Ford Super Duty (1999-2016) :: F450 V10 - Loud Clicking / Clunking Noise Coming From The Front

I thought there was a v10 specific superduty section like how the psd does, but my thread went in the "performance, engine, troubleshooting" section.
I wanted more exposure than that particular small viewed area.

I don't have a video of the noise, but my 99 f450 v10 5spd has some iffy noise coming from the front. I've read so many threads on this and they either end with "my motor had 1-2-3 bad pistons" or "my flexplate was cracked" and all that dealt with chain tensioners were never finished.

I know what piston slap sounds like (worked on many cobras and lightnings with forged pistons that had it) and have experience with bad wrist pins and broken piston skirts, and this noise doesn't sound like any of it.

Noise is a loud clicking/clunking/Detroit diesel idle noise. When you rev the engine up it doesn't lighten or get better, only worse as rpm goes up. Oil is terrible looking, I'll be getting that changed this week.

Story on truck. I've had this thing for 4 years with blown motor. I got a buddy that acquired a parts truck and he said it ran good. I dropped my truck off and he swapped the engine. I got my truck back running, but with this engine noise. He said it needs to get run some more and change oil.

I think it's timing tensioners, my buddy says it will come out of it, a mechanic friend says it's going to blow up "because they all do" and I don't really want to replace the engine again.

If it's tensioners, how big of a job is it. I have the cam clamps and crank stop and the ford tools to make sure crank and cams don't rotate while apart.
I'm just 650 miles from my truck and may need someone else to do the work. Which sucks.