90 Golf ticking, shuttering

fresh oil change? sometimes that ticking could be the hydraulic lifters. If you change the oil it might quiet them down. Also there are some additives (AKA snake oil) that sometimes works well to quiet them down.

If your lifters are bad, and your oil pressure is fine, then you could change them all. If the oil pressure is low then maybe your oil pump is not supplying them with enough oil pressure.

It could also be spark that is not travelling all the way to the spark plug electrodes which would explain both problems, the ticking and the shuddering. Do a wet test and spray/mist the spark plug wires with water in a dark location and look for sparks. New spark plugs and wires should usually clear that right up. ;-) DON'T touch the wires with the engine running or you will notice a shocking discovery! 8^o

I've definitely changed the oil and tried various snake oils. They usually work for a week or two. The advice about the spark plug wires is great- I've never heard of this and will definitely try it. Thanks!

If changing the oil helps quiet it down then you may have noisy lifters due to them being bad or low oil pressure.

Yep sounds like you need some new lifters. There is a test to see which ones are bad, but for all the effort of removing the timing belt and cam I would just replace them all (and the timing belt while I was at it).

check the oil pressure first b4 changing out the lifters. Very low oil pressure could cause them to tick. I agree............change them all if a few are bad! I will assume that you have fresh oil in the engine and the proper amount!