Originally Posted by gastropodus

This isn't about a Mercedes gas or diesel, so it doesn't fit into the usual forum categories. Still, I've always been impressed by the breadth of automotive knowledge on the forums, so I thought I would post the question here in Open Discussion.

My third vehicle (besides the 240D and W201) is a 1990 Ford Ranger with the 2.3l 4 cylinder engine. It has 161k on the original engine. It's been reasonably well maintained (oil changes every 3000 miles), and runs well. However, lately I've noticed that when I start the truck from cold, wait my usual 30 seconds to get oil flowing well, and then start driving there's a tick-tick-tick that I hear when I let off the gas and coast to the stop sign about 2 blocks away at the bottom of a slight hill. Once the engine is warm I don't ever hear the tick.

Long ago my initial foray into auto repair came via John Muir's book VW Repair for the Compleat Idiot. I even ordered the rare narrated cassette tape of John demonstrating various engine ailments, and I recall the one where he let off the gas on a VW, and you could hear a similar tick-tick-tick. I probably should have this looked at before something catastrophic happens, right?

Kurt