I have been searching and reading these forums for hours now and I still have some questions about this that I hope someone can help me with. I am new to here, and I am no gear-head, so bare with me if I say something incorrectly.

I have a 2007 Ford F150 FX2 5.4L that has an engine ping (dealer's exact words) when accelerating. Anytime you gas it from a start, or let off the throttle and cost a bit then give it gas again, you hear a noise that I originally described as valve rattle. When I first purchased the truck I heard it only once on the test drive, but now it seems to be getting worse, or more noticeable and happens more often.

I took it into the Ford stealership here in Austin which did basically nothing for me but still charged me $125 and gave me back my truck with it doing just about the same thing. He said they cleaned off the heads which he said had carbon buildup on them (what would cause this?). They found nothing else wrong with the truck.

I've heard this engine ping can be caused from:
1. excess carbon buildup
2. bad EGR valve
3. bad MAF sensor
4. leaky hoses
5. you name it...

If it was ANY of these things, the tech should have found it...

Is there anyone who HAD this same issue and has fixed it?

I will almost PAY for information on how to fix this issue, if it does actually work!!

The owner before me put duel exhaust on it. Looks like Flow's but I haven't gone under to take a closer look yet. No other mods have been made to my knowledge.

Would dueling it out with Flow's cause this noise or carbon buildup that the dealer noticed? Not enough back pressure? Maybe I'm running too lean, too rich? Would a programmer help with the engine ping?

Thank you in advance to anyone, and everyone who might help me with this issue. I love my tuck, and I want it to last, but I feel that if I do not fix this issue soon, the engine life will shorten the more I drive it like this and really cost me later...

 

Engine ping is detonation.....try going up a level of gasoline. A programmer may help by allowing you to pull some timing out of the curve (if possible). You could also try maybe running a couple bottles of Techron thru it....just my 2 cents.

 

The Techron could help clean any carbon deposits out of it. Carbon deposits can create hotspots in the cylinders which would be a catalyst for detonation. Cooler spark plugs could help also....

 

I have had same issue and according to the dealership our trucks have loud fuel injectors and thats what I'm hearing I agree to a point but since the warmer weather has been around I don't hear it. I did put techtron in the fuel about 2 months ago maybe that helped

 

Thank you for the reply.

I have heard of a method to de-carbon the engine using a bottle of cleaner of some kind. Anyone have a link to a how-to on this?

I will try the Techron, and I will also look and see what cooler spark plugs might do for me. I think its rather difficult to change the sparkplugs, but if all else fails I can try that.

Which programmer would give me the ability to change the timing a bit?

 

Hmmm I wonder if you and I went to the same dealership here in Austin. I have a 2001 but had taken it in under warranty 4 times for the ping. Each time the paperwork says it's nothing but some carbon. They say it's nothing. Of course now it's almost 9 years old and it's causing issues.

Now my Service Engine Soon light is on and they say it's carbon buildup and it's going to cost me $400 to fix it. Yeah right!

I'm pissed off that they wouldn't do anything before this point, especially not when it was under warranty. It would seem to me that you are still under warranty and I would insist that they do something now.

 

I had the same issue with mine. Mine didn't really ping on initial acceleration, but if I gave it a little gas while I was already moving I'd get a couple quiet pings. I took it to the dealership and FREAKED out on them when they just dismissed it as 'normal' without even looking at it and blaming it on the crummy gas in AZ. I dismissed that when I told them it did it with gas from CA, NV, UT, and MT both in the mountains and at sea level. Try again. After convincing them to keep it overnight (I had another vehicle I could drive so it was no biggie), I got a call from the shop foreman. He told me he took it out and drove it (30 more miles on the odo....good move) and heard what I was hearing. He said his Expy does the same thing and his is worse. Bad part of it....it's normal. He told me to use 87 octane only since that's what the truck was designed for and gave me a list of gas stations to go to with Chevron and QT being at the top.

This all was 2 days before hooking a trailer up to it to move from AZ to FL. 2000 miles later, a change in gas, and a change in altitude the ping is gone. I've had no check engine lights (watch...it'll come on when I go to leave work now) and no other problems. As much as it goes against everything I know about engines and pinging is not normal, it must have been.

Good luck and let us know what happens. Make sure to document EVERYTHING and, as much as you hate it, get most of your documentation from the dealer especially if you are still in warranty. Usually if there's a problem when you're in warranty the dealer can't fix but documents, they'll fix it if you're out and more problems arise.

 

I had the engine ping on my 01, and I thought they had fixed that by now. Back then I read it was carbon buildup on the pin connecting the piston to the rod. I was very successful in making it more quiet using Auto-RX to clean the carbon out. It never completely went away, but it did get quiet when most engines got louder. In time it did come back, and then I gave it another cleaning to quiete it down again.

The stuff is expensive at $26 a bottle, but is still much less than anything the dealer can do. I was only using half a bottle. It worked for me, but I have not researched the issue on the 07 engine to see if the issue is the same as I had back in 03 with my 01. Either way your engine will run smother because your overall compression will improve on each cylinder.

 

The pinging is caused by predetonation. That means that the cylinder is firing before the piston reaches top dead center. This can be caused by carbon buildup in the cylinder which stays red hot, and causes the fuel and air mixture to fire before it should. It can also be caused by the timing of the engine being off. How many miles do you have on it?

Changing to a "cooler" plug can help. Running a higher octane can help if it is a timing problem, but only eliminates the symtom and does not solve the problem. I would suggest putting a tank of premium in and seeing if it goes away. If it does, I would then consider buying a tuner with custom tunes.

You do not want to have it pinging. That is the piston slapping and rattling around, causing damage.

 

That is different than the ping I had in my 01. :o This is on acceleration, mine was mainly at startup. Predetonation is like hitting the top of the piston with a hammer.

 

my ping is back not to diss vmp but since I installed the custom tunes don't know if coincidence or what haven't had it since the last time at dealer and complained about it they did (hope i get these intials right) a PCM on it but now it's back getting better mileage but got ping hmmmmm what to do

 

Did you keep all the paperwork?
You could possibly find a free attorney to consult in regards to the matter.

I frequent the Auto Section of Craigslist.org quite often, and there's an attorney there who hangs out and helps people. His handle is LemonAtty.

 

Yes that is correct, 2008 5.4. I have the ping as well for the past 6 months. I finally yelled loud enough at the service person in Georgetown (Near Austin Texas) and they got a Ford tech involved.

1. They replaced the PCM.
2. Pulled the head on the drivers side and the Cylinders are FULL of carbon. No joke

I have pics from the dealer of the carbon.

I am not sure exactly what is causing the carbon but I suspect it will be related to the Valve Guides. I think oil is bypassing into the cylinders and causing the detonations and carbon build up.

This is NOT normal no matter what level of gas you use. I suspect that it it in the design because these damn things are designed for 'E 85' Flex Fuel And No I have NOT put in the E-85 crap.

The dealer is putting the engine back together, but I think I am going to have a real fight on my hands.

 

I'm wondering why you got charged for something that should be covered by warranty considering your vehicle is less than 3 years old...are you above the mileage limitation? this should be covered under the drivetrain warranty which is 5 years/60,000 miles..

if you are under warranty, then they are a stealership...call up Ford directly and make a complaint (most all dealers do NOT want to lose their blue oval status)

 

I must say that I have to eat my words on this one, I was told today that they are going to replace my engine. What great service, and all without a fight or single argument.

I suppose being a loyal Ford owner, and loyal to a certain dealership has its benifits.

They are truly doing the right thing on this one.

What I do hope though is that the problem of Carbon build up is fixed, as this is a huge issue in the newer 5.4 tritons.