Have any of you experienced this . . .

When I'm crusing at around 100-115 km per hour (60-70 mph) and go heavy on the throttle so the tranny kicks down (passing situations), I hear a very weird noise come from the engine compartment. It only does it on the hwy (not when accelerating hard in town . . . so only at hwy speeds) and it only lasts for 2-3 seconds when the revs kick up upon the initial tranny downshift.

It sounds almost like if you were to run a fork down your radiator or if you had a metal house fan and brushed something against it when it was on. It's a very hard, metallic sound but it's not constant during that 2-3 seconds. It goes "on and off" and almost sounds like something is scraping. Sorry about the description, it's a tough one to explain.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks

97 F-150 4x4 EC, 4.6L Romeo Auto, 3.55 LS, K&N Filter, Cat-Back Exhaust, Spray in Bed Liner, roughly 62,000KM (38,000 miles).

 

Couger Guy, It sounds like pinging. I have the 4.6 as well and mine does this under heavy throttle also. I've found fuel quality to be the culprit. Once I stepped up to mid-grade fuel the problem vanished. This is quite frustrating considering that these engines are designed to run on 87 octane fuel. There have been numerous theads claiming that various fuel additives clear this up, but I believe that this is a band aid fix that simply improves the quality of the fuel temperarily. There have also been numerous threads stating that removing a component called the "octane fuel bar" clears up the problem. This may be the case, but apparently doing this results in lower power and fuel economy, which as you know is unacceptable with these trucks. I hope this helps.

 

I developed a simular sound comming from the engine compartment also. My F150 has less than 600 miles on it, a 5.4L. It sounds to me like a exhaust manifold heat riser valve or fan, a clicking at around 3000 rpm.
The Ford mechanics think its coming from inside the engine.
I am curious as to if any one else has experienced this problem?
Any input would be appreciated.


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2000 F150 Lariat Flairside Supercab White/Silver
5.4L 3.55:1 w/ Upgrade Pkg
Mods:
Ford (Duraliner) Bedliner
Stull Billet Grill
Putco SS Bed Rails
DynoMax w/ Rear Duals, Pilot SS Square Tips
Tailight Lens Covers
Lund Bug Deflector (@ painter)
Tinted Windows (almost legal)
SuperchipS UTA2 (awesome)
next: Airaid/K&N FIPK, wheels
other stuff: V1 radar locator, Megellen GPS

 

Thanks

I'll try experimenting with some different fuel, I'm due for a fillup so I'll let you know.

 

Putting higher octane fuel into your truck to get rid of pinging should be looked at as a temporary solution. Eventually, the pinging will return because the underlying problem will get worse.

Generally speaking, two things cause pinging. Too much advance on the ignition and carbon buildup in the cylinders.

In our trucks, carbon is the most likely cause. Get rid of the carbon and you get rid of the pinging.

Many of us have had good results with Chevron Techron.

 

How often due you use the Chevron Techron?

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00 supercab, 5.4,4x4, stay up too late on this site

[This message has been edited by Jumpn (edited 05-22-2000).]

 

I used it every 10,000 or so miles in my old '87. That's about as long as it took to start pinging again. I haven't had that problem in my '99 so far, but I only have 10,000 miles on it. The '87 started pinging at around 30k. Did what others did here and started gassing up with Super. Pinging returned. My fuel supplier suggested the Techron and I've been a believer in it ever since.

One word of caution. Do the treatment with whatever brand you choose right before you change your oil. This stuff loosens the carbon from the piston rings too and it gets blown down into the crankcase. The oil will turn black if there was a lot of carbon in the engine.

 

Dennis, I hope your contention about carbon is correct. The reason I assumed that the Techron was a temperary fix was that I thought that I saw some posts that stated that the pinging came back soon after the application. If its after 10000 miles, that's great. I assumed that fuel quality was the culprit because some fuel brands were much worse than others. There's a couple of other questions I have regarding this subject: 1. Why does the 4.6 seem to be more suseptible to this condition? 2.Why are people resorting to removing the octane fuel bar? 3.What are some other products that contain Techron? Chevron products are not available in my area. Thanks in advance.

