Ticking Sound Only When Accelerating

I have a 2001 Mercury Grand Marqui that has been making an odd ticking sound whenever I press on the accelerator, especially when going up hill. It does not make this sound when I start the car or even when I rev the engine in park. It only makes this ticking noise when I accellerate in gear. The car has been running great and the check engine light has not come on. Any ideas?

perhaps try a different brand of gasoline and/or a higher octane rating.I totally got away from the ethynol blends and run 100% gasoline and all of my vehicles perform better and no more pinging under acceleration on my end. I can really tell a difference in the way my 2 stroke dirt bikes perform on 100% gas as opposed to that ethynol blend.Night and day difference actually-

Dave, You Know What Pre-Ignition Sounds Like, Right ? It’s That Pinging Or Pinking Rattle Sound, Sometimes Called Spark Knock. It Behaves The Way You Describe It.

You could try a tank of premium gas and see if it helps. Does the car manufacturer recommend premium ?

If you already know all this and this isn’t helping then I’ll ask another question. Will it do it while idling if the car is in drive ?

CSA

It does not make the ticking sound when I am at a complete stop and the car is in drive. I did speak to the dealer and although they have not looked at the engine yet, they just asked me if the spark plugs have been changed and that they would clean out the combustion chambers. I will switch to premium gasoline and see if this helps. I have been using regular for the past 2 years after the car was given to me from my father.

It does sound like spark knock…It could be a faulty detonation sensor or there is carbon buildup in the combustion chambers. Let the tank get down to 1/8, add a bottle of Techron and take it out and do several full-throttle accelerations up to as high a speed as you can manage. This should “decarbonize” the engine and eliminate the detonation…