Hi,
Congrats on the new Pony! A lifter sounds like a reasonable guess. Was it was an exhaust leak it’d likely occur much longer or full time, an arcing wire would do the same.A bearing noise would tend to be a deep “knock” versus a “tick”. Where does the factory oil pressure gauge read, does it swing right up into the mid-range when started?
The Car runs and drives well, no hesitation, idle, or other issues?
How many miles on the Car (Motor)?
Did this occur when you started it up & test drove it/were considering purchasing the Car? Unfortunately, the V-6’s are the Cars that people just drive, many don’t change the oil at 3-4K intervals.That Crud inside gets into lifters and affect them first, causing them to stick slightly as the the smallest orfices exist inside them. 3.8’s are resilient motors, so..
For the short length of time the noise occurs, I’d suggest the low tech approach and change the oil with a good full Synthetic oil and a Motorcraft Filter, stock Viscosity.
Drive it a bit, if the noise persists, although I don’t subscribe much to additives, due to its Detergents, adding a can of Liquimoly 20004 cleans any deposits, does work quite well.
—>If the oil has recently been changed, correct viscosity & is running a good Filter, adding a can (don’t overfill the Crankcase) will save you a few bucks and tell how sticky the lifter really is.
Look carefully at the oil you remove for particles, cutting the filter open will give you clues as to what the inside of your motor looks like.
Plenty of further directions to go to cleanse out the motor with a high detergent oil, all the way through replacing liters, if required. will help you help yourself as long as it takes to clear it up. Generally they respond very well to TLC.
Best!
-John