Went on a 400 mile trip today, pulling an empty tandom axle car trailer. The trip included one 6% grade that went foir about 20 miles. For anyone In California it was the Grapevine. Damn V10 sounded like it was going to come apart most of the way up the damn hill. Empty or loaded the damn thing pings like nothin I've heard before. None of my 460's EVER pinged like that.

At 70-75mph it sounded like I was gonna send Triton all over the I-5. I slowed to 65mph and the ping was still there but didn't sound like the engine was gonna grenade. What is the deal with the damn ping. Just a thought but maybe the computer cant retard the timing as well as the old distributer systems could. I don't know but It sucks tryin to tow and the engine sounding like it gonna blow any second.

Times like this I start missing my good old 460.

 

You burning Premium fuel?

 

Disconnect the Battery Overnight and let the computer reset. I bet your ping will be gone... At least for awhile...

 

Last summer we went on a trip pulling our little 23' trailer (5000lbs) and had the same type of problem, very bad ping, with 87 octane, I put 91 or better in and it was fine. BUT I thought the v10 only needed 87? Our truck 02 4x4 cc f350 3:73 auto.

What about the knox sensor?

Around town, with no load in the truck, I run 87 octant, and I can notice a ping under small load like a small hill at 45mph in OD at around 1200 or 1400 rpm.

Is this normal?

 

I've been told even a ping/spark knock you can barely hear is very bad for your engine especially if it lasts for more than a few seconds. I'd rather pay the extra for the 93 and keep my pistons inside the engine.

 

Try returning the pcm to stock and run reg fuel and see if it still pings, if not then ditch the hypertech and get a superchip tuner.

 

I also have a 2000 F-250 that pings when I go up grades. It has a 3.5in lift with 33's, a K&N filter and a 3in flowmaster, other than that it is stock. I took it to Ford and he said that the way the exhaust was routed from the factory creates a pinging sound but that as long as the computer did not show a lean code I had nothing to worry about. What do you guys think, and is there anything else envolved in resetting the computer besides disconnecting and reconnecting the battery.

 

Thanks for the replies. I am running 91 octane. Before the Hypertech switching to 91 got rid of the ping. With the hypertech the ping is back. Im going to try the 87 octane program in the hypertech while running 91. Hopefully should have the same result as stock. I think your right about ditching the hypertech for supercips but i already dished out the cash so unless someone can say that superchips is totally superior im stuck. thanks again.

 

I've been through this ping issue. Had the dealer do the diagnostics ($97.00) and they said everything was fine and that light ping under load was normal. Since I didn't agree, I replace the air cleaner, cleaned the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor with a electronics circut cleaner spray (no residue) - carefull these are hair thin wires- and a new fuel filter. This helped some. I then went to the parts store and asked the people what they recommended for a fuel treatment. They recommended Lucas Oil fuel treatment. It's an oil, looks like mineral oil, that goes in the fuel tank. A 6 ounce bottle cost about $3.00. I tried it in a couple of tanks of gas and the ping seems to have gone away for now. I found the Lucas Oil fuel treatment on the web at Interstar Turbo for $15.00 a gal, which makes it far cheaper than the little bottles. Anyway... seems to work for me. I know the weather and so on affects the pinging, but the fuel treatment seems to work.

 

You never say what rear gear you have - if you have 305's and a 3.73 rear, AND a hypertec, I think you're looking at a lot of pinging unless you go to good 93 octane.

I have a totally stock V10, run 87 octane, and it's fine pulling all sorts of things in any temperature.

The "old distributor systems" could NOT retard the timing at all! The computer will listen for a ping (using a knock sensor) and retard the timing if it hears pinging. Your problem may be that the Hypertech removes any knock-sensing, so the computer can not retard the timing.

Remove the Hypertech, reset the computer, and try it for a while.

Others here have complained about pinging, and it seems a computer reset will help for thousands of miles. I think there is a software bug in the computer that keeps it from retarding the timing after a while. I'm going to put a Microsoft Windows logo on my bumper if mine starts!

 

Follow-up to my post above... I forgot to mention a couple of things. As Krewat mentioned above, the problem could bve related to the knock sensor. Although Ford said mine was fine, I wonder if it's not sensing properly but still passes their diagnistics. I've thought about replacing it but I've heard it's a major task (intake removal). I can see the sensor, But I don't know if I can replace it without removing the intake. Also, when I went back to Ford to complain about the pinging, which was also after they did the diagnostics, they said they could retard the timing up to three degrees if I wanted them to do that. I'm not sure how much affect this has on overall performance and MPG.

 

First, Ford's diagnostics consist of checking the computer for codes. If it has none, NO PROBLEM. The knock sensor may just not work, and the computer would never see a problem. If there was constant knocking when retarding as much as possible, it would log a code (and a check engine light, I'm sure). But, if there is no knocking (read: sensor not detecting the ping), Ford says "no problem".

Second, there is an "octane plug", at least on my '96/97 t-bird/cougar 4.6L, which retards timing like 3 degrees. Makes it a DOG... I wonder why Ford would put such a thing in there if there weren't cases where the gas was so bad as so require it?

 

I have experienced pinging but only one time when I bought gas at a particular station. Premium is all I run when towing.

Figure this-

22 gallons of fuel at an extra .10 a gallon is only $2.20 per tank that is all ready costing you about $40.
92 octane doesn't cost that much more.
Do you have an automatic tranny?
Have you heard of the V-10 flutter?
The so called flutter is caused by the flywheel dust cover( an tinny piece of aluminum at the bottem of the front of the tranny)
The sound is similar to pinging in the engine. It is nothing more than a rattle.

 

68 351 bronc, is there a way to fix this "V-10 flutter" caused by the flywheel dust cover?

 

I took the stock one off and used it for a patern to cut a new one out of a piece of 18 gauge aluminum. The stock piece is about as thick as a beer can and rattles against the back of the motor. I think you could also use gasket sealer on the original piece or cut a new one out of mild steel or stainless or aluminum. The thicker aluminum worked for me.