Help,
I am having some major detonation problems when I put a load on the engine (Hills especially). I had the MAF sensor replaced, ran 2 bottles of Techron fuel system cleaner, and tried different major brands of fuel. What should I do next? This is my last chance to get this corrected before my warranty expires. I purchased and installed a superchip, ran 93 octane and it still pinged! Any advice would greatly be appreciated. This pinging is really getting annoying!

 

one suggestion would be to talk to Mike at Superchips about this. Also if your truck is under warrenty make sure the dealer doccuments your problem! There is *no* excuse for engine ping problems. Call the zone office for Ford a file a commplaint. That is a very good engine and it surley wasent designed to operate that way!

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97 F-150 4.6 auto, 4x2, 3.55 LS, WMS Velocity tube, Dynomax Super Turbo exhaust with Echo tube.
Oh yeah, it's Oxford White with crome wheels, Legacy shell & custom grill!

 

Mlaugh,
Thanks for the input. What should be replaced next... EGR valve? Knock Sensors? Bad PCM? He was talking removing the fuel bar but I hear you lose power if you do this so I really don't want him to mess with it. He said nothing is turning up with the computer codes. I'm now over 36,000 mi. but he is keeping the work order open till my new doors arrive(door cracks) and the detonation problem which I hope will be solved soon.

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98 F-250 LD E.C. 4x4,4.6 litre,K&N filter,tow pkg.,3.73rear,off-road pkg.,LT265/75R16

 

HI ONE THING WE DO ON THE DYNO IS TO INSTALL A PRO M MASS AIR ADJUSTER TO ADD MORE FUEL UNDER LOAD CONDITIONS THEN WHEN YOU ARE UNDER NORMAL DRIVEING CONDITIONS TURN IT BACK WE HAVE DONE THIS MANY TIMES AND IT WORKS WELL YOU CAN EVEN FIND A DYNOJET DYNO IN YOUR AREA AND PULL ABOUT 6 TO 15 HP MORE OUT OF YOUR ENGINE WITH IT BUT MAKE SURE THAT WHEN YOU PULL WITH IT YOU SET IT TO A MORE FUEL SETTING AND YOU WILL NOT GET ANY PING OR WE CAN DO A CUSTOM CHIP WITH A SWITCH SO YOU CAN SWITCH FROM PULLING TO PERFORMANCE IN THE SAME CHIP INSIDE THE CAB IF IT KEEPS PINGING IT WILL BURN SPK. PLUGS AND CRACK HEADS GOOD LUCK TOM

 

dont screw around trying to fix this. mine had this problem too, and what I thought was a ping was a rod knock. and I would have sworn it was a ping. now its in the the shop, just short of warranty up getting brand new engine. make them fix it! they have had mine 3 weeks, and have not started work yet. end of this week, they are buying it back from me. Yours is a MAJOR problem. dont ignore this and keep hoping it will magically go away. it wont.

 

Hi Ladder29,

Since there is an open warranty ticket on this, I would remove the Superchip and run it on regular 87 octane gas, and have the dealership take care of this. If they are not successful, then get the factory Zone Representative get involved *immediately*, and your service department can give you that person's name & telephone number. These vehicles should not detonate with the ultra-conservative factory program even on 87 octane fuel, and when they do detonate on 87 with the factory program, there is a problem that needs to be corrected, either in fuel supply or mechanically.

This is *not* an issue of your program, either the factory program or the Superchip program, being too lean under load, this is most likely a mechanical issue I suspect.

Even though you mentioned that you have already tried changing brands of fuel, it could very well be the gasolines you're using, or it could be a problem with fuel formulations across the board in your area if you are in an area of "non-attainment" in terms of the Federal program that monitors air quality. All fuels are not alike, they have differing burn rates, vastly differing energy contents (gasoline energy content is expressed in terms of the number of BTU's per lb. or per gallon of fuel), etc. Even having said all of that, I still think this is a mechanical issue in your truck, and it's not going to be fixed by dumping in more fuel, unless you have an EGR issue, in which case it need sto be properly fixed, not "band-aided" with more fuel under load.

I would return the vehicle to "baseline", meaning remove the Superchip and run it on the best quality 87 octane fuel you can buy in your area (try Texaco, Amoco, Citgo, steer clear of Exxon, BP & any "off-brands").

The point here is to hold the dealer responsible for this under warranty, since it is detonating no matter whether the chip is in or out or what else you do, or you'll be chasing this problem forever until you get lucky. It could very easily be an EGR-related problem, or a knock-sensor problem, though EGR & MAF are the usual culprits.

Good luck!

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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 11-20-2000).]

