I know that there can be a ticking sound on the 960 engine especially when cold but today it was very loud and did not go away after a few min and increased in volume with any aplication of the throtle. I returned home 15 min later and it was just as bad as when I left When I opened the hood it sounded like a noise coming from around the spark plug areatheplugs being just over a year old.AlsoI have yet another oil leak and Icannot determine where it iscoming from I have done head gasket, cam seals, oil cooler, and cleaned the engine and it drips from the front leftjust behind the timing belt cover box. As always any help is greatly appreciated.

 

I would look through the pulleys with a mirror looking for the leak. The cam seal might be leaking again.
Vent system could also be clogged causing the seals to leak again.
The oil pan o-rings might also be bad causing low oil pressure and the tapping noise.