So are you suppose to soak lifters in oil for a hour or so? The reason I ask is because im chasing down a loud ticking noise, I changed all the exhaust gaskets and no fix. Then i remember a few months ago when I replaced stock lifters that collapsed I didnt soak the new ones in oil for an hour, I just sort of squirt them with oil. Would not soaking them cause them to collapse or damage?

No. A good coating of assembly lube is a better choice.
Where is the tick coming from? maybe a loose rocker?

good question on exactly where the tick is coming from. Another curious thing would be once you find which side the tick is from, does it go away if you pull the plug wire of the plug for a cylinder. I have that issue right now.. and it is getting on my nerves.

Its coming from the number 7 cylinder and ive readjusted those rockers so many times already, then i replaced the head gasket and collector gasket thinking its an exhaust leak but no luck there. I put a pcv pipe up to the lifters from the 7 cylinder and you can definatley hear it from there. Maybe a defect/bad lifter since those are almost brand new? Can bad rockers make a ticking sound too?

you are actually suppose to let them soak overnight.... if it's the initial start up, you are going to hear loud valve train noises... they are bone dry...

I've been told for hydraulic rollers to soak them just up to the roller wheel, not the entire lifter and use good assembly lube on both ends of the push rods

no need to soak them thats why you prime the oil system.

is there trash stuck in the pushrod? Sometimes that will cause a rocker to be dry and you'll get some noise.

thats the cylinder mine is ticking too. When i removed the plug wire from the spark plug the ticking stopped... not sure if you will have the same thing. I am not even sure what that signals as the problem

It sounds like you have isolated your problem. You sound like you have external arching from the wire, or cracked plug porcelain possibly.

Next time I'd recommend priming the system, that will pump up your lifters.

Can you run the engine with your valve cover off to see if oil is coming out of the pushrods? They should be dripping down the rocker.

Worse case scenario- check your valve springs too. Make sure nothing has cracked or slipped. Take an LED light (something bright) and really get in close to see if there is debris or something caught up.

Yea the pushrods and lifters were brand new, I do see oil coming out of the pushrods when I had the covers off last time. I looked at all the springs closely to look for any cracks or damage and it checks out ok, the only thing i have not checked is the spark plug itself to see if its loose which i doubt it is since i checked it when I did the job last time. It seems to tick louder when the car is warmed up, when its cold its not too bad.

this is what sounds like the problem - you said it gets louder when it gets hot, heat creates resistance

Well thanks for that. I will have to check. would be nice if it was both of out problems and not something more serious.

(granted mine ticked with the rpm reguardless of how warm or cold the engine it)