Tick, tap, tick, tick, tick.....help needed

[wacorider]

hello all,

I'm driving my 1993 ranger 4.0 V-6 with 297,000 miles on it, stock with a camper shell...well taken care of with parts replaced on a regular basis, running synthetic oil.
Problem: last week , on start up, when cold, the engine started ticking...very unusual in that it starts ticking in groups of 8 ticks, staring out quietly at first, and then building in loudness and intensity for the final 8th tick. It then starts all over again. The last tick sounds very much like a faulty lifter, (but don't let that sway you.)
There may be a few random ticks thrown in for the engine warm up period, then the ticking goes away and the truck runs great!

My thought is that the lifter is getting oil, but it is loosing pressure with the ticking sequence, eventually making the louder lifter/metallic pounding sound

What do your goys think? Please help Thanks

 

[TxGasRacer]

Probably your rocker arm cups where your push rod end sits,the rocker arms are Splash oiled because of the solid ball pushrod ends.The push rods Do Not have a oil hole in them so there is No oil flow to the rocker arm cups through the push rods as this is the way Ford designed them.The Rocker arm shafts are pressure fed,but the rocker arm cups where the push rods sit are just Splash oiled and after a few years the push rod cup sockets in the rocker arms wear and cause excessive clearance which causes the ticking sound you hear.

 

[Will]

The engine is getting old and losing oil pressure. It needs a bottom end overhaul. Mine needed this at 140,000. Replace any worn valvetrain parts at the same time.