was still in #6 cylinder. I took #6 injector out and tested the spray. It looked good, but I cleaned it several times any way. I then switched #5 and #6 fuel injectors but the ticking still came from #6 position. I have replaced all my hoses, have a new distributer (my vac advance wasn't working. I have removed all of my EGR stuff and have a non EGR manifold. I have also disconnected my BCDD valve. I have all new fluids. I noticed the ticking right after adjusting the timing and the valves. After buying my new distributer, I reset my timing to 10deg TDC with the vacuum advance capped off. I thought that I might have got the valves a little tight so I re-adjusted them again. The problem has not changed. I'm running 93 Octane, non ethanol gas. The car runs good and idles steady but the noise gets really annoying when the engine warms up. Sorry this is so long but I didn't want to leave anything out. I would really appreciate any input that anyone has on this problem.
Thanks,
Dan Frye

 

It's a solid lifter, flat tappet motor, ticking is normal. You could always switch to a thicker oil to cover it up though.