l have a 97 dodge ram 1500 5.9 4x4. l am hearing a ticking in the motor it sounds like a lifter so l have been told. the vehicle still runs good and has oil pressure. l was just wondering if you would have any other ideas of what the noise could be. the last mechanic l took it too said it was not the lifter and if it runs good do not worry about it. l am not taking that advice. you seem to be the fore most expert on dodge so your opinion matters a great deal to me. by the way whatever you tell me to try l am going to try and tackle it on my own. l must learn somehow. thank you

Get ready to kiss your Dodge goodbye.

You must try a variety of mechanics. Then consider the most suitable answer.

It could be a bomb.

Ticking sounds like a bomb. yeah dodge puts micro bombs in everything since being kicked out of NASCAR & has not made anything worthy ever since under $75,000.00. Micro bomb, detonates & destroys part directly attacked then damage spreads & continues for years until the whole thing is replaced.

invest in a Viper, the mechanic is waiting for the bomb to go off.

lmao, im not the dodgeman & ticking usually comes from sticky lifters but can be anything, too many valves & sensors anymore for me to tell, try an automtive stethoscope & maybe u can find the bomb. err the tick.

a lifter is most likely - and it may run fine for another 100K miles with the ticking.

change the oil and filter.

could be many things, l have seen main bearings make a ticking noise before on this engine. maybe an exhaust leak? could be a belt tensioner. who knows without hearing it. try running 4qts trans fluid to one qt oil through the engine and hold at high idle for an hour or so and then change all the fluid out and replace with engine oil. if its a dirty/sticking lifter then that should clean it out.

a leaking header gasket,at one of the cylinder on a head will sound just like a lifter. If your going to try and fix it yourself, then you ought to locate the cause of the problem yourself.

if your lifter is stuck try running 20w50 in it,that,s the kind of oil l use in all my customers cars, and if that don,t work try 80w90 gear oil,worst that can happen if it blows your motor up,it,s time was probably up anyway,good luck.

maybe an exhaust leak..id try to get a better idea of where the noise is coming from.. try a mechanics stethascope! good luck!

l see a have a copy cat,lol,anyway the sound ur hearing may be a timing chain & gears making a slight noise in it, l own a 2001 model ram that is been doing that for a while now & l know its the timing chain that is causing that too happen,try doing this, change the oil to a thinner oil for a while & see if that will help clean out the lifter on it if there is dirt caught up in one that might help to clear it out,that is the only thing right now l know to tell u other than to keep a close watch on the oil pressure,if its got over 125 thousand miles on it u might want to consider changing the timing chain & gears in it before they break,good luck.

l have a friend that had a dodge neon and it ticked he drove it for a month befor it stop running it was the wrist pin l hope ithelps

could be the lifters, could be the rocker arms, pushrods, could even be a spark plug wire ''arching'' . l would start it at night & if u see a spark every once in a while on the wires or around the distributor - that is it. Do u have headers on it? Could be a bad gasket. Pop open the valve covers make sure everything is torqued & oil is flowing through the return holes in the heads. If all is torqed right & oil is flowing right, & there r no sparks from the wires etc.. It probably is a lifter- in that case do the easy thing, change the oil & filter. Try a high mileage oil, & a K&N oil filter to see if the lifter will prime. If she dos not prime up- get ready to pull the intake & put lifters in her.

Geez man, what a bunch of smart A .
You need to determine at aleast the general area the noise is coming from.The timing chain is near the front. Pop off the serp belt, to make sure its not the tensioner, or other accessory making noise. It will also make listening around the front of the motor safer for a novice.
If its a lifter tick, coming from the top, or top sides of the motor, l agree with changing the oil. Add a qt of atf, or marvel mystery oil to the eng oil, drive a few hundred miles(or till the noise stops, & change again.)The lifter noise is due to debris plugging the oil hole, trapping air in the lifter. The noise is the slack or clearance now in the lifter. These r very good quality roller lifters, changing them can be very expensive.
l like to use a piece of vac hose about 31/2ft long taped to the end of a couple ft screwdriver, one end in the ear, & ''sniff'' around for the noise(works GREAT locating exhaust leaks)~Dan