kent is there a ticking noise you are worried about? if so, most common problems with 4.7 and 5.7 is broken exhaust manifold studs, CHECK EVERY ONE, they may not look broken but I see about 5 cars a day with that problem. Usual symptons are ticking when cold, and when warmed up usually goes away. - get headers simple fix

if thats not the problem and its definatly coming from inside the heads or engine, go to your local autoparts store, get some good SYNTHETIC 5w-30 and a quart of lucas syn. oil stabalizer and use 5.5 qts of oil and .5 qt of the lucas use half a quart of the lucas every oil change, heres a picture of heads with no valve cover gasket, almost 190k and you better believe i have a heavy foot.

 

I can second what varner is saying, I thought I had a lifter tick but its just that exhaust repair before the y-pipe that spits moisture until its warmed up. It REALLY sounds identical to lifter tick.

 

I ran seafoam through my truck that way and it didnt do a thing at all.
Which kinda made me sad lol. I originally bought it for the old 2000 Dakota I had but bought my 05 before I did.

 

Yeah, synthetic. Its not a manifold leak, I do know that. Just a real slight noise from the valve cover area. I never really noticed it until I started with synthetic.

 

Now correct me if I'm wrong. When using synthetic oil you're are most likely going to hear some valve train noise and slight engine/internal noise. This is because synthetic oil is thinner than conventional, while both still lubricate the necessities....