engine ticking

hey i have a 1996 pontiac sunfire and it has a real loud ticking noise, i changed the oil and in about 3 days the oil was black again, ohh yea when i pulled valve cover off i found one of the lifters loose i tighten it up but still hear the noise, does anybody know what it is.

first off theres no way you tightened the lifter by pulling the valve cover off. Chances are if its a 2.2L it is a lifter, which is located in the block. In order to service them you must remove the head. I've seen several in which the vehicle has been over revved, broke the plastic lifter retainer and caused the lifter to turn sideways on the camshaft. Yes you can replace a lifter or all of them but the tick may come back. the best way is to replace the cam as well, because lifters wear their own groove into a cam. But that also means removing the engine. It sounds as though you may have bigger problems with the oil turning black so quickly.