Engine – Tick-Tick-Tick

[nene]

Moving this thread over to this side for more visibility.

(The sound may be more of a Tap-Tap-Tap.)

My 86 Carrera has an annoying ticking sound for a while now and thought it was the valve lash which was not. Double confirmed adjustment and the tick was still there.
The sound generally is more noticeable when cold, but dissipates upon warming up, but it’s still there. At times when cold, the sound is almost non-existent. It appears to be on the passenger bank side.

To make a long story short, when I installed the RSR rocker shaft seals on all shafts, I noticed that the exhaust valve on cylinder five had a slight lateral movement which all others did not and were a tight fit. The engine has approximately 220k miles on the clock with a recent rebuild at some point which I don’t have documentation for, but just the word from the PO. Oil consumption is very low (1 quart per 2000k miles) or so.

When I replaced the engine bay fuel lines and remove the plenum, I noticed that the heads were Mr. Clean clean with very little residue which confirms a rebuild at some point.

I will be changing the oil and taking the exhaust rockers, shafts and springs to take another look.
Appreciate any and all advice.

Serge