Hello everyone,

i have been trying to isolate the cause of a ticking sound on a 1990 22re pickup, it’s pretty noticeable and makes the truck sound like a diesel. If I touch the valve cover bolts I can feel it , i can feel it more on the front valve cover bolts.

There are a lot of posts on here about similar issues so here is what I have done so far.
Unplugged each spark plug while running, the sound didn’t stop .
Valves adjusted to spec , valve cover is not over tightened. The plastic timing chain guides are not broken however the chain is touching the guide on the passenger side, could this be the cause of the sound? I tried to take a picture but is was hard to get a that angle ,


And yes I removed all that RTV haha.

Any suggestions and input is much appreciated!

I forgot to add that the sound is present cold and hot, it seems to speed up with the engine during acceleration.