I have an '09 V-10, 4x4 and pull a 9500 lb travel trailer. About 71k miles. I had noticed a year or so ago that going up steep grades and getting the tach above 4k RPM's the engine would ping quite a bit. In fact, my check engine light flickered a few times in the past and this year it actually stayed illuminated for a few days. Code said multiple misfires.


I run 87 octane and have the 5 Star 87 octane performance tune installed. I recently noticed the pinging is now starting in the 3k RPM range typically when ascending a hill or getting up to speed on an incline.


My gut is this would be like a crap shoot to diagnose by a mechanic and they will just be throwing parts on it like plugs, coils etc without knowing what is the cause. BTW, the check engine light that came on over Memorial Day weekend came on Friday afternoon and coming back from the trip turned off on Monday(3 days later) and has not been back on since and over 4500 miles later all pulling the camper. Any thoughts. Don't want to run 93 octane since engine does not require it so let's take that off the table. tks

 

So a 3v v10 (those have cam phasers right?my gut tells me cam phaser issue.
Try higher octane fuel

 

First thing is to try and retrieve the codes from a dealer. The general over the counter code readers can not pull all codes.
Higher octane fuel is not going to resolve the root cause. It can lead to more carbon buildup in the intake and combustion chamber and these engines do not require it.
You may have carbon buildup in the intake runners and on the valves that may need cleaning. Also, check your exhaust manifold bolts. If you have broken ones, which are synonymous with the mod motors, you have a leak that can be a cause of pinging. Check out plugs, boots and coils. Run a fuel cleaner through a few tanks of fuel to clean the system. It could be an injector. Check for vacuum leaks as the PCV valve and hose can develop a leak or issue. These are a few well knowns with the 6.8l's.

 

Thanks for the tips. I assume something like a broken exhaust manifold bolt would not cause the check engine light to flash. The only time it has flashed and then the one time it stayed on for 3 days was when I was taching over 4k rpms going up a mountain and maintaining those RPM's for a few miles. It has never flashed in normal driving. Would you recommend Seafoam in the gas tank.

 

No only the 3 valve 5.4's have cam phasers. I would not recommend trying the sea foam. If your going to use one of those I'd use the chevron thechron cleaner but that would be the last thing I tried. Check every thing else recommend first thing I would do is get the codes. Those should hopefully point you I the right direction.

 

I would be sure you're running the OEM spark plugs, and not any other brand or type.

 

I'm having the same problem with my 06 V10. Runs fine on regular gas running up & down hills etc. but when hauling my 8,600 LB travel trailer up a grade it pings unless I'm running supreme gas. I'm also seeing a PO420 code so I did ad a bottle of Cataclean when I had about 4 gallons left in the tank and brought the truck up to 97 MPH to clean the cat. I won't know if it did any good until I take my Travel Trailer back out again.

 

I had the same issue with pushing on the accelerator trying to merge into traffic. My 6.8 would down shift and starting about 2700 RPM, my engine would start pinging like crazy and lose power. If I backed off the accelerator and took it slowly to get up to speed it would do it. And driving normally, meaning no hard accelerations, the truck would drive fine. I ran my V.I.N. through the ford owners website and saw that I had a recall on my cats. Sure enough, I took it in to the dealer and they tested the cats and found them completely plugged. The error codes also showed misfires on some of my plugs. I had them also replace my spark plugs too. The truck is a different truck than I bought. The motor is phenomenal!!! It could be your cats acting up.

 

I just ran my VIN and found the same recall noted: 10M05. Are you the original owner of the truck? How many miles? Were you showing a CEL, or just the pinging symptoms?

Anyone know if this service work is applicable to subsequent owners, and/or what the mileage cutoff is?

 

I am the second owner of the truck. My recall was the same as yours. The work is applicable to the truck, not the owner. Call your local Ford Dealer and tell them what's happening and they should be able to verify the recall and do the work. I had 80,500 miles when my cats went which was just two weeks ago. I had CEL come on like yours and go off pretty quickly. I think it's the misfires that are setting off the CEL's. I had no cost for the recall. The plugs cost me $378.00 to replace.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I called my local dealer and they said the cats had an extended recall for 11 years and 120k miles. I have 71k on mine. Set apt for next Tuesday. Keeping fingers crossed this is the issue as new cats would be expensive.


With that said is the issue with bad cats from the mfr when put on our trucks. Will the replacement ones wind up getting clogged as well and we'll all be back in the same situation or are the cats redesigned..


This forum could have saved me a bunch of money so thanks to all who contributed to my problem. I will update next week on my outcome.

 

Good question about the cats being redesigned or not. I don't know. Perhaps someone else who has dealt with this issue previously might know.

 

pinging is usally caused by too lean of a fuel mixture.

problem is there is no free lunch....if you run lean...you save gas, run low on power and hot.....if you run rich, you use more gas, have more power, and run cooler.

so the issues is you need a simple way to increase the air fuel ratio when you need more power.

 

Speakerfritz,


Running leaner than factory will give you more power, not less, up until the point of pinging (detonation) caused by excess heat within the chamber or on the surface of the head/valve/plug.


Richer runs cooler and safer, but at the cost of hp and gas mileage.

 

Update: After a week got my truck back. Sure enough the passenger side catalytic converter had a small hole. Whole Y pipe and both CATS replaced under warranty and no cost to me. Ran great. Punched it and got to close to 5k RPM's and no pinging. Test will be on Friday when I pull the camper and get on it though. Thanks to all who suggested the CATS.