Mitsubishi Repair: constant tick-tick sound on starting, mitsubishi galant 1996, tick tick

Question
Mitsubishi Galant 1996. when i start up the car it gives a tick,tick sound as if something is constantly brushing against something before it completes one cycle. it is not very loud but can hear it distinctly when the car is idling, i was worried weather it was timing belt,i went to a mechanic and he said he thinks that it is the lifters in the engine. how bad is the problem? is it worth to change the lifters? says aroound 300$. it is 127K miles and needs a timing belt change for it too. so a full 600 $ repair job.bought it for 2800$. waiting for your comments.
thank you.

Answer
Priyesh,
Mitsubishi was notorious for using lifters with small oil passages in their older cars.  With small oil passages, not as much oil can pass through (especially when the engine is cold) and this causes that ticking noise.  For the most part, it's not a problem at all. It's not causing any problems as far as your engine is concerned, but the noise can be annoying.  I would not recommend replacing your lifters.  It can be very expensive and 99% of the time, it's not necessary.   Just make sure you keep up with changing your oil at regular intervals and check your oil level every couple weeks to make sure you have enough.  If over time the ticking noise really gets annoying for you, inquire about getting your lifters cleaned; they really don't need to be replaced.

But replacing the timing belt is not something you should wait on replacing.  Schedule to have that done as soon as possible.  I've had good and bad experiencing when I've let mechanics replace my timing belt.  It may give you piece of mind to let the dealership replace it.  Most all mechanics will recommend having your water pump replaced when doing a timing belt replacement.  It's a good practice to do, so let them.
Good luck!