Lifter tick? New lifters

I posted a little while ago regarding a tick that my motor had. I thought it was an exhaust leak, but now I am leaning towards a bad lifter? The motor has around 500+ miles on it now and like I said before the motor has had a slight tick that sounded like an exhaust leak and you could only hear it while driving. Now the tick has gotten really loud I have narrowed it down to the number 3 cylinder by listening to it on the intake with a stethescope. Maybe I just got a bad lifter from comp? When I readjusted the rockers they all seemed like the pushrod cup was all the way up and none were stuck.
I ll post the combo again
493 stealth heads and springs, comp xe295hl cam, comp pushrods, comp pro magnum lifters. Cam was broken in properly and I am running 20w50 zr1 racing oil with the comp addative.

The rockers aren't hitting the valve covers. pushrods aren't hitting the heads. Pretty sure its not an exhaust leak. So I am pretty sure it is a lifter. I plan on tearing it apart soon hopefully the cam isn't messed up.

What do you guys think get two lifters and replace the number 3 lifters. Or I was looking into getting a set of the rhoads v-max lifters and hoping the tick goes away. I was wondering if these lifters will work with the current pushrods I have. I would think they would be similar in buid to the comp pro magnums?
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Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

Pull the valve cover--spin it and observe the rockers watching for one that does not have the amount of movment as the others --pretty easy to see if cam has lost lobe--if not you can measure lift on all , determine that it is not lobe failure, the reset preload on that one, try again, if still ticking remove that lifter, take it apart, clean it really good, try again--ticking that is not preload is usually dirt in lifter--forget the Rhodes--I have had to start taking all lifters apart before using as I always find one with no oil disc or one with two stuck together etc etc--The cam you selected is KNOWN to make noise as the closing ramps MAY make a litle more power but Darn sure make a bunch of noise no matter how preload is set. None of these ideas will cost anything except time and may fix it.

thanks for the ideas crabman. Maybe I will start with checking the lift at the rockers. preload shouldn't be the issue (been checked). I have heard people say how noisy these cams are but mine actually doesn't sound as loud as people make them sound. This is definately not normal sounds like one lifter has a problem. You can here it at idle and it goes all the way through the rpm range and gets louder as the rpms increase. I would rather button it all back up and not have to worry about it, so i may just buy two new lifters. Thats if it is a lifter problem.

Exhaust leak?

sounds like it has rounded a lobe--if so , when you take it apart do NOT pull the bad lifter up and out as it will scratch and damage the lifter bore--push it out the bottom. Then...you are off to the races--metal in engine, was that lifter bore nicked, scored, tight, loose? Been there, done it enough to make 3 people crazy! Hope it turns out good--IF there is no lobe / lifter damage or wear on that ticker I would drop a new lifter in that hole a roll! I may even have one, let me know.

My xe275hl was louder than my current MP 557 solid cam! It got even louder when a lifter started going bad. I pulled my valve cover and there was a lifter that felt 'soft'. After pulling the intake and timing cover the cam looked perfect, and no lifters were noticeably damaged. I put the cam on the shelf and tossed all 16 lifters in the trash.

I have mixed feelings about the xe/hl cam- it was definitely a strong runner, but really noisy for a hft. I like my 557 partly for the softer low end (makes it less jerky and easier to drive) and partly for the peace of mind of the solid lifters not having internals to fail.

Good luck with yours!

Great now your making me scared. Like you said about checking if there is a rounded lobe I would be able to see it at the rockers? I would rather not take the cam out but I obviously will if it needs it. This is making me want to go solid instead like you did radar. I went hydraulic hoping I wouldn't have to worry about the cam. I guess I will know when I tear it down further and let you know what I find.

Thanks, cody