Pictures of suspect valve...
 

Would this valve make my engine have a tick...

The pic looks like it didnt load all the way you just about a 1/4" or so of the top.

ANOTHER PICTURE..Help PKRWUD...
 

Here is another picture...I think there not getting threw because of the dail-up in my garage...
Anyway....

Guys,... maybe you could help me...Here's my story....
I bought this winter beater (96'Chevy 4X4,350 Vortec,auto) Nothing but problems..It started to tick after a long road trip it's symtoms were it would only tick when it came up to temp.if you brought the rpm's up the tick seems to go away...and when your on the hwy it only ticks when you let off the gas ....
Then right after the road trip it started to miss on one cyl and backfire threw the exhaust.So,... I figured it was something in the valve train by the way I don't really know what I'm doing either... :p
Like a idiot I failed to do simple checks..ie...bad plug...plugLead...ect...I took the heads off and apart..I know ,I know, Bad Idea right... But I failed to find any major problems:( the only problem was one valve stem had a little wear on the end (see pic) and a hell of a lot of carbon I'll attach a new post called carbon pics...
#1 Would the damaged valve (exhaust valve by the way..) stem like that cause a tick?
#2 Would carbon cause the miss?
#3 Why do I buy Chevys?

might be a bad lifter or rocker arm.

Hey guys ...,
I was wondering if there is a way to check the lifters manually..??

I'm kinda broke right now and can't afford a whole new set of lifters..and I don't want to drive my rag top in the snow:(

Can I take them out and bench test them some way?
Thanks for all the help...also do you think I could sand off the rough edges of that valve stem end ? then just adjust the valve lash? I know this is bad way of doing things but I have know choice ,,...I'm on strike...wife says "SPEND NO MONEY":(



Thanks in advance guys...Big Bopper