This may sound to simple but have you tried different gas or a higher octane. When we were in Alaska with our 2000 V10 it pinged until we got back into the lower 48. The early V10s were always on the verge of pinging and they were picky on gas (I had two 2000 V10s). We travel
All over the country and in the last few years I've found a lot of low quality gas with Flying J being one of the worst, my present 6.2 doesn't ping because of all the control but when I get poor gas my mileage drops along with power.

Denny

 

I've tried different gas in the past, 91 octane to be exact, and it did have an affect on the pinging. It was reduced but didn't fully go away. I don't think it has anything to do with gas at this point.

 

Are you sure it's pinging or is it the resonant exhaust noise that the 2V V10 had under load, the exhaust systems on the 2V motors had some strange sounds in the Y pipe, if its done it from the time you bought it that may be what you are hearing, if it has after market headers that could also be the problem.

Denny

 

Good point, Denny, and then there's the notorious bellhousing cover rattle...

 

I had to think back a few years and what my DRW sounded like before Ford replaced the y pipe and intermediate pipe to dampen the noise under warranty.

Denny

 

Yeah, I remember those times... I removed the bellhousing cover and took it for a drive - OMG what a racket the engine separator plate made...

 

I'm pretty positive it's ping and I'm absolutely sure it's not the inspection cover. I've already remedied that problem.

 

Like I said the 2V V10 was prone to pinging and varied from my two V10s. My early production 2000 F350 CC with 4.30 gears had it at times and it varied with the gas I was using, it was also was my work truck so it was used hard and last I heard it had 285K on it before it died, it was still being used as a work truck just not by me. My other V10 was a late production 2000 F350 SC DRW 4.30 gears and it was the noisy one with exhaust flutter (that's what it was called) and it would tend to really ping under load depending on the altitude and gas quality. The exhaust flutter was almost totally cured by a new Y pipe and they flashed the computer with late 2001 program.

If you can I would download the forscan app if you have the USB adapter just to make sure all the sensors are working, the altimeter would be the first one I would check. If it's not adjusting to your altitude you will get ping and lose of power. I ran my DRW from sea level to 11300 ft and the amount of ping varied depending where I was at.

Denny

 

Well, I couldn't get the O2 sensor out so I drilled a hole in my exhaust just in front of the cat and inserted a pressure tester after warming up the motor. Had the wife sit in the front seat and peg the tach at 2500 RPM. Zero reading on the pressure tester in front of the cat. That is some free flowing air and apparently my temp test was not accurate or if it was, was not the norm for this truck. Anyway, now I have a 1/4" hole in my exhaust and need to plug it up. I have some QuickSteel Thermosteel to do that.

So, on to the next thing. I have a new knock sensor I can try and after that I'll try plugs and coils I guess.

 

Well, I couldn't get the O2 sensor out so I drilled a hole in my exhaust just in front of the cat and inserted a pressure tester after warming up the motor. Had the wife sit in the front seat and peg the tach at 2500 RPM. Zero reading on the pressure tester in front of the cat. That is some free flowing air and apparently my temp test was not accurate or if it was, was not the norm for this truck. Anyway, now I have a 1/4" hole in my exhaust and need to plug it up. I have some QuickSteel Thermosteel to do that.

So, on to the next thing. I have a new knock sensor I can try and after that I'll try plugs and coils I guess.

 

Well, I couldn't get the O2 sensor out so I drilled a hole in my exhaust just in front of the cat and inserted a pressure tester after warming up the motor. Had the wife sit in the front seat and peg the tach at 2500 RPM. Zero reading on the pressure tester in front of the cat. That is some free flowing air and apparently my temp test was not accurate or if it was, was not the norm for this truck. Anyway, now I have a 1/4" hole in my exhaust and need to plug it up. I have some QuickSteel Thermosteel to do that.

So, on to the next thing. I have a new knock sensor I can try and after that I'll try plugs and coils I guess.

 

Replaced the knock sensor. No change. Plugs and coils next. 😖

 

Continuing to guess is going to get even more expensive....

 

Wish I didn't have to guess but I don't know what else to do. I tried to start with the cheapest "guesses" but no luck yet. Next is plugs. They're original with 80K on them so they need to be replaced anyway. I don't feel like I'm just throwing money at it yet other than the $37 dollar knock sensor.

 

Did you disconnect your battery after the sensor replacement to force the PCM to recalibrate itself. Have you put it on any kind of a code reader, just because there is no check engine light dosen't mean there are no codes. When I hooked my 03 F150 with a 4.6 to my ForScan reader it had codes but no check engine light.

Denny