Three days ago, my 2002 Taurus ses, 144k, auto, 3.0 v6 motor, started “ticking” after I drove it to the local grocery. It is coming from the top of the motor, but does not make noise when it is first started, cold, only after it is warmed up. Oil & filter has 2500 miles on them, all other fluids are good, Possible ideas?
The most common cause of this is a very low oil level. I assume you checked the oil level??? 2,500 miles is sufficient time for an engine to consume enough oil to cause a problem like this.