Hello, i work as a pressman for the local newspaper here in my town, and a 98 F-150 is one of our company trucks. In addition to printing the paper, i'm in charge of making sure both of our trucks are serviced regularly and kept clean. The truck is a 4X4 automatic, long bed with the 4.2 V6. The truck currently has a little over 28,000 miles on it. Our truck pings like a banshee after it warms up..it will not do it while it's cold. We run 93 octane only, and using 89 or 87 octane only makes the situation worse. It will ping in OD or in D...it doesn't matter either way. We've tried different brands of gasoline, this also does no good. The truck has been doing this since it was about 2 weeks old, and it's been to the dealer around 5 or 6 times with no fix. The only thing that will make it quit pinging, is when i dump a bottle of 104 octane boost in it after a fill-up. I know it's not the gas we're using that is causing the problem, because we've also got a 95 Chevy 1 ton box truck that runs off of 89 octane from the same gas station with no problems. The dealer has contacted ford on at least 2 occasions the truck has been there. He told me that they talked to engineering for some solutions to this problem. They supposedly reprogrammed the computer, which has done us no good. Not getting this problem corrected is bugging me, another thing...our warranty is up this coming July. We've been back to the dealer, and the service manager explains to us that there is nothing more they can do, and that Ford has a problem that they don't have a solution for. He explained that they were trying to develop a new computer for the trucks....he says it's a computer problem, and when one is developed our truck will hopefully be fixed. Have any of you guys heard this line from any of your dealers? The service manager actuall called our truck a pinging bastard.LOL I'm about to the point to where i'm gonna call Ford's customer service and ask them what they plan to do after our warranty runs out...this is a problem that the truck has had since new, that has yet to be corrected. I'm concerned about what the long term effects of this pinging will do to the engine..it seems to be getting worse. What should we do? Take it to another dealer? Please give me some suggestions if you can.
Other problems include: seat falling apart (with a seat cover on it) dealer will not fix..they say this can only be done within the 1st year of ownership..not anytime after. Gonna take it to an upholsterer, A/C compressor failing, fixed under warranty, passenger side wiper arm goes crazy and flies over into the path of the other causing both to jam..dealer replaces wiper arm, plastic molding on driver door jam keeps falling off on the ground..we siliconed that back in, plasitic piece over overdrive button breaks off (up to 3 so far), Engine will stall once in a great while after a cold start. I just learned about this door crack thing, so when i go into work monday, i'm gonna inspect the doors for cracks.

Thanks in advance!

 

anyone have anything to share on this?

Thanks

 

Sounds like you have a bum MAF sensor.

 

PaperMan,

The ping is caused by timing that is too far advanced for the grade of fuel being used. Put a tank of 87 back in it and go back to the dealer and have him check the base timing cold and warm. I would also check the timing when under load. The fact that it doesn't ping when cold would make me look at the EGR system too. Have them test the knock sensor too.

The Seat is covered under the bumper to bumper warranty have him fix it. Bring in your warranty book and insist they show you where it is printed that the seat is not covered.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

------------------
00 F-150 XLT SC Flairside 4x4 4.6 w/5spd 3.55LSD
Warn XD9000i, skid plates, Draw tite class III,
Rancho RSX Reflex shocks, MAC 8.8 Axle Girdle
BFG 285/75 R16 MTs,
Borla Cat Back, Hedman Headers,
Custom air intake system with modified
air box, Ported Throttle body,
Shortened MAF sensor tower,
K&N air filter,
Superchips

 

OR you can unplug the MAF and go for a drive. This will turn on the MIL, but if the ping is eliminated you can bet your butt it is the MAF. EGR? no , because he said it did it under all loads, heavy or not. Under heavy load there is no requirement for EGR, thus no EGR related ping. Timing is not adjustable on the 4.2. All PCM controlled. Guess what the main sensor in timing calculations is? MAF
Also if there is any doubt of the MAF have the dealer check the "BARO" pid with the NGS or WDS. IT should be roughly the same as the current barometric pressure as read by a MAP or BARO sensor. (For my location it is usually around 156 Hz.)
There are a couple of other possibilities, those being fuel pressure and the octane calibration being set too high in the PCM. Try unplugging the MAF, but if you don't clear the code it will set, be sure to tell the dealer before he scans it.

 

Hey guys,
Thanks a ton for the responses...i'm gonna print these out. I believe i will take the truck to the other Ford dealer up the road and see if they can do something for it. It's only got 2 months left on the warranty. I'll let you know what we find out.
Thanks again!

 

Hi pressman- I have a 97 F-150 with 35,000 miles that has the same ping noise. I brought it to the dealer just like you did and all they updated was my computer software. It did quiet the noise by a lot but it is still there. could you let me know if you find a solution, I talked to many other dealer and they did express that the long term problems could be serious.

Thanks,

 

hey i had the same thing. took it back to the dealer time and time again. they did every thing to it,new cam and lifters head gaskets went over and over the wiring. it would not start good hot,mpg sucked rattled i raised all shades of h@!# they took the truck back.i know a guy who works at the dealership he said they never did fix it that ford came and got it . I FEEL FOR YOU. if you are like i was make payment on some thing that would not run.new truck 4.6 super cab 2wd happy man.

 

adss,
I'd be glad to share what i find out from the dealer with you. I can say that i'm glad i don't own this truck, but i kinda feel for my boss that owns the company. I hope to get an apointment for next week, and see if they can do anything for the truck. Will keep you updated.

Tim

 

Thanks!

 

I just wanted to let you guys know that i have an apointment at the Ford Dealer (different dealer than where we've been taking it) for next Thursday at 2pm. I'll report what i find out from them..hopefully they can do something for the truck. The warranty expires June 28th.

 

Hey Paperman:

Take a look at

http://www.rxp.com/

I was having some pinging problems too. I cleaned my MAF sensor and so on but it was still pinging. I used a 2.5 ounce bottle of RXP gas kicker and it worked like a charm! I had about 1-2 minutes of black smoke out of the exhaust and after that my idle was perfect, more power and no ping. Just wanted to share the info with you. Their site is informative, take a look and judge for yourself.


1998 F-150 King Cab Sport Side Lariat
4.6L