about a week ago the camaro had a tick for about 20 min then it went away and was gone for about 2 days then yesterday it started doing it louder and it wont go away i used a mechanics stethoscope on it and it sounds like its down in the engine i pulled the valve cover off on the drivers side (thats where its the loudest) and listened to it with the stethoscope all of them sound the same but one towards the middle it only ticks in the 1500 - 4000 rmp range and it dont tick when i am pulling a hill it doesnt run any different and it does not backfrie spit or sputter i tried tightening that rocker arm but it didnt change anything i dont know if i should be worried about this or if someone on here knows what is causing this to happen please tell me so i can make it stop thanks

 

How is the oil pressure?

Is it possible its an exhaust leak?

Possibly the longest sentence I've ever seen posted here

 

oil pressure is a little over 40 (so it says ive had problems out of the oil sensor too) i am sure its not a exhaust leak it is a well defined tick/click sound and it sounds like a metal on metal sound and you can also now it seems as its doing it though the whole rpm band thanks also i did notice the very first pushrod was not squirting oil just thought i would mention that

 

If it still has the stock exhaust manifolds, I would not rule out exhaust leak. I went through the process of changing out my lifters thinking they were leaking down because of a ticking sound. Turned out to be a small crack on the bottom side of the manifold making the ticking noise. Plus, I later realized that one of the bolts had broken off.

 

What does that mean?

 

well before it took the intake off to replace the gasket it always read about 20 after i put it back on it was pegged above 80 now it shows a little over 40 lol its all over the place. someone told me they were very sensitive and the slightest bump could throw them out of wack. what is my car supposed to run on oil pressure anyways? i will check into the exhaust leak thanks

 

From my experience, the oil pressure sensor is not "very sensitive" and it shouldn't be "all over the place". Sounds like you need to get a mechanical pressure gauge on it immediately and find out what kind of oil pressure you actually have.

Depending on the mileage and care the engine has had, you might see anywhere from 10-30psi at hot idle, and about 40psi at cruise conditions. Pressure should rise with RPM. It shouldn't read over 60psi, since there is a pressure relief spring in the oil pump. The viscosity of the oil you are using will affect the pressure reading.