When was the last time you changed the water pump...? I can't hear yours obviously... but that description fits inline with how I would describe noise that ended up being the water pump when I thought it was the motor ticking. In essence... the water pump ticking the way it is all connected can indeed sound like the motor ticking. It also went away after driving it a bit it seemed. Was stoked to replace the water pump and realize it wasn't the motor. Just a thought.