Kcab,
I did find the source of my leak, it was the valley pan. I posted on the forum and decided to proceed with replacing the head gasket as a precaution. It may not have been necessary -- but I would have been more irritated if after reassembly I still had a coolant leak than I am with the tick. I'm going to take a close look at the SAI system today, after reading a few posts, I think it may be the culprit.

 

Good news! The secondary air fitting wasn't quite tight -- no more tick! Thanks for the help, I never would have thought about the SAI fitting.

 

Will,
Good to hear you found the culprit. Are you talking about the fitting/adapter on the head or the big nut from the pipe to the adapter?
Thanks,
JF

 

Jef,
I am talking about the big (36mm?) nut that tightens to the adapter in the head. I was a little worried to tighten it too much because of other posts I read where the copper pipes have cracked. It was hell trying to loosen those nuts. I drove the truck from Auburn to Birmingham, AL today and it didn't miss a beat.

 

Having just figured that out myself it is a 27mm for the B-nut and 18mm for the nipple that screws into the head.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll tighten mine up later this evening. The copper pipes make me nervous as well.
JF