Ticking under manifold

I have a 2000 SEL witht he 3.8 L engine. I had the intake manifold gasket repair along with the rubber stems and new valve cover done about 20,000 miles ago.
Anyway, I have an intermittant ticking noise coming from the intake manifold. It sounds like something is bumping the black plastic cover. It doesn't do it all of the time, mostly when idleing and under the start of a load on the engine (like putting it in drive from a stopped position).
Is there a lifter or something under the manifold that would be striking the cover?

Do you mean the aluminium intake manifold or the plastic 2-piece plenum that sits on top?

The upper plenum is actually 2 pieces itself. One part is internal and some on this forum have talked about a vibration between the two and ticking noises. The popular fix is to "glue" them together using RTV. So a search for more detailed information.

Generally an engine is rougher when idling and this could explain why the noise is more pronounced then.

It sounds like it is coming from the black plastic manifold sitting righ on top in the center of the engine. It definately sounds like something hitting plastic and not metal.

It sounds like it is coming from the black plastic manifold sitting right on top in the center of the engine. It definately sounds like something hitting plastic and not metal.

On the 99s (and I assume the 2000s) 3.8s the intake system consists of two sections. The intake manifold is aluminium and similar to most intakes on V type enginesused for years. The other section is a plastic plenum. This is the black plastic on the top of the engine. This section contains a top half and a bottom half. The top half is made up of two pieces itself though only the outer piece is visable when installed. The other piece is clipped into the inside and its purpose is to create ductwork in the intake system. Both of these parts are of the same black plastic material. It is these two pieces that others have noticed vibration, looseness and noise.

I will not be a lifter hitting the upper manifold, they are under the valve cover....is possible one could be clicking.....but not against the manifold.

Is possible that a fuel injector could be making a clicking sound.....that would seem like it is from the upper manifold.

Both normally make a slight sound....but not real loud.

Would an aluminum upper manifold from a 2000 Mustang with a 3.8L engine work on the Windstar's 3.8 L.???? Does anybody know how tough it is just to remove the upper cover and replace? I may do the RTV sealant but would hate to have something major go wrong with it. I am hoping I can find an aluminum one to replace the plastic.

You may want to consider buying a new replacement "upper". The replacement parts are upgraded design ... the two pieces are fused, rather than clipped, together.

OK, bought the new replacement upper from my local Ford Dealer for $121. It has the inner piece fused into the upper piece. My question now is this: Can I just remove the upper cover without having to take off the throttle cable and vacum lines as shown in the post floating around on this repair? I assume the gasket is reusable?

If you are dealing with just the manifold "upper" and no more ... no isolator bolts,etc, ... you should have nothing more than 14 small screws, and one large gasket, to deal with.

The throttle body, and cables, are attached instead to the manifold "spacer". IIRC.

OK, bought the new replacement upper from my local Ford Dealer for $121. It has the inner piece fused into the upper piece. My question now is this: Can I just remove the upper cover without having to take off the throttle cable and vacum lines as shown in the post floating around on this repair? I assume the gasket is reusable?

Yes the upper piece will come off by removing the 14 screws. No need to worry about the throttle body. The gasket is reusable. You might want to take the opportunity to clean any oil from inside and clean the EGR ports.

The top of the plenum should be secured in sequence. Pretty much like a cylinder head starting in the middle and working outwards crossing over from front to back. The torgue on these bolts is 89 inch-pounds according to my Haynes manual.

Make sure that you read the 89 INCH lbs......not FT lbs. An easy mistake that could be hard to repair.