I have a 2004 5.4 that recently had what I thought was the dreaded lifter tick. It started getting louder so I investagated. Thanks to this forum I narrowed it down to a loose plug. Also since it was loose I pulled it to check the condition.Great to find out the previous owner had replaced I'm hoping all w/ newer version plug,looked like new. Torqued down and tick gone ,engine is quiet. I'm going to go buy a lottery ticket now!!

 

I would check the torque on the other 7 plugs first.

 

The suspect plug was located by a pulsating coil pack when force is applied w/fingers and narrowing down the tick to pass side . All others no pulsation and since the tick went away I'll repeat the procedure again if the issue arises again. Thanks