 

The reason, I think, that people are removing the shorting bar is because it's an easy and instant "fix." Unfortunately, it doesn't eliminate the underlying problem and will in fact reduce mileage and performance. It's still best to fix the problem.

I'm guessing that some brands of fuel will encourage carbon buildup in an engine. I don't know this for sure.

The Techron will get rid of the carbon that's causing the problem, however, the carbon will eventually return.

If you can't find Chevron products, you can try various other brands. Some actually hook up to the fuel rail and seem to be quite effective. Maybe moreso than the Chevron product. On the otherhand, Techron is cheap and painless to use.

If you can't find it, check out boat repair shops/dealers. Chevron Techron is sold under the Yamaha label. At least it was. Not sure about now. BTW, the last place I bought Techron was at KMart. I understand Walmart has it too.

The only reason I can think of why the 4.6L engine pings more than the 5.4L is because it's a smaller engine that's running under greater load per horsepower than the 5.4 is.

 

I had a 98 4.2 that started pinging at about 6000 miles or so. Ford's answer was to buy the truck back from me. If your pinging problem is still under warranty DO NOT let up on your dealer, get them to fix it.

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I was an engine mechanic in an earlier life. I only say this to support the contention that I thought I had seen just about every engine-related problem until one in my dad's car survaced: knocking like you had wood being squished in the combustion chamber.

This was a moderately high output (300 hp Chevy 350) engine in a big sedan and it came about suddenly while in my hands.

The 'fix' was one of pouring water into the carb at high rpm so as to dislodge the carbon (steam/temperature differential); and to drive it aggressively with the spark plugs out (obviously one at a time) to clean things out.

This 'fix' lasted for another 11 or so years and well into 'new-car' mileage, until the car was totaled by a drunk while both were resting.

So what? Well, I sure don't expect that kind of carbon from today's lead-free squeaky-clean-burning engines, it does indicate that moderate (read: babied) running of engines can cause build-ups that never seem to rear up in those which are driven hard and put to bed wet.

Interesting reading, perhaps, but I haven't solved any problems -- but I enjoyed the trip down memory lane. Try taking it out for a five-minute blast at the century mark -- and I bet your engine runs like the day it was born.

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Y2K™

XLT SC SB 5.4L E4x4 AW-Disc, 3.73LS, Skid, 7700# HD Towing, Chrome LT-245, Steps, Captain's, 6CD, Tonneau, keyless, Toreador Red, called "Nick"

 

When you guys mention Techron, are you talking about something that you pour into your gas tank, like fuel treatment?

The reason I ask is that all Chevron fuel up here has Techron as an additive in the fuel itself. Is this what you mean or is there another "shelf product" that you would add to the fuel?

I filled up with Chevron last fill up and the pinging appears to be better although it's still not gone. I suspect it may take a while to get all of the carbon out with just the additives in the fuel itself, it does seem to be helping though. I've also run it like it was stolen a couple of times too, that seemed to help as well.

I was using Mowhawk gasoline faithfully for the last couple years. Maybe I'll switch to Chevron and see what happens. I used to only run Chevron in my old car because it was the only fuel that made my engine somewhat smooth, don't know why I switched.

Thanx for the info, I'll keep you posted.

 

The Techron I was talking about is sold in a black plastic bottle. You run the tank almost dry. Add the contents of the bottle to the tank at the fuel pump and immediately add 10 gallons of gas. Costs about $6 to $8 a bottle.

Y2K, it's true. If you baby it, even modern engines will get fouled up with carbon. I never had a pinging problem when I was in high school!

 

I think I found the stuff at Canadian Tire. Black bottle, wait until tank empty add it and enjoy.

Now I have to wait until my tank is empty, hopefully another week or so. I'll let you know.

Thanks for the info.

 

Y2K,
I use that fix to clean up the pistons on my mowers and weed eaters. Works there too.
To anyone out there thinking of trying this, use caution and just a little water. Steam is a powerful force and too much may do things you don't want to hear about.
LOL...

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Black 1997 F-150 Supercab Flairside. 4.6L with Jocobs DIS, K&N Generation II, Cat back Exhaust (my own, nice rumble). 17" Off Road wheel pkg. Lots of body mods. 4 yrs old and still turns heads...