I have a ticking noise that happens on start up when the engine revs up little. The ticking then goes away at idle but is obviously heard when accelerating the truck. Goes away again when coasting or at idle. Its very rhythmic and speeds up and gets louder as the rpms go up. At some point the regular exhaust noise and road noise and wind pretty much drown it out as the vehicle picks up speed.

Essentially, I have a some sort of ticking noise only when accelerating that speeds up as the RPMs go up but goes away when you get off the gas pedal. Do you guys think its an exhaust leak or lifter tick?

 

Get about 4 feet of fuel hose. Put one ear on one end and move the other around. This will let you make sure it's not the exhaust. I suspect the engine myself. An exhaust tick doesn't change with speed and usually goes away as the exhaust warms up.

I recently did a major tuneup on my '96 Ram with the 5.9 and it had a tick in the upper engine all the time I've had it. It was the remnants of a flattened can of Schlitz beer laying in the valley between the heads. You may have a weak lifter. That will often change with the engine speed.

 

I would think if it was a lifter you would hear it most of the time. Do you have decent oil pressure? What weight oil are you using? Have a look around the exhaust manifolds for any black spots.
If it was a leak at the exhaust manifold(engine to manifold) it would. But not being able to hear it and determine where it is coming from is hard to do over the internet.

 

Thats my assumption too. If it were lifter it would be more consistent, no? My exhaust manifolds look super crunchy but I havent found a black hole yet.

I also have a video but the website wont let me upload it

 

I have good oil pressure and using 10w-30