A guy I spoke to the other day said that the noise that I hear when I accelerate rapidly or when I haul my boat with my truck (a jingling almost like a chain dragging across metal noise) is actually engine pinging rather than what I thought was a bad cat. He told me that what I should do is put the hightest ocatane gas in my tank and see if the sound goes away. If it does, then change the sparks to one's that have a lower (or higher, I can't remember) temperature something or other. I don't know a hell of a lot about candles, so I'm wondering if anyone knows what he meant, or if this is possible: eliminating ping with better plugs?

 

You want to go with a colder plug if it is possible. Idea is to get combustion at the right time, not before or after it supposed to occur. Higher octane will also help do to the lower energy content. That ping sound is not good, think of it as a little guy beating your piston and head with a hammer from inside.

 

The way to deal with a pinging problem is to get rid of the cause. Doing anything else will just cover-up the underlying problem and only temporarily. It will come back.

Pinging is caused by fuel igniting earlier than it should. This is generally caused by a hotspot in the cylinder and this hotspot is usually carbon deposit buildup.

If you get rid of the carbon, you will almost always get rid of the pinging.

My suggestion is to invest about $6 in a bottle of Techron. Not the injection cleaner with Techron, but the full strength synthetic Techron. Follow the directions and see if that doesn't lessen or eliminate the pinging. There are other brands out there that others like better and are stronger than Techron. Redline, for instance. There are others that you inject directly into the fuel rail.

At any rate, try the Techron first before you go through the trouble an expense of swapping for plugs that aren't designed for your truck.

 

DENNIS is right....

Try to make a habbit of getting a bottle of it... Every time you change your Oil.... Every 3k miles or so.... and adding it into your fuel Tank...

I rotate STP complete fuel system cleaner and the Techron... every 2k miles... Carbon can really screw up alot of things in our Fuel injection systems... So I don't let the problem even begin...

 

I think that advice was wrong..............dont be changin your plugs and do what ever that guy said. That may have worked back in the 70's but its the wrong thing to do now. I would do what Dennis suggested along with having your mass air flow sensor cleaned and resetting the computer on your truck.. I speak from experience........my truck was pinging and it completely cleared up my problem.

 

Guys let's get serious here. If you got that much carbon built up on your heads then you have a major fuel problem or a hell of alot of miles on it! Running a solvent isn't going to get rid of it! MAGIC in a bottle! Your going to have to scrape!(Ever do that?) Getting the right heat range in a plug is NOT 70's technology( just don't go too cold!), sounds like a salesman's pitch! Late model auto's run HOT plugs for emissions reasons! They can also run VERY LEAN with too much ADVANCE in the curve. Not much you can do about that unless you program. These problems surface when you put an engine under a true load. There is no quick fix! Of course if the ping is light and occassional then you could run for years without a problem. Do the fuel then the plugs if needed and forget MAGIC IN A BOTTLE!

 

I've always been a little hesitant about using additives (I'm not even sure why.) It seems that people are really afraid of using them. The manuals all say not to use them, buy I have to wonder why? do they want engines to run badly so that the dealers will make the money to tune them (or fix them) or are they telling the truth, additives cause other problems? However, a single bottle can't hurt, and if it does solve the problem, I can't really go wrong. Regardless, I don't think that anyone truly believes that the stuff really is magic in a bottle unless it has Jack Daniels on the label . Why wouldn't Ford just put the right plug in the first place? These things were meant for loads, so why shoult they ping under load?

 

Emissions and cost my friend. That little bottle can cost you ALOT of trouble. Can you say melt my piston three times fast. When you use that stuff you play with fire(literally!) You might get burnt and then you might not. Oil dilution is a great idea! , but then again that's a cheap way to get a short block. Both fuel and oil additives are not needed for any engine. Any wrench will tell you that, but I guess there are ALOT of tool boxes around here!

 

Guess what? The Ford dealer will run an additive thru your fuel system to get rid of carbon build up. It's the modern and proven way of getting rid of carbon buildup in engines. The dealer uses some kind of aerosol thing they hook up to the valve on the fuel rail.

 

Like I said alot of tool boxs. Carbon build up is not a common problem and builds up with high miles. If you got that much carbon on your heads you need to scrape. "Flushing" is not a "new modern" practice, it's been around along time! Might get some light fluff but that's it. Problem is your contaminating your oil and I got news for you: You can't flush it all out.:o Bet those dealers want you to come in every now and then... $$$$$$$$$ I got some purified "light low atomic weight" air in a bottle you can use in your tires. Balances your tires perfectly! Increases MPG and won't oxidize the rubber so they will last longer. Let me know if you want some!

 

Pretty interesting stuff. I kinda have to agree with Dennis and Yankee both. If I remember correctly, you are suppose to run the techron just before you change your oil, to get the crap out, not after. I do not see what one bottle could hurt. Amsoil makes a intake and valve cleaner. NO, I am not a dist. I beleve that the dealer injector service is just that, for fuel injectors. What kind of gas do you run? That could be part of the problem. Could also be a problem with your computer system somewhere, the truck is suppose to have a knock sensor that prevents pinging. Could the timing curve be off?
I personally do not like intake or injector cleanors, Yankee is right about the damage that could be done. I have seen the oil after its use. If all is in good working order, and you are using a quality fuel that should have some detergent already in it, you should be ok.
Terry

 

Every body brings a good point here...

The original poster did not include enough information for a proper diagnostic,

He should have mentioned miles on engine, maint schedlues, climate, etc..

If the engine is maintained regularly and the owner uses quality fuel then probably additives are not needed...

If he doesnt change his oil or uses cheap fuel ,then there is a good chance that a carbon build up in the intake is very possible..

then some type of action is needed...additives. fuel injector rail cleaner, hotter plugs,etc...

When we run into situations like this we need to pick further to specify more info for his problem...

This is one reason I include things like mileage in my signature line..as well as location....

Supply more info...

BTY I do not use additives regularly in my newer vehicles.....

 

defacto, has anyone suggested cleaning your MAF sensor? Oil from your K+N can foul the filament and cause the pinging. I cleaned mine last summer and haven't heard any pinging since.

 

I fought a persistent pinging problem with our 99 Explorer from 10k - 23k. It's my wife's car ( don't worry, I drive the F150 ) and makes short trips exclusively. The dealer did the decarbon procedure twice and the pinging remained. Finally, a diligent tech found a small vacuum leak on the intake manifold. Problem solved. I'm sure it's not a common problem but maybe something worth checking for persistent pinging.

 

Is the MAF sensor the sensor with the wires going to it that connects under the air filter housing?