I have a 2010 power wagon with a 5.7 and have been chasing the dreaded tick for awhile.
Pulled the rockers and found the pushrods had the top ball worn badly on a few and some of the rockers looked like the pushrod hole had irregular wear so replaced the rockers with new originals and the pushrods with comp cams replacements that are slightly longer than stock.
Was a big improvement but still had a tick so replaced the cam and lifters with original parts…… the lifters are the upgraded oem replacements.
Sounded better after the new cam and lifters but still had a tick when hot so now have the heads rebuilt with new stainless valves with hardened tips….. my original high mileage valves showed lots of wear on the tips.
Came to the conclusion I will run the best synthetic oil possible in these engines t help slow down the wear.