Ok, this is my first post. After reading the forums I believe I may get some good advice here.

2002 F 150
V-6
2 Wheel Drive, reg cab,automatic
230,000 miles
oil changed ..fairly...regularly
bought new, im original owner
engine light came on in 2002, never went off until I changed the tb bolts (after researching the codes) it went off and has never came back on (6 months)

Today i was accelerating on an on-ramp and my engine really started pinging/rattling maybe even knocking. At idle it runs like a champ, but under a load like uphill or accelerating just a little bit it pings, but only occasionally at a steady speed like 60 mph. NO engine lights, has oil and water, no loss of oil pressure, no high heat on my guages.the guages looked normal. Babied it home, put it in the garage. Popped the hood, all fluids ok, started it up and it idles like a champ, I revved it up good in park and no noise. I drive this truck quite a bit as its my livelyhood and need some help fast, any and all is greatly appreciated!

 

Since you're the original owner, when was the last time the coil pack, plugs and wires were changed? Pinging symptoms usually means one or all of those three are needing to be replaced. Could also be a dirty MAF sensor.

 

If you've never had one done, it could use a Motorvac or BG intake cleaning job. Until you get this solved, use full premium gas to minimize the pinging.

 

distributor or coil pack on the 2002's?

 

Sarge, all 4.2's have a single coil pack on the passenger side valve cover.

 

ahh man you just need some nitrous mang.

 

Ive never heard of motorvac or bg intake cleaning. Is this something I can safely do to my engine myself without damaging it? Plugs and wires were changed about 6 months ago when i changed the tb bolts and cleaned the egr. The coil pack has never been changed, so I will start there and start running premium gas, I will update when I get some drive time, thanks guys!

Oh, and Ill clean the MAF sensor too

 

No, Motorvac and BG are the 2 major brands of machines that do that job. I have the dealer do a BG job on mine at every spark plug change. It costs about $85 here. All Ford dealers and many independent shops have one of these machines.

The coil pack is probably okay if it doesn't run rough or sluggish or get bad gas mileage.

 

Coil pack gotcha i rarley see them go bad but its posible but if you have 230k on it and it still runs i would start small it's less expensive a intake cleaning like mentioned above would help for sure get the carbon off thos vavle seats and plugs would not be a bad investment eather. Start small with stuff you can do yourself or try to find a shop with a lower labor rate

 

i know you said you replace the plugs but it would not hurt to look at one or two of them check the color.

 

Replace the fuel filter and start buying your gas at a different station and see if the problem disappears.

 

I had a quarter tank left when I started, and did decide to start small and cheap. I got something from Oreilly called Max Octane (I had 87 in the tank) and It said it would raise the octane by 7 points, which I figured should be enough for a test run to see if it was just too much carbon buildup causing pre-ignition. Bottle said off-road use only and may damage the cat if too much used, or prolonged use. So I put the appropriate amount in, and presto! A little pinging, then no more pinging! Ran that tank out and put in 93 oct and no ping. So looks like I might go try that motovac. After some reaarch on it it sounds pretty good for my situation. Thanks alot for the replies and the help, keep truckin guys!