No way the cam is damged and it's hardened steel

The cam journals are Aluminum so if your lifter got eaten imagine what happened to those aluminum journals.

I would like to see you get a replacement head used or reman.
call some junkyards, contact Shokan Coachworks, Audi parts 1-800-All-Audi

If you decide to go the lifter route anyway if the cam vibrates inside the journal you'll loose the lifters again or worse break the carriage holding the cams in place.

FYI
You can do lifters on the car without pulling the head though.
You need to fill the cylinder with compressed air.
have a valve spring compressor to hook to the head. Buy one or I made one.
always order extra valve keepers, It's a real PITA when one of those gets away from you.

 

So I'm trying to determine what could be causing a clicking noise when i'm rotating the engine after the timing belt being replaced. I should note that this engine has been sitting without oil for the good part of the year as i'm replacing the engine on this A4 convertible. If anyone has any idea what this noise is that would be greatly helpful. I"m thinking I need to pull it back apart and re lock the cams and go through the timing belt sequence again to double check everything. I'm curious about the lifters and how to confirm if they are working properly and or how to service them. I'll put a link to the video of me turning over the engine and the noise it's making. Could it just be a lack of oil?


Thanks!