In reading through the last few pages of the thread, I was surprised no one mentioned that the ticking noise is from the VANOS Solenoids. I assume it may be covered somewhere in this 120 page thread but honestly didn't take the time to read all pages so apologies if this is beating a dead horse.
I have an 06 330 and unfortunately have too much experience fighting with the solenoids. Most often they are not truly bad but just gummed up with oil. My car overheated when the water pump broke and it was driven too far/hot and the oil burned. Even after multiple engine flushes I still have to routinely clean the oil filter (using new metal filter vs. paper) as well as the VANOS Solenoids and VANOS filters due to build up. If the solenoids are starved for oil they tick really loud. Cleaning them with carb cleaner does the trick. Do note that on the older N52s, the solenoids do not have a built in filter. There are two separate filters on the left side of the block. One for the intake solenoid and one for the exhaust. They can also be cleaned and reused.
I'm new to posting here but if I can figure out how to post pics, I'll post some images of the VANOS filters to show how bad they can get. Keep in mind that yours don't have to be as bad as this to cause problems. Hope this helps.
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