I-5's have faulty oilers? Is this true?

[Jason Aamodt <Jason-aamodt@utulsa.edu>]

Hey,

When I picked my car up from the body shop that wasn't going to, but finally
did do the job right, the owner brought an issue to my attention:

The sound of tappets.

I had noticed them prior to taking the car in for body work, so I changed
the oil.  I used synthetic lube, 10-30, and a wix filter.  

The tap-tap-tap sound diminished somewhat, but it is still there.  

He heard it too, and told me that the "oiler" that returns oil to the top of
the valves is made out of plastic, and that it can go bad, restrict the oil
flow and cause a whole buch of terrible engine troubles. 

How true is this?????

He suggested that I check the oil pressure at the pump, because the oil
pumps on the I-5's are weak (is this true?). 

How do I diagnose the oiler?  Is it hard to replace?

I'm going to go check the archives now, but if any of you have some ideas
I'd love to hear them.

Thanks in advance,

Jason.

1987 5ksq (with fresh paint . . . we're comming back!)