ticking noise

hey all,
got a 97 w/3.5 and 70k. when i first start it after its been sitting either all day or all night, the engine will tick loud for about 3 seconds then tick quiet. it ticks about twice a second gets faster slowly giving it gas. i cant hear it in the car or while driving. then after its really warmed up and i come to a stop and get out and listen it comes and goes. the car dont stutter, or run bad, if it wasnt for the ticking youd never know it was running. any ideas? anyone:banghead:

and then, i was replacing plugs and wires,. i pulled out the middle plug on the drivers side and the boot was covered in oil. looking inside and the plug was about floating in oil. just the one plug . pulled it out put in an old clean plug let it run.(AND SMOKE FOR A MINUTE) pulled it out put in another and ran it, and it was clean. so i put in the new one. so far no more oil. but i did put a socket on the plug shaft and it turned a lot so i tightened it down. think this would have been the culprit? or am i screwed:banghead:

The oil was definitely from the plug tube being loose in the Valve Cover, tightening it up re-established the seal again and you should be fine. If your still getting the ticking noise it may be a lash adjuster sticking on one of the valves, not really much you can do if it goes away after a while but a fresh oil change wouldn't hurt and may clean it out some and keep it from sticking again.

think it would hurt to use that engine cleaner you add to oil then change it. or that seafoam?