Hi there Guys I Have a BA XR8 2004 with Boss 260 5 speed manual
When i start the car there is no noise until it warms a little then there is a constant ticking noise.
When the motor is under load the noise goes away until say you get to a constant speed.
When you get down and listen to it it almost sounds like it coming from the drivers side cylinder head.
I have been told its a stuck lifter , i have been told its a cracked piston , i have been told its chewing out the bottom end .
Any thoughts would be much appreciated thanks for your time Regards Dean

Sounds like a dodgy lifter to me...silly question though when was the last time you changed your oil and filter?...Ive had fords that make all kinds of weird ticks and clicks if i used other than a ryco filter or if the oil is too thick/thin. If its a split piston you could pick it up on a compression test although I would have thought you would have had a shyte load more issues if it was that.

got a mate who had a simular problem, turned out to be a injector from our s**t fuel here in tas'.
a bottle of wynns injector cleaner fixed that problem!

cheers

My ef2 96 xr8 was doing the same thing, got a oil change and problem solved.
I was lucky to get it done or else it couldve been worse.