valves start ticking after about 6 mins running??

just rebuilt my 2.2 and i have been having a lot of problems, first it was dumping way to much fuel into the engine, so i got that all figured out, it was vac lines in the wrong places, and now the engine starts to tick after it has been running for a while, and when i give the engine gas it does not want to go back down to a low idle, i have messed w/ the idle adjustment and it dont help it idle down, i am going to check for any vac leaks, my main concern is why would the engine tick after running for a bit, i took off the plug down by the oil pump and it pumps oil out of it like crazy, but when i take off my oil fill cap while running and give the engine gas i do not see a whole lot of oil in the valve cover.. the oil pump is also brand new!

Get an oil pressure gauge on that puppy ASAP.. The oil pressure sending unit is located on the passenger side of the engine underneath the intake... almost directly in the middle of the block.. just under where the head meets the block. Tap this location for your oil pressure gauge. You can get fancy and hook up a "T" fitting if you really want to keep your idiot light working. I suspect you may have some plugged oil passages from the block to the head.. or you may have used the wrong head gasket so the oil passages are blocked.. dunno for certain of course. First step would be to see what oil pressure reading you are getting.. should be about 25-30 PSI when the engine is fully warmed up and at idle. When the engine is cold it is not uncommon to see 50-60 PSI of oil pressure. This will drop as the engine heats up.

Tunes67

Maybe i should do that my valves tick to it seems to go away as the motor warms up though so im not all that worried about it ive been told it could just be some slack in the lifters. not positive though I'll be able to see when i change my valve cover gasket its leaking like a sive. righ now

there is alot of small passages that the oil travels through to get to
the lifters and valves, specifically in the rocker arm assembly, if you
didn't have the head totally rebuilt then one of those passages could
be stopped up. go to and check out his info
on the head.

thanks i am i bought a oil press gauge and i am pretty sure in know what sending unit you are talking about, ill let you guys know what i find, also i sprayed starting fluid around my vac lines to see if i had any kinda leaks and could not find anything, maybe i have one of the million vac lines crossed yet cause it still does not want to idle down really well. if i tap the trottle a couple of times it usually goes down????

This is typical of your automatic choke sticking.. just need to hit your carb with some carb cleaner and a tooth brush. This is best done off of the engine on a work bench.. as a precautionary measure.. dont turn the carb upside down while you are cleaning it. I havent been inside one of these carbs yet so I dont know what the float/needle/seat is like in them.. but there are carbs out there that if you turn them upside down.. you will mess stuff up and you could end up with it sticking wide open or not running at all. Someone else here on the forum or at mazdatrucking.com may have more knowledge on that.. I just kept mine right side up while I cleaned it. Tougher to do the underside for certain.. but better safe than sorry.

Tunes67

One other thought on the ticking issue.. apparently the stock oil filters for our trucks had a anti-drainback valve, which helped slow the flow of return oil from the head to the oil pan. This was supposed to help keep the valve train better lubricated and quieter. Apparently Purolator and OEM style oil filters have this. Since my valve train also makes a bit of noise.. not a lot, but a bit, and I am using a Napa Gold oil filter.. I will try a Pure One filter from Purolator when I do my next oil change.. wont be till march though. Cheers

Tunes67

I do not have my choke wires plugged in right now, to be honest i cant find the plug to plug my choke in, and also i can not seem to locate my o2 sensor plug, do you think if i get those hooked up it will solve my idle problem??? i am going to look again, some of my wire connector ends are missing cause i had my truck in the driveway and some damn geese got a hold of some of my wires and chewed the ends off!!! I am going to kill them!!

geese chewed yur truck no shit
i must be a city boy cause ive never heard of hat shit

Yeah.. both of those connections are required for your carb to function properly.

Tunes67