Van had a intake manifold gasket leak and had a tick develop. I assumed it was a lifter tick so I had them replaced with the manifold gasket. The tick is still the same. It speeds up with throttle but when revs drop it goes into a brief rapid softer ticking, almost a flutter. My mechanic took a stethoscope and said the sound seems to be coming from the cylinder area, not the top or bottom. Engine has a misfire code that is fairly constant but it runs perfectly, no noticeable misfiring. Mechanic is not sure if we should go further given how well it runs. Was wondering if it could be a slightly bent valve possibly from all the water when I cranked it(hydro-locked a bit?). Sorry for the long post and thanks for any help

 

My vortec clicks to, but I think its the fuel injectors......I had a random misfire too.....was told it could be a sticky valve....but no running issues.......
Still chasing it because my fuel economy is a bit down.

 

My tick also popped up when my 5.7l started that intake leak theyre known for... in my case it was a bad wrist pin on #1 cylinder which hammered out ths #1 rod bearing and wiped the crank out. Sounded a lot like a ticking lifter at first.

There should be a recall on the 5.7's intake gaskets.