Loud pinging at take off when under load

[pmill]

I took my recently purchased 92 to the desert to test out the 4x4 and it did great. But whenever I started off in sand or under some kind of heavy load, especially in 4wd, the engine would ping (clack) loudly until I got going. It didn't sound good. Anyone know what could be causing this and how to fix it?

The engine did ping more noticably climbing out of the desert on the highway. It seemed a little underpowered and everything.

I'm going to go through and clean the maf, tb, tighten intake bolts and see if that does it. But what i'm mainly concerned with was the loud pinging under load at take off. What are the chances of doing major damage the few times it made that sound?

 

[falls chic]

You might want to check for vaccum leaks and get the timing checked.It sounds like a timing problem. Put some good gas in it and see if it makes a difference. Good luck!!! Peace.

 

[LStoudenmire]

This is very common for the 1st Generation. I found the cleaning of the MAF to help. Also, I have found Shell Gasoline to totally eliminate the pinging, as well. I have tried a number of differnet types of gasoline and the problem would return. Then adding Shell again, pinging would disappear.

 

[pmill]

I cleaned out the maf, throttle body, iac and reset the computer. Then took it back out and it still does the noise when taking off in sand. Oh well, not sure what else it could be right now, and it runs ok, so i'll just leave it as is and take it easy when I want to abuse it.

 

[Creager]

Using 89 usually fixes the problem for me. My truck was pinging earlier today down the highway. It does seem to have a lot to do with the gas. i use Citgo, which usually gives me high-grade gas that never pings. But every now and again i get a batch that pings a lot.

Getting a custom tune (chip) will eliminate the ping no matter what gas you use =)

 

[Timoteo]

Check/replace your fuel filter. My 92 pinged alot, especialy if the humidity was low. You may also wish to check you fuel pressure regulator.

good luck!

 

[monkeydude3]

seafoam it! or whatever method you prefer to decarbon the engine. Sounds like it may have just been very gently driven and subsequently has a lot of carbon inside. No biggy, just dirty. I've heard that clears up the pinging/knocking really well.

George

 

[JWood]

My clatter/pinging stopped this weekend in my 93 Ex after I replaced my radiator and hoses....I bought a can of Seafoam, planning on doing the treatment after finishing with the radiator replacement, but now there is just no clatter....go figure!! Maybe the current very low humidity is a factor.

By the way I have done most everything mentioned in posts above to eliminate clatter, but the Seafoam treatment always helped the most.

 

[Rhett]

Sea foam it first. It's cheap ($3), easy, and fast.

Don't put higher octane gas in it, that will only mask the problem, not solve it.

 

[pmill]

Thanks guys. I bought the truck with 116K miles and only a few records of what has been done before. I went through the thing top to bottom and had trouble finding stuff that needed to be fixed or fluids that hadn't already been changed. But one of the first things I did was run seafoam through it. It smoked up the whole neighbordhood, etc.. But I didn't notice any difference in anything, it already ran good.

I didn't notice any unusual engine noise until taking it offroad for the first time, then it did it taking off from a stop. Then driving home I was listening to the engine more carefully and noticed a slight ping accelerating up hill in 3rd gear. I also felt like I had less acceleration, but that may have been paranoia. I have a 2000 ranger 4.0 also and I switch back and forth between the 2 vehicles so it's hard to pin point differences in the way they drive day to day.

JWood: Was your engine clattering from take off or after driving awhile?

 

[JWood]

Pmill -

Mine was clattering when accelerating from 35 mph or higher; most noticable at freeway speeds when trying to speed up, or going up hill. Never did it ping or clatter as you describe from take off. Many threads here talk about this issue, so read them and try the recommended fixes. Some combination of them should help with this issue. Good Luck!

Just a thought...I know you already did the Seafoam treatment through the intake, but you might want to just add a can of it to a less than full tank and run it like that as well; it can't hurt and might help a bit.