I am still trying to rule out all possible sources of my car ticking during acceleration and idle. I have sealed up the exhaust manifold and I was curious about the head gasket or head. I ruled out a few things from the FAQs section and just wanted to get some good advice on a 230k mile car (yes, it is in rough shape despite my efforts for rebuild).

Symptoms and answers

White Smoke - No but I do get a good cloud of condensation out the tail pipe

Coolant Loss - A little

Expansion Tank bubbles - Not sure, it doesn't bubble but moves/recirculates alot

Loss of Heat - NO the heater is hot as fire

Milky Oil - No but I haven't checked in a week or two. I will re-check

Rough idle - yes

Ticking Engine Sound - yes and is pretty loud. Manifold leaks appear to be
gone now but the sound is still there.

Overheat - NO

I purchased some Bar's headgasket fix and thought why not try it. I haven't used it yet but I guess it is worth a try.

Any suggestions? Thank you for the help!