'68 318 to carbed Magnum 5.2: Check my checklist

You can dissemble and clean mag lifters.
There is a snap ring that holds the plunger in.
Actually they are easy to take apart.
Soak in mineral spirits overnight, clean and re-assembl.
You will not believe the garbage that comes out of them, for some reason they are the "trash collector of the engine".
Don't run it ticking, you will tear up pushrods and rocker arms.

Maybe so, but it makes more sense - timewise - to simply install a new set.

I can always fiddle about with the old ones another time.

-Kurt