Engine ticking

1999 Chevy Tahoe LT
149,000 miles
5.7 Vortec engine
4x4
I don't do any towing
87 Octane fuel per owners manual
I get all the service done by the book.

Recently my engine light came on. I took the truck to Autozone to get the codes read. It came back with "cylinder 7 misfire" I changed my spark plugs with A/C delco spark plugs @ 100,000 miles so I know it couldn't be bad plugs. I also checked the wires and they still looked good @ 100,000 miles. So I head to the house, pop the spark plug out and it looked normal per the Chilton's manual. I brushed it off with a soft toothbrush, gapped the plug and stuck it back in and BAM, the engine light went off! :runaround: So about 2 minutes with me running the truck I hear a annoying tick tick tick tick sound coming from the engine. So I checked the wires and they still look good. Also the ticking noise gets faster and faster as the RPM's increase. I have not drove the truck since because I didn't wanna mess anything up. the truck is 1,000 miles away from it's next 3,000 mile oil change.

What do you think It is? I have searched the forum and some people stated that the engine tick is normal and sometimes goes away. Also, I have read that these trucks are known to start ticking.

Here are some suggestions I have seen on this site:
1. Replace spark plug wires and spark plugs.
2. Bump up the octane to 89
3. Get some oil treatment.

Any suggestions?

From reading your post it sounds like the #7 plug is not seated right. I made up a small hose that I can attach to my shop vac. I use it before I pull the plugs and again before I install the new ones to get rid of all the grit that can accumilate in the plug area.

Hope this helps.......Steve

From reading your post it sounds like the #7 plug is not seated right. I made up a small hose that I can attach to my shop vac. I use it before I pull the plugs and again before I install the new ones to get rid of all the grit that can accumilate in the plug area.

Hope this helps.......Steve

Hey thanks Steve. After putting a bottle of gas treatment in the tank, the knocking went away!

Sounds like you solved your problem.......for everyone else, there's a simple trick I learned a long time ago when it comes to "ticking sounds" and spark plugs. If you've worked on your plugs or wires and you hear a "ticking sound" after you complete the work just wait for the sun to go down!!!
Once it's dark lift the hood and if you made any bad connections you'll see the spark "jumping" [making the clicking sound]. A tiny hole in a plug wire or a wire that isn't completely plugged will allow the spark to escape. It's very hard to see the spark "jumping" in daylight but at night the spark lights-up very nicely.

Gil in Tex