Car making tapping noise

Okay... I know that ussually when your car starts making a ticking noise/tapping it is deffinatly time to change the oil. But the problem is that I changed my oil not to long ago and just checked it and it is fine but when I am at a stop my car taps real loud. I'm not sure if it taps all the time or just when it is idleing. But when I come to a stop my oil pressure drops all the way down to the low mark pretty fast. At first I thought it could be the oil pump because it normally happens when I first start my car. So I figured the oil was thining out as my car warmed up making it easier to pump, but the other day, after sitting in the drive through, at McDonalds I noticed that even after my car has been running for 10-15 minutes it still taps when I am idleing. My brother, who works at a garage, said my oil sending unit may be going bad. Anyone have a clue to why my car is tapping when it idles?

Sounds like your having a common case of lifter tick. Not a big deal, just annoying really. Being that your oil pressure is lowering, ( I am guessing your going by the stock guage, which isn't all that accurate) it makes the situation worse since there is a slight starvation of oil there to begin with.

The fix for this is to purchase 3rd revision lifters. You should be able to get them for 150 bucks or so.

I heard somewhere that if you put thicker oil in next change it can help reduce lifter tick. Also I had a ticking noise in my car not to long ago I thought it was lifter tick it just turned out to be a bad belt.

I just got back from Advanced Auto Parts, figured I might as well go ask, and the guy there told me to buy a bottle of oil thickener(always trying to get you to buy something) and put it in next time I go to put oil in my car. It was only 7 bucks so I'll give it a try. Thank you everyone for the help, it's much appreciated and alot cheaper than taking it to the garage haha.

I found this website while researching lifter tick and thought I would share it with the rest of you. http://www.team3s.com/FAQliftertick.htm