Lifter sound in the morning

I agree with 'ncm4910'. I have a 2002 montero Limited 3.5L. Only difference is I run Seafoam in the engine (yes, it can be used in motor oil). It states something about putting 1/3 of the bottle, but I usually put half. Seafoam will clean grime in the lifters . *NOTE* I put Seafoam 1000 miles before an oil change.

When I change the oil I'll swap out 1 quart of oil with lucas stabilizer and my truck runs great. As of now I have roughly 198,000miles. Hope this helps

I had a 98 montero sport, I changed the oil every 3-4k miles and added Lucas to my oil and it helps reduce the knocking/pinging. The Lucas oil stabilizer is a heavy oil stabilizer that helps condition metal parts and reduce friction. I ran this combo in my montero sport and put 375,000 plus miles on it. At 300,000 I had the engine rebuilt and the mechanics working on my SUV stated it was the cleanest looking engine they ever seen(internals) the pinging always started in the morning when it was warming up then went away

Check your oil for low level or you probably
need valve adjustment