Lifters making clicking sound
 

the guy at midas said my lifters are what is making the clicking sound in my engine. will this need to be fixed soon? what are the lifters anyway?

I am assuming your are referring too your 2000 F150. They are really not lifters but are called lash adjusters. They are hydraulic and take up lash between the valve stem and the roller follower. The cam lobes ride on the roller follower. Not sure how many miles you have on your truck. These will/can make a ticking noise usually if the oil is getting thin or oil pressure is low. However sometimes the tick coming from the fuel injectors is mistaken for lash adjuster noise. If the noise is quite loud. I would change the engine oil and filter and see if that helps. A single rattle noise under the cam cover can be an indication that one of the lash adjusters has become collapsed ( failed) and will have to be changed. A collapsed lash adjuster can allow the roller follower to come off and create a dead cylinder buy not allowing the valve to operate. An exhaust leak can also appear to sound like a valve train noise. Take a piece of hose and place it against your ear then move the opposite end around the cover and exhaust area. It works quite well at helping to locate a noise concern. Good luck.

dyno, is there any way to determine if a lash adjuster is good or bad when you have it in your hand? is it plain obvious?

Yes, A failed lash adjuster on 2v engines will be collapsed. In other words the tip will drop partially into the lower housing. A good lash adjuster will be hard and will not compress when squeezed between your finger tips. On most of the failed ones I have found the rounded tip portion will drop freely into the lower part of the assembly or as stated will collapse easily when squeezed. Now if you remove these lash adjusters after you have inverted and rotated the engine by hand ( like on an engine stand) then they will become collapsed and it would be a normal condition. The 3v lash adjusters are different and are designed to collapse a short distance when in the engine. This is for emission purposes on startup. Thats another story though.