I just want to know why you thought cleaning them would stop them from ticking?
Because lifters get sticky or clog. And clogged/sticky lifters will tick, cleaning them will unclog/unstick them...hence stop the ticking. Also that's what i was advised by several mechanics.
Although initially i took them out to inspect them. But they looked perfectly O.K. So then i went about cleaning them. My brother used to have the same problem on his dodge charger, i remember he took it to this workshop and had his lifters cleaned. I can't remember if it solved the problem though, but i don't remember him complaining afterwards. I might call him to check if it worked.
But yeah, when you get noisy lifters, it is first recommended to change to thinner oil (synthetic nowadays i guess). If that didn't work, then do an engine flush with some flushing oil to get the dirt out and unclog the lifters....then run thinner oil. If that didn't work then you should remove the lifters and clean them. I guess now i'm at a stage where i should replace them since all those steps didn't work...haven't tried synthetic oil though...just slightly thinner oil. Might give that a shot and see if solves the problem.
Honestly though, i feel that it might be something else...the lifters looked perfectly fine inside out. And if they are not sticking....then i'm not sure why they would tick.
