I reassembled and the noise is gone for now. I figured they would stiffen but once out of the truck they should bleed down without anything blocking the oil passages. Again I tried using my 12" channel locks being careful not to cover the holes. They didn't budge, didn't squirt or even leak any oil while I was trying to compress them. All 16 of my old lifters were frozen and have been that way for god only knows how long. Years at least. Even after sitting on the bench for 2 weeks on paper towels so there should be little to no oil left in them they are still stuck just like the new ones are now.

 

Ok, So Apparently I'm a jacka$$. I disassembled one of the old lifters today just to see what's going on inside them. I did not know there is a check ball inside lifters. At this point I'm assuming the new ones are fine but I'm curious what failed on the old ones if the check ***** are still holding properly? They ticked pretty bad on cold start. So, if the check ***** are good and they retain fluid properly what makes them lose on startup? The oil inside the old lifter was fairly dark and thicker than fresh oil.

 

It doesn't take too many of them being bad to make a LOT of noise.....

 

They lose prime while sitting... They clatter until full of oil again.

 

I have yet to see them loose prime sitting on their side on my bench. That's what is confusing me. I figured they would lose prime and drain but after 3 weeks the old ones are still rock solid. I don't have a bench vise to try and compress them but I can't do it with my big pliers.