Geoff dang you "Geoff" removed the oil pan again..! No wonder you chose the name Geoff coz you must really love wrenching dude

Just joking OK

How about remove the oil pan completely (much work I'm guessing?) and spend the $200 to $350 to have it powder coated with your favorite color..?

I'm serious, serious coz you have an awesome truck to keep & enjoy...

Please keep us all posted on your findings and THANKS

P.S. 1st thing FIND 'n BUY the Rislone & two Wix oil filters and 9 qts of your favorite oil ~ 2nd thing do a HOT engine crankcase oil 'n Wix oil filter change MINUS one qt for the Rislone ~ (engine is now ready for adding 1 qt Rislone)

Rislone comes in various flavors, I used the one for valve train valve lifter noise AND I ran the crap out of the truck on the Hwy in various gears to get the RPMS up and doing the 5th gear flooring it 50 to ?? mph ALL THIS for 30 minutes AND THEN drove it straight to the MCBH auto shop and did a 2nd oil & filter change ~ no more tick tick tick ~ I've had this issue twice with same positive result...

A product called CATACLEAN ($22 to $28) @ O'Reilly's has helped my truck have more power & smoother power ~ use it when you do the 30 minutes of Hwy racing with the Rislone (both products call for running the dog doo doo outta dah truck for 30 minutes or 30 miles BUT the CATACLEAN requires use in a 1/4 full or less gas tank ~ supposedly this stuff removes crud & carbon from the catalytic converter and exhaust ~ IMHO and AFAIK and a teaspoon of common sense this stuff that cleans out carbon from the cat WELL IT TRAVELS past the piston rings & valves on it's way to remove carbon all the way out the tailpipe ~ maybe just maybe it also has some affect inside the engine too..?

No Malice Intended Geoff and no malice for anyone elsr here + thanks for letting me have my rant on your thread