help!! i need a new motor!

hi everyone, i need help, my motor started to make this ticking noise and it won't go away. I was going to try a bottle of Lucas oil, does anyone know anything about this stuff? anyways, i was wondering if anyone can tell me how to get rid of this ticking noise. it is a 1989 chevy s-10 with a 4cyl 5 spd in it. thank you in advance.

Does the ticking/knocking increase in speed when you give it a little gas (Not redline)? If so You may have thrown a bearing and aquirred a rodknock.. Only other thing I can think of with that kinda vague information is you may have stuck and burnt a piston.

If its a quiet tick then thats the fuel injectors, but I have no clue if that motor TBI or EFI.

if its a "Pop" or "knock" it may be a thrown bearing.

a ticking noise could be a valve lifter...could it not?
why not have a local friend listen to it and get some free advice...homegrown...

I had a 95 that did the same problem with the 4cyl engine. GM for that year used a plastic timing chain adjuster that was bad about wearing out and getting stuck in the chain making a horrible clicking noise. No one was able to isolate the noise, just tore into it and found it. I know yours is a little older so may not have that same silly style. GM changed this on the 96 and again on the 97. lol.

It could be lifters, cam, pistons, rods, timing chain hitting cover.

Many possiblities.

You need to first get a general idea where the sound is coming from.
Front, back, left right.

And then from there, figure out if it's a lowerend or upper end issue.

Go from there and let us know.

I've got a 91 with the 4cyl 5speed and before i rebuilt the motor it had a tick/knock and it ended up being a loose rocker, If you have the 2.5L just unbolt the valve cover and tighten all the rockers down, by the way you cannot over tighten them because they have a stop plate just tighten it down then go like a 1/8 turn and they should be fine, also u might have a clogged pushtube which could be cutting off oil to the rocker, that will make a ticking sound also, either of these are likely if the engine has alot of miles on it, mine had 347K before it started to do that.