Dirty..... I bought my Ram Hemi with 66kmi on it and it ticked since the day I bought it. Mine only seems to get as loud as yours in the summer time when its really hot out. But it sounds exactly like yours!! I often wondered if I went to 5w-40 if it would help. Mine never does it till it gets to operating temp. When I first start it up she dont do it. But after she warms up she ticks away. I know its because the oil gets thinner as it get warmer. Im gonna try 5w-40 one of these days. My thought is the 5w means thin for winter starting and the 30 or 40 means the weight after operating temp. So my thinking is if I do switch to 5w-40 the oil wont get as thin when she gets to operating temp and hopefully not tick!!!! Anybody have any suggestions on my thinking?????

 

I'm with you Moe7404. I'm 61 years old and bought my 06 brand new, and believe me if it had a ticking sound it would still be sitting on the lot. I'm not going to dump 30 grand on a truck to hear it tick

 

You have it backwards. The oil visosity gets "thicker" at operating temps. I have 5w-30 in. I might try 5w-20 to see if it reduces the noise. When I start it up, zero noise. This is when the oil is at the 5weight. When it gets hot, the tick starts, this is when the oil is at 30weight.

I believe the viscosity reduces oil flow and therefore aids in the tick. I've tried everything short of the actual oil that is suppose to be in there..lol
I woudl NOT recc'd 5w-40

 

I switched from Mob 1 Syn 5w 30, and went to Pennzoil full synth 10w 30 on last oil change. Went to this weight oil because of temps here in Tx. Not sure but seems like my tick is better if not nearly gone now with this oil. I was listening for it today, and didn't notice it much at all. Or maybe I am just getting more deaf with age. But either way its never been very loud to begin with.

 

http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_viscosity/Read this! I have a chain saw that will not run when its too cold. It won't run because the bar chain oil is too cold(too thick).....once the temp gets warm enough for the oil the chain will run. Oil thins as its warmed. :-)

 

Multi-viscosity oils are molecularity made to thin when cold. This is from a Mobil rep. I had a class with years ago. For instance, 5w20 is a 5wt oil. Additives make it thicken to 20wt when hot. It sounds backwards, but it is designed this way. A straight 30wt stays 30wt no matter whet the temp. Yes, it will flow easier when hot, but still has 30wt properties.

If you have MDS and it not turned off with a tuner, do not run anything thicker than 5w20 or damage to the solenoids and lifter valves can occur.

I have heard different theories on the Hemi Tick. The most common reason is that there is too much clearance in the valve guides which lets the valves move around a little bit.
Short skirt pistons causing piston slap is another reason. The earlier GM LSx engines as well as the 5.4L 2V engines had the same issue. Either issue, oil thickness will have no real effect on. There is no oil down the valve stems unless the seals are bad and you are burning oil. Same for the pistons since the piston skirts should not actually be hitting the cylinder walls.
Does the Hemi use floating wrist pins? If so, those can make noise.

Dog, yours sounds like an exhaust leak either at the head, EGR system or a loose spark plug.

 

Exactly what my truck sounds like, but mine does it when cold and goes away after 1-2 mins of driving.

FWIW, my theory is low oil pressure. MDS relies on lowish oil pressure to make the solonoids/lifters work. If you notice you tick goes away above 1500RPMS and I bet after you rev it and it goes away, it starts tapping after 2-3 seconds of sitting at idle as the oil pressure drops. Maybe the springs in the hydraulic lifters are not strong enough to keep them pumped at idle and they bleed down creating valve lash... give the motor any gas at all and the lifter pumps right back up full as soon as the engine makes any oil pressure.