Anyone out there have a rattling like sound when accelerating. It sounds like a marble in a tin can. Once I get to a certain speed it goes away. I contacted my dealer and they say they heard about it. Ford says its normal but is replacing future engines. Its a 99 F150 5.4. Anyone out there Help!!!

 

try higher octane fuel or octane booster and see if it doesn't go away.

 

gblwb1, your truck is suffering from pre-ignition, otherwise known as detonation or pinging (which is named after the sound it produces). Without going into a lot of details, the simple answer is that the fuel in the cylinder(s) is igniting before it is supposed to. This causes a loss of power and is also very harmful to the engine if it frequently occurs or is severe in intensity.

I for one do not believe that under normal driving pinging is a normal condition and I wouldn't let the dealer tell you the same. It can be caused by a multitude of problems, ranging anywhere from el-cheapo gas to excessive carbon buildup in the engine.

Assuming that you've already had the dealer look (unsuccessfully) for a cause, you might try a simple solution first. Chevron Techron comes highly recommended by the guys around here as a way to reduce engine deposits. They say to run a bottle every so many thousand miles and have reported generally positive results.

I would also try a different brand of gas, and stay away from the no-name brands if possible. Going to a higher grade of gas will only mask the problem as these engines are tuned to run on 87 octane, unless you've done some mods that you didn't list.

Good luck!

 

Bad EGR valve will cause some serious pinging. Take it to the dealer and get them to see if the engine's computer is throwing any codes.

 

Thanks for the info. The truck is at the dealership right now. It will be intresting to see what they will tell me. I went for a lengthy drive with the Service Manager. He was able to hear the noise. I guess he will try to duplicate it with some of his techs. I will post what they tell me. The noise is not that bothersome what I want to avoid is any damage to my engine ..

What I was able to notice the most was the noise occured on the freeway. If I am cruising at 40 and try to increase my spped I get the pinging noise..

I use Costco Gas .. Is that considered poor gas???

 

Well I got the car back from the dealership. They informed me that the noise is normal. They said that its my transmittion trying to catch up/ For example when I slow down the chip tells the tranny I am slowing down. When I give it a little increase in speed the noise occurs. They told me the tranny is saying hey I am supposed to be slowing down and is not trying to catch up. Is this something I can believe?? I can not be the only person that has complained about the sound.. Its like a marble in a tin soda can. Anyone have an answer out there??

 

Does it make the noise at idle? I'm just thinking maybe a broken cat converter. Way out there, and it's probably not, since you say it's really only happening during acceleration.

I can't imagine the tranny making that noise, and if it was, it would not be "normal".

Mine dosen't make any noise, except for the roar of the engine and exhaust rumble!

 

Y2K OffRoad

Not trying to be a smarty, smart, just thought I would make a clarification (as reading your posts has often clarified me on some issues). Preignition is a condition where the fuel charge is ignited before it is intended. Detonation is a condition where the fuel burns too rapidly due to pressue differentials, which is usually audible through the combustion chamber walls as a knocking noise.

Regarding detonation, when a compressed air-fuel charge is "fired", the flame travels from the spark plug in an outward direction. As the charge continues to burn, the pressure within the cylinder greatly increases. If the pressure increases faster in another part of the cylinder before the flame reaches it, this area will become hot enough to "fire" itself. Now you have two flame fronts, which increases the fuel charge burn rate. Instead of firing smoothly, there is a violent explosion that literally "slams" the piston down.

Preignition is caused when a overheated spark plug or other item ignites the fuel charge before the spark plug fires. This premature explosion attempts to drive the piston down against the direction of reciprocation and crankshaft rotation.

I believe modern combustion chamber designs have reduced preignition and detonation, as have ECU knock sensors. Also, compression ratios are lower than in the old days, so higher octane gas is not as necessary as before to keep from knocking.

 

my '01 supercrew with 5.4l engine was making what sounded like pinging noises to me right after i bought the truck. i took out a mechanic from the dealership and he heard the noise to. happens mostly when the engine is lugging but not enough for the tranny to downshift and thus increase the engine speed which seems to get rid of the noise. well, the mechanic discovered an exhaust gas recirculation tube had a gasket that wasn't seated properly. he re-did the gasket and the sound is now mostly gone. the sound to me is like pinging or marbles in a tin can...

 

I am having this same problem which started very subtle and then now is a little louder. My "service engine soon" light came on today. It sounds like rocks in a tin can. I have normal levels of oil and the temp. gage is normal. I clean out my intake every time I do an oil change. The only time it makes this noise is when I am accelerating, or when I have the cruise on and I hit a hill (even a small one). Is there a way I can check for the code without taking it to a mechanic?

gblwb1, did you resolve the problem with your engine yet?

runnert

 

I had the exact same problem and described the sounds it made the exact same way you did (like a marble in a tin can.) For me it was predetonation (pinging.) I won't say what they told you about the transmission trying to catch up is BS, but I definately wouldn't take it as fact (I doubt it is the transmission from the sound you said it's making, but if it is I'd be even more concerned!) Start out by putting a full tank of 92/93 octane gas in it. If it stops the pinging, you'll know it obviously isn't the transmission. If you're under warranty, take it back at that point with that info, and tell them it ain't the tranny! If they try to tell you pinging is normal, I'd start out with the service manager and work my way up from there. (Although in some cases it's a lot easier to take it to a different dealer)

 

A friend of mine said that in the newer manuals for the Triton engines, the recommended octane is 92/93, not "regular". Can anyone verify this from their 01's? My manual says that regular gas recommended which I would believe if only this annoying sound would stop, PING PING PING

 

my '01 s-crew's owner manual recommends 87 octane, nothing more, nothing less. it says the engine was designed to run on 87 octane. it also states that if you are having driveability or starting issues, you should try another brand of 87 octane gas. it expressly said that using premium octane gas to try and fix these problems was not recommended!!

 

Hey guys, well for the most part you are all right. I have an 01 supercrew HD with a supercharger and a superchip. Befor I put those mods on , I ran 87 octane with no ping at any time. When the mods went on man did it ping. With this in mind, I changed to 92 octane and the ping stoped until I added more mods. Detonation is a very bad thing that over time can and will take it's tool on your motor. I would from my experience, 1. run Cheveron 92 octane. 2. keep the overdrive off until you turn on the cruise control i.e. freeway. This will keep the motor from lugging. 3. Make sure you are not running into a lean situation. I you are running lean, timming will need to be adjusted as well as your fuel curves. If this has been going on from the first day you bought it, I would recomend taking it back to the dealer or a different dealer and have them re-check it. Just a thought!!!


Bones

 

if you haven't done any mods to your relatively new truck, and it is still pinging on 87 octane, and you've tried different brands of gas, then take it to the dealer (if under warranty) and demand they fix whatever is causing the pinging. with todays sophisticated electronic controls and engine management, it should be a rare event to actually hear pinging!