 

Well, I just dropped my truck off at the dealers. I told them to hang on to it till they figure the ratteling / pinging problem out. I hope its nothing major like andrew s rod knock! I was towing a trailer the other day and it ratteled when I gave it too much throttle.
Mike thanks for the input. I took the chip out and put in some 87 octane
(what this vehicle should run on). I'll let you know if they figure it out.
Andrew s how did they figure out it was rod knock and not detonation?

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98 F-250 LD E.C. 4x4,4.6 litre,K&N filter,tow pkg.,3.73rear,off-road pkg.,LT265/75R16

 

contrary to mike at superchips beliefs this is a fuel problem and adding fuel under a load will cure the problem this is a on going problem that ford has not come up with an answer to yet but are working on i was not trying to cover up the problem just trying to give you an answer to it that we use for several ford dealerships around here for guys with work trucks that pull a load for a living it is also a great way to make extry horse power and we all want that.

 

Do you sell a custom performance MAF sensor for the F150 5.4l?

Does anyone?

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**2000 F150 Harley Davidson Edition**
**2001 Kawasaki Ninja ZX6R**
**1967 427 Shelby Cobra Replica On the way**
~~Bad Cop, No Doughnut~~

 

HPDYNO,
What kind of product are you talking about? Is this a chip or something. What does it do exactly? Is this something that can be installed easily? Thanks...

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98 F-250 LD E.C. 4x4,4.6 litre,K&N filter,tow pkg.,3.73rear,off-road pkg.,LT265/75R16

 

Ladder29,


With the computer program in your truck, you should have no pinging. Fords baseline program doesn't advance your timing enough to even come close to making your engine ping. There is some other problem there somewhere. Adding more fuel is not the answer. Yes it may keep you from pinging, but your engine shouldn't be doing it in the first place and adding an aftermarket product to add more fuel shouldn't be considered. Find the actual problem and don't add a bandaid for a fix. My .02 cents worth

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ecm747x

2001 SUPER CREW XLT, BRIGHT RED
5.4L Triton, automatic 3.55 gears limited slip
tow package
16" tires
side steps
bed extender
ford/duraliner bed liner
60/40 seats
6cd changer
moonroof
sliding rear window

Soon to come Mods...

Adding Super chip, Airaid F.I.P.K. Installing different exhaust, not sure which yet. Front grill guard. With light kit


MODS....
1) Lund x-terminator bug shield

 

one more time i am not trying to cover up the problem mearly trying to give an answer to the guys problem and several thousaand other guys that are haveing the same problem now i think we can all agree that ford does not but much timing in the engine and that pinging or spark nock is caused from timing or fuel so if ford doesent put a lot of timing in then it is safe to assume that it is a fuel problem or lack of now adding fuel may not be the total answer but until ford can figure out and come up with a cure adding fuel will keep you from going through engins

 

I have a buddy with a pinging 4.6. The dealer unhooked the "octane bar." He now suffers from a very weak motor.

My question is, where is this "bar" and how is it connected/disconnected?



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Supercrew 4x4 Lariat
Solid Black
5.4 Triton
3.55 Limited Slip
6750# GVWR Package
Skid Plates
Moon Roof
Sliding Rear Window
Trailer Tow - Class III
Cargo Cage
Grey Leather Captains Chairs
6-Disc CD Changer

Mods:
305/70/16 ATS, AR Atlas 16x8
Chrome Westin Steps

Planned: Dual Exhaust, Toneau Cover and Expedition Console Mod.

Another great Ford truck site -www.fseries.com

Truck Pictures

 

ladder29, sorry so long to reply back. they finally figured it out after 4 trips to dealer for same prob. and my refusal to take back until cured the 4th time. again, DONT listen to anyone suggesting "octane short bar" tricks, fuel tricks, etc. listen to the superchip dist.. MAKE ford fix it. dont wait on this. the service mang. at another dealer is a "friend of a friend". he told me they have replaced slews of 4.6 and 5.4 from windsor AND romeo 97, 98, and early 99 year models for this problem and "piston slap" (see threads.) please keep us posted on your progress.

 

Talked to the dealer yesterday. They said they couldn't find anything yet. They said they checked the timing and the EGR valve.Everything checked out OK.
I would like to find out more about "rod knock". What exactly is it? What does it sound like? How can I tell if this could possibly be my problem? I told the dealer to hang on to my truck till we find out what it is. They said their going to do a backround investigation on the engine / truck by running the serial number. Sure would like some input about "rod knock"! Thanks for the Info so far!

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98 F-250 LD E.C. 4x4,4.6 litre,K&N filter,tow pkg.,3.73rear,off-road pkg.,LT265/75R16