Ticking sound in my '99 3.8L

[Black110]

Ok, I have a 99 3.8L automatic stang that just passed 99k miles. I live in southern Ohio and we have just started getting our colder temps (about 30 in the day and in the teens at night usually) and my car has started clicking/ticking. You cant hear it when it idles but as i give it more gas, the ticking gets louder. You also cant hear the click in neutral (kinda weird to me but my dad couldnt hear it either). It did the same thing last winter but it went away in the summer. The CEL is not coming on. I put the high mileage oil in just out of curiousity and noticed no difference. I usually run 92 octane but it still does it with 87. I used Lucas fuel injector cleaner and it did nothing. I tried little things that I thought may help (im not a mechanic by any means) but none of them worked. I am wanting to sell the car but I do not want to sell it with something wrong with it. Can someone please give me any info about what my problem may be...also, every now and then it will kinda sputter or putt when i first start it but after i rev it up around 2500 it usually goes to a normal idle. Any info at all would be greatly appreciated!

 

[V6muscle00]

sticking lifters maybe? and you should run 87 octane unless you have a tune or your engine is knocking.. then you switch to a higher octane

 

[Black110]

usually with sticking lifters, the sound stops when the car warms up, right? like i said, im no mechanic but thats what i have been told. you usually cant hear the clicking when the car is first started but after it warms up, its really noticeable and it doesnt go away.

 

[raz54]

Sticky lifters can keep on ticking even after the motor is warmed up. You said it gets louder when you give it gas but does it speed up with the engine rpm's too?

 

[232Mustang95]

Can also be the manifold that's cracked, since it's a common problem with the +99's

 

[raz54]

Can also be the manifold that's cracked, since it's a common problem with the +99's

They have a problem with manifolds cracking? The intake or exhaust?

 

[232Mustang95]

Exhaust

 

[raz54]

That sucks! Is that on the 3.8 or 3.9 or both?

 

[232Mustang95]

That sucks! Is that on the 3.8 or 3.9 or both?

+'99 so both

 

[Black110]

Its a different kind of ticking than when the exhaust manifold is cracked (I know b/c I already had to replace it). Also, just yesterday i started my car and went to pull out and it just kept like putting or sputtering and i was in an intersection so i gave it gas and held it then kinda kept giving it gas and letting off and it finally took off but when it did there was a very strong smell of gasoline. I drove it about a mile to my house and havent driven it since. What would cause it to do this? Its been kinda sputtering when i first start it for a little while but never this bad. Could it be the fuel pump, EGR valve, or something else?