Ticking from top of motor

Hi Allen,

Can you post a recording of the noise? You're thought track is correct as if it was low on oil and it sounds like it is the top end, then most likely it is lifters. More than likely when the oil was low, one or more of the lifters collapsed and has not pumped back up.

There are some "tricks" to see if they can pump back up but they are not usually successful. The most common one is to run the vehicle at high RPM for short bursts while in park. This will increase oil pressure and may force some oil in and pump it back up. The other is to use some oil additive that is for ticking noises.

A recording of the noise will help me feel more confident about that.

Let me know and we can go from there.

That video was just fine. Sorry to say but that sounds like a rod knock. Meaning a bearing on the crank has failed and the knocking noise is the connecting rod bearing moving around as the the crankshaft moves the piston up and down.

Also a lifter noise is normally a light tapping at idle that may get faster as RPM's come up but is pretty constant. The more random knocking when RPM's come up is a rod knock because the load needs to be just right on the piston to get the connecting rod to rattle around.

The only fix for this is to disassemble the engine and replace the bearings or replace the engine.

I would suggest not running the engine too much because if the bearing locks up the crank will throw the rod through the block and then you have no choice but to replace the engine.