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Ping time again!

Bwana Bob

Well-Known Member
Joined
February 2, 2002
Messages
757
Reaction score
8
City, State
Morris Plains, NJ
Year, Model & Trim Level
92 XLT
I can always tell when it' autumn and they change over to winter blend fuel. My Ex starts pinging. I do the Seafoam or Techron treatment regularly and she was fine all summer. Here in NJ they use the reformulated/oxygenated fuel.

Engine is the 4.0 L OHV. Trans is 5-speed stick. Diff is 3.27.

I've switched up to 89 octane but she still pings on the highway at certain rpms.

I've read all the threads on this subject but it seems to be a seasonal issue now. Should I just pull the "Octane plug" until spring or use octane booster?

BTW I'm running Autolite plugs. Some say that the OHV likes Motorcraft plugs better. Would plugs make a difference?

Thanks.

Bob
 



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I have a 94 Explorer, 4L V6, with 145K miles I had a similar problem but in the summer, not fall. Car knocked horribly under load (but no CEL). Engine got real hot & no power as a result. No fun at all.
Tried all the ideas here - higher octane gas, octane plug, sea foam, fuel pressure, plugs, MAF cleaning, you name it. Then I changed the air intake temp sensor (about $10) because it seems to like the cold weather better. Problem largely went away, and its been running good, up & down the rockies since then. It's a $10 experiment and the sensor is easy to replace. Hope this helps.
 






Try burning off the carbon. Run high (4,000 plus) RPMS for about 10-minutes. Stick shifts dont always get up to high enough temp to keep the valves freee of carbon.
 






I have a 94 Explorer, 4L V6, with 145K miles I had a similar problem but in the summer, not fall. Car knocked horribly under load (but no CEL). Engine got real hot & no power as a result. No fun at all.
Tried all the ideas here - higher octane gas, octane plug, sea foam, fuel pressure, plugs, MAF cleaning, you name it. Then I changed the air intake temp sensor (about $10) because it seems to like the cold weather better. Problem largely went away, and its been running good, up & down the rockies since then. It's a $10 experiment and the sensor is easy to replace. Hope this helps.

Thanks, that's a good idea. I hadn't thought of the air temp sensor. It's the one on the intake manifold near the IAC servo, right?

Bob
 






Try burning off the carbon. Run high (4,000 plus) RPMS for about 10-minutes. Stick shifts dont always get up to high enough temp to keep the valves freee of carbon.

Thank you, another good idea. I put Techron in the fuel, which seemed to help a little, but this week its jerking a bit so I filled the tank and put in a ****tail od Seafoan and Marvel Mystery Oil. I hope I don't have a clogged injector again. In the past, I had problems with Fram fuel filters failing and fouling the injectors, which takes several weeks to clear.

Bob
 






fram=crap!!
 






My 94 ex is pinging with the winter blend to...89 octane fixes it for me. By the way
jd4242's comment that fram=crap is shared on so many other forums. It is amazing that they have such a bad rep for filters yet still stay in business ! I won't use from either.
 






none mentioned the lower intake being a possible cause of the ping .

mine did this ....pinged so bad sounded like a dam poping air hose ,found out that my lower intake was loose where it bolts onto the heads .the bolts were all most finger loose ......retourqed everything and no more problem .
 






Yes, my experience with the Fram fuel filters has been horrible. They fail internally and dump dirt into the fuel injectors. When I remove the filter I can hear the element rattling around loose in the can.

I put in a Motorcraft filter from Advance Auto Parts for only a few dollars more than the Fram.

Truck is acting up again, jerking and bucking on the highway. I can't believe its the fuel filter again and it seems to be OK until it warms up, so I'm going to try vitb's suggestion and change the air charge temperature sensor.

Bob
 












i allways run higher octane or colder plugs,but ive never gotten a ping in a stock motor.check the lower intake bolts run high rpms and 89+ gas and if none of that works try ngk tr6 plugs gaped around .40.
 






Can I get at the lower intake manifold bolts without pulling the valve covers?

It pings mostly after it warms up. Would it like Motorcraft plugs better than the Autolites that I'm running? After my bad experiences with Fram, I'm beginning to mistrust any auto part that Wal-Mart sells!

Thanks.

Bob
 






The actual valvetrain ping/clatter seems to be from the wear and tear on the pushrods and rocker arms, when the wear gets bad enough, there's enough slack that it's actually a mechanical issue. The only solution is new rockers and pushrods.

You can get ping from the other things as mentioned, though, whether it's a leaky intake gasket, dirty MAF sensor, air temp sensor, etc.

Jerking and bucking is another issue, though. My truck's motor used to do that until I swapped the old stock wires for Magnecor's, so you might want to try a new set of plug wires, maybe with Motorcraft plugs, too. They do seem to make a difference versus the cheaper and even the more expensive plugs. Don't discount the other systems either, though. A dirty fuel filter or air filter might have something to do with it, a fuel pump that's on it's way out, or even bad gas. When I ran sam's club/murphy usa gas (with minimum detergents) for awhile, the engine would chug and buck on heavy acceleration. After a long time of running Chevron/Shell (top tier fuel with top spec detergents), it no longer bucks or gives any hesitation, ever. Now the only thing I have is loud valve clatter from the rocker/pushrod wear. If it's a really LOUD clatter, it's probably the rockers/rods. If it's lighter ping and bucking/knock/hesitation, try the other fixes first, since they are really good maintenance items to do anyway.
 






i hear a slapping or clicking sound in my engine in he front been like that for a long time. hope it aint my timing chain
 






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