I have a 1990 ranger with 170,000 miles. I recently switched to synthetic oil and it got really dirty really fast and developed a noisy lifter tick, I did an engine flush and changed the oil after about 1,000 miles and the ticking got much quieter. There still is a tick and I'm not sure if its something I need to be worried about. Could it be a heat shield?


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Could be lots of things and not necessarily a lifter. I have a ticking but it is my injectors being noisy. Swapping to a synthetic oil on a high mileage vehicle tends to uncover problems that haven't shown themselves before.

With the oil that dirty really fast it cleaned a lot of varnish and grime out of your engine. You may want to switch to a heavier oil or to try a top cylinder lubricant to see if it quietens the engine.

 

The ticking could also be an exhaust leak, check your manifolds for cracks.