Dallas wrote in another post:

Dallas was probably speaking of the 98+ 3.2 DOHC with solid lifters, but...

one of my reservations about the 3.2 SOHC with hydraulic lifters has been an assumption that something wrong had to be going on when it was ticking so loud. some research into HLAs has been somewhat reassuring in that it seems that all manufacturers have the tick and most people aren't worried about it.

but here's my question: if the HLA is ticking and therefore has some play, it would seem like maybe duration isn't affected, but "lift" (push?) or how much a valve opens would affect either how much air or air/fuel enters or escapes the cylinder. is there not enough difference in the depth with which the valve opens or might this be problematic? thanks, taro