ticking not fixed by valve adjustment

Exhaust leaks and some mechanical ticks are easy to find. Get yourself a scrap length of hose. fuel hose works OK, heater hose, but more clumsy. When you move the open end of the hose past a vacuum/ exhaust leak you WILL hear it!!! LOL.

You can also "get creative" and add a short length of scrap tube for "more delicate" stuff, stuff the end down the valve cover and listen inside. If the noise is louder, it's not an external exhaust leak