I'm betting you spun a bearing. I bought a cougar a while back that had a loud tapping noise and it turned out to be a spun bearing. The bearing went and the piston had enough slack to hit the head when it traveled up. Not a good thing.
1999 3.0L Cougar: 220fwhp and 200tq
2003 VW Passat W8 with 4 Motion AWD
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/300644
PM for intrest in 3L SVT Contours, 3L swaps into your current car, Prepped 3L engines, or anything 3L related.
