i just bought a 97 f150xl v6 4.2 from my friends dad. he sold it cheap because of the rapid clicking noise. i listened to it closely and the sound was coming from under the valve cover on the driver side. i removed it and it and held a pole to my ear and the other end to each rocker and it sounded like the first one was the problem. i removed and inspected all rockers and pushrods and they all look good. i dug deeper to the lifters and they all look good as well.

any ideas or has anyone had this same problem in the past? i was told by a friend to go ahead and by a new motor.

thanks

 

Was the engine ever starved of oil?

 

yes. it was bone dry and the filter was rusted! ive decided to just by a new used engine from asap motors. hell i only paid 500 for it and its in great shape except for the engine.

 

Run a bottle of motor flush through it, then dump the oil and fill it up with 5W30 and a bottle of Lucas (and use a decent filter) and see if that helps. If it still makes noise, run it till it blows.