I have a 98 dodge dakota sport 4 cyl. Pickup with a loud ticking/knocking. I'm fearing it's a rod or? Is there a trouble shooting technique
I'd like to to this myself thank you

A good way todetermine which cylinder this sound is coming from is by starting the engine.one at a time remove the spark plug wires from each cylinder and note any difference in the sound. Normally if you have a bad bearing the sound will lessen significantly. That would expllain the knocking but not the ticking. If the ticking still persists then you may be needing a valve adjustment. . Are you sure this is not normal ticking sounds for this car? Knocking is not normal under any circumstances but ticking is at times. Some vehicles have abnrmally loud ticking from the engine compartment which is caused by the fuel injectors clicking open and closed constantly.

travman514 gave you good advice. If you have taken reasonable care of the truck, consider AutoRx. It's an ester-based product that will safely remove varnish and sludge a layer-at-a-time. It takes about 1,000 miles of driving for the cleaning phase, which is followed by a rinse phase. Read about it online and decide if you think it might help your truck. Sludge can halt normal lubrication and cause a lot of damage, as I'm sure you're know.