I have the same tick coming from the driver side after doing my head gaskets. I got my heads hot tanked and surfaced, no valve work. In my case I think its my valves in cylinder 6 because thats where my warpage was. I also did not adjust my valves or check my clearances.

 

 

Exhaust leaks are very easy to find with your hand, just try not to flinch into anything moving when you find it...

Internal noises are best localized with a stethoscope. It will tell you where but you have to take things apart to find the why.

Loose fitting exhaust (nuts not replaced when removed, they are one time use) causes exhaust gaskets to fail, failed gaskets cause localized hot spots, hot spots warp things, warped things are bad!