Did that grab you attention. At highway speeds when I puch the acclerator to speed up slightly, my engine makes a niose that sounds like marbles rattling around in it. Is this pinging, or anything I should be worried about? It's not that loud, and has been present since I started driving the truck when it had 10k on it. It is the 3.0L ffv Vulcan engine w/ manual transmission.

 

Sounds like pinging to me, have you tried filling up with 93 to see if it goes away.

 

That's not what I was hoping to hear. I have read the many posts about pinging and that higher octane is about the only way to fix it sometimes. That's crap that I would have to buy high octance gas for my car. What suprises me is you all just seem to be OK with this as a solution.

 

There is a TSB about the problem, the coil wouldn't be covered under warranty put the PCM should be.

 

Hammy,

I don't share your view that everyone around here is OK simply using higher octane gasoline to fight pinging.

In fact, so far everyone who has come into this forum and posted on the issue of pinging has shown nothing less than a desire to help achieve a cost effective, permanent solution to it. The fact that these people are here spending some of their time partcipating in the conversation, offering tips and insights and and even hunches, I think demonstrates that they are not OK with the status quo, and would like better.

And how about yourself, what kind of solution do you propose?

 

Do a complete tune up, plugs wires, coil/coil packs, not sure what the 3.0 uses.. If that doesn't clear it up check with a local dealer...

 

Chill out Rock. I didn't mean it like that. It was more of a smack on Ford than anyone. If it wasn't for the majority of pinging posts ending with "try using higher octane fuel" or stating they'd tried 10 differnt fixes only to go back to high fuel, I would have never said it. But the numerous threads I've read seem to always come back to use higher octane. It's obvious by the number of pinging threads that there is a desire to find a solution, but it seems that most find only this one solution. I had wondered if maybe the timing is set for higher octane because the vulcans we us are ffv, and if running 10% ethanol would be a cost effective solution. As far as my solution, I obviously don't have that knowledge or I probably would have known that the sound was pinging to begin with. Thanks for the info on the TSB Ken00. I must have missed that in the many threads on pinging. Rock, as a moderator I'd think you wouldn't be the one reacting like that to my comment even as poorly worded as it was. Nice site, but I'm out.

 

BTW, I will try 92 just to see if pinging is the problem. That will give me somewhere to start I guess.

 

Hammy... try backing your timing off by 2 or 3 degrees. That should help it out. I don't want to start something but rock said what I was thinking. Myself, I like to run the higher octane. My mustang pings the same as yours (at the top end of the gears). With 10.5/1 compression, I expect that. If I back off my timing, it doesn't ping but, my power is WAY down (even with only a couple degrees) and it seems to run like crap, but it don't ping.If I have to pay a little more at the pump to get more power, better milage,yes...better milage, and a lot better drivability then,so be it. Ihave a 351-4v and I get 19 mpg. By the way, look in your owners manual and see what they recommend that you use. A lot of people don't realize that their vehicle was designed to use higher octane.Well I've said enough.Back up your timing and it should help.

 

Hi Hammy,

I think what's going on here is that we are all a little frustrated by the fact that we haven't found an all-encompassing solution to the problem of pinging yet, despite a whole lotta thought and effort being expended on the subject. I would even go so far as to say that many of us are more than just frustrated, we are downright ticked off! Maybe your post - and my reply to it - are a reflection of that...so let's not let our frustration get in the way of achieving the ultimate goal..i.e., getting rid of the pings in every Ford 3.0L engine ever made!

I mean it sincerely when I say that I hope you will stick around and continue to participate in the forums here at FTE.

Take it easy,

Joe (a/k/a Rockledge)

 

I only recoomend trying 93 to make sure that the problem is not due to another problem. The FFV have a sensre to determine if your running E-85, with this information the PCM will adjust the timing to a different program.

 

Thanks for the candid reply and an invitation back. As I said I really don't know a lot about cars, but I am doing my best to try to figure out my problem. I was frustuated b/c there is so much about pinging with various sucesses and failures, but no real starting place thae I could find on what to actually do. I will probably just take it to my mechanic and see what he has to say. I did have one thought though. The Taurus has the same 3.0 Vulcan as the Rangers, yet they do not seem to have any problems with pinging. Could there be some difference between the engines that might help solve the Rangers pinging problem.

 

Hammy,

Many Taurus/Sable owners do have their problems with pinging, but I agree it does seem like we hear less complaints about it from the car folk than we do from the truck folk. One of my own theories on that -which may or may not hold water- is that the load requirements for 3.0L Rangers are a bit higher on average than they are for the 3.0L Taurus/Sables (all these being equal/stock). More weight, bigger tires, different gear ratios, etc. are all contributing factors.

A majority (although not all) of pinging is done under some kind of load condition.....hence, load is one of the primary "triggers" of pinging. More load conditions = more opportunities to ping.

Like I said, just a theory...does it make sense to you (or anyone else out there)?

 

Makes complete sense to me. I'm sure at highway speeds especially the Taurus has a much easier time. The only difference between the engines I can think of is our air intakes. I think our engines have a slightly more effiecient one if you can believe that. If it was possible, a good way to test your logical theory would be to stick a trailer on a Taurus. I had also wondered if maybe the Taurus simply had better sound insulation so the pinging wasn't noticed by as many.

 

As a response to the questions about taurii... I have a 97 taurus gl with the vulcan engine. I have removed the snorkle and baffle in the fender well, replaced paper filter with K&N, put in a tornado in the intake tubing, and have modified and polished the MAF housing. I can put in entire bass amp, speaker cabinet, and fill the car up with four adults and it never pings. I'm sure four adults and 200lbs. of equipment isn't the same as towing a boat, but I just thought I would let you know.