Hello, everyone.
I have spent the last few days here on the forums educating myself and have learned to my dismay that my 2002 venture has the same problem as most with the intake manifold gasket causing the disappearance of coolant and sludging up in the valve covers. However, I thought nothing of such a serious problem till a lifter tick started to occur this past Sunday. The engine began using coolant three weeks ago after I had the dealership replace the thermostat and flush the cooling system due to the engine not reaching optimal temperature. After the repair, I first thought the odor and loss of coolant was related to air in the system and / or a slight leak around the thermostat housing. On Sunday upon hearing the ticking, I noticed the usual thick sludge on the oil fill cap and on the top inside surface of the valve cover, the PCV valve was plugged up and assumed that is was just some moisture since winter is here and the engine temp wasn’t getting up to where it needed to be. The lifter tick first started to go away when the engine would run for a few minutes and progressively took longer each day. I took my venture in to the shop today and am now faced with the question if I should go ahead and have the lifters replaced as well. I have ran the engine a total of about one hour total at idle with the tick present through out the whole week. Is there anything else perhaps that should be looked at or replaced? Besides the spark plugs, any thoughts or suggestions are much appreciated.

Wow! It sounds like were telling my story! My van is in the shop--under warranty thankfully, having the lifters replaced, the gaskets replaced, etc. Good luck!