I own a four litre six/1993 ranger ext cab 4x4.....have a problem when I'm climbing hills in fourth gear and/or under load. The engine begins to ping....engine check light comes on...and the engine begins to miss. A mechanic told me that there is a device that retards the timing when the engine begins to ping that in turn causes the missing. In effort to resolve have replaced exhaust system and dug out the catys. Plugs are new and new k and n filter system. Still does it. noticed another post with a similar complaint. If I back off the excelerator the pinging stops and light goes out....but really this happens even without a load and I think the v6 should be able to handle it. One of the threads mentioned something about the o2 sensor kicking out the fuel pump and this has me thinking as the truck has been hard to start in cold weather lately.

Any advice is appreciated.....I can be reached at blmitchell@shaw.ca and will be watching for replies...thanx in advance.

marmot.....new guy on the block

 

Have the codes pulled, you may have some minor issues that could easily be resolved, but for now, I'd recommend putting 89 octane or higher in it. It's pretty common for these things to ping.

 

thanks dain...

I've got a mechanic type already working on the code thingy but from what I've read on this site (which by the way is just great) I'm not so sure it will pin point the problem. The mechanic tried to get the code(s) but the problem isn't producing them due I suspect to the limited time the light comes on. He's gonna try a remote test to see if he can pick one up. I only use premium fuel with the highest octane available.

The battle continues.....

marmot

 

I'm disappointed that my 98 Ranger is doing the same thing. I can get the pinging to go away with 89 octane, but regular 87 octane is already $1.80 per gallon here, talk about price gouging. Who knows what gas will be like in the summer. Anyway, keep us posted on what you find out...

Brian J Wilson

 

Just read in the paper the other day that "they" expect gas prices to remain high until May, then start coming down. First of all, how would "they" know that? And second, why is it that at the first hint of oil prices inching up, gas prices skyrocket, but when oil prices start coming down like they are now, it takes months for gas prices to follow?

 

The thing that bothers me, the other day, some of the gas stations raised their prices three times in one day, for overall raise of 6-9 cents. Now explain this to me, how does the price of the gas, that is sitting underground at the stations, change three times in one day? It's not like they got three different loads of fuel that day, each one costing more per gallon than the last... Any other business, this would be illegal, and the owners would be in deep. Only in America....

Brian J Wilson

 

I don't really know much about pinging or what causes it. I don't have it with my motor. I run 89 octane regardless, so maybe that's why. In any case, I was wondering, would a fuel injection cleaning help or otherwise affect a pinging condition? I'm talking about the professional cleaning, not just tossing a bottle of cleaner in the gas tank. I had mine done at 100K and I feel it was worth it. I'm not sure one thing is related to the other, so this is just a thought on my part.

 

Ha thats not bad compared to ohio gas...

About 4 months ago its 1.35 or so...
next day its 1.57.. then 4 days later 1.79..
then it comes down to 1.59 for about 2 days midweek.

then back up 10Cents.. etc. its like the guessing game what day is gas gonna be cheap.. just today it went down to 1.59
i filled up because tomorrow it will probably be 1.80 again.


If the check engine light is coming on. it should be storing a code.
How old are the O2 sensors. They can go bad anytime after 60000 miles. Being that old you could also have issues like a weak fuel pump etc.

Rand

 

Marmot, let me ask you one very specific question ... when the engine starts losing power, & starts missing, is it STILL PINGING the whole time it's losing power & starting to miss?? Or does the pinging suddenly stop when performance suffers??

 

amp type guy....

basically when I drive up the highway with the gas floored somewhere between 100 and 110 km per hour the engine begins to ping.....this is followed by a loss of power and the engine ceases to ping but speed drops below 100 kmph and appears to be missing.....this leaves one with two choices to continue to lose power or shift down to third and shifting down ceases the missing but restricts one to the 100 kmph range. A mechanic type friend of mine said that there is a device that retards the timing when the engine starts to ping.....this would explain some things. But really a four litre empty going up a hill shouldn't really encounter this problem. I've also had total power loss when the vehicle is heavily loaded and going up a hill at slow speeds in four high. As i speak the mech guy is replacing an aging clutch and a exhaust guy is installing a k and n filter and chipping out the catys and running two and a quarter through a flowmaster type muffler to open up some power. Mech guy is going to do a remote computer test to try and pick up a soft code as the computer has no hard codes. I use premium fuel already but do notice more pinging when i used to use regular. I'm running a three inch lift with 30x10.5 oversized.....down from the 33x12.5's that were on the truck when i bought it. There are signs of a weak fuel filter which i told the mech guy about but he doesn't think thats it........i'll pick up the truck tommorrow and hopefully he'll have better news......

 

Thought some one would have surely have jumped on this before now. The single most common reason for this problem is bad plug wires. Change with a good brand (Motorcraft or Bosch) and the problem should clear up. Yes, there is a 'knock' sensor that will retard the timing whenever it senses improper detonation (pinging) to keep the engine from destroying itself.

 

Just picked up the truck from trucky hospital.......installed new very good wires...k and n filter.....chipped out the catys.....new 2.25 pipe through a flowthrough type muffler.....

still pings around 110 followed by missing....which i presume is due to the retarding device (i hope)......

As best I can tell the truck seems about 15 percent more powerful judging by the revs and the gas mileage has improved significantly.....how much i've yet to determine.....and better yet the truck now has that rumbling chevy sound....

as i also put a new clutch in i'm into this for about 1300 bucks (funny canadian stuff) and it's time to take a financial rest for awhile.....

mechanic asked if i had an airmiles card.....i laughed and told him "you gotta be kidding....i gotta wife and a truck.....I can't afford to go anywhere......."

marmot

 

Has anyone tried cleaning the MAF sensor? A dirty MAF can cause pinging.

 

Cleaned the MAF sensor in my 98 with no luck, still pinging on hills. I'm hoping that new plugs and wires will help mine (when I can get to it)

Brian J Wilson

 

Marmot..

I'm not sure what you mean by "chipped out the cat" but if you hollowed them out it will cause more back pressure.