Hi everyone!

well, I found this site when I was trying to figure out the "check engine" light for the EGR valve... thanks to y'all, I changed the DPFE and the light is out... Thanks!

I have a '98, 3.0L, 5-speed ranger... since I moved north of the Red River, I have experienced more pinging especially in the cold weather. I just read the forum for cleaning the MAF, and intend to do it, but 91 octane (which is the highest I can get) doesn't work to minimize ping, I'm going to change the plug wires (I'm at 82K and they've never been changed), but does anyone have any other suggestions on what I should do to minimize the ping??? It sounds like my engine is going to knock itself apart!

Thanks!

 

if you have not done so yet you could change fuel,air,oil filters. spark plugs, pcv valve, and oil.

 

LBPW: You don't say how many miles you've got on your Ranger. I'm going to assume you've got 75K or more.

There's been another thread where we've been dealing with pinging. Do a search and you'll find plenty of comments.

In my opinion, carbon deposits inside the combustion chamber are a real possibility. The deposits form on the valves and the top of the piston. These come from the incomplete or dirty burn of oil and gas. Once a deposit is afixed to a surface, it tends to grow. (BTW, I'm surmising that once these deposits grow past a certain size, some Ford engines are subject to what's called "marbling".) These deposits don't cool off enough between compression strokes so the new air-fuel mixture is combusted prematurely. Many engines experience a growing need for octane to combat pinging.

If this is the situation you're facing, you have to add something to the fuel that will gradually remove these deposits. Don't think that premium fuel will eventually fix the problem, they don't have any more detergents than regular as far as I know.

Plenty of fuel system cleaners are on the market but whether they work for deposits actually in the combustion chamber, especially on deposits on the pistons, I don't know. Whatever you buy, it should be a long term cure rather than a quick fix. By this I mean that if the cleaning action is too severe, large chunks of deposit can be dislodged which could mean trouble.

Of course, the best approach is prevention and I'm using a product called Ethos FR which does a number of things beneficial to an engine including: I think this product has promise. I've been using it in my new Ranger to keep the engine better protected. Unfortunately, I have only been using it a month but at 6 cents a gallon (gallon size), I think it is worth a try. My strong hunch is that you'd be rid of your pinging in less than a month.

 

I have reciently changed the air and fuel filters.... Soon as the weather isn't so bad I'm going to change the spark plugs and wires... my husband said that he cleaned the pcv valve, but said it possible could be replaced-- thanks for your suggestions el conquistador!

Houckster, I've got 82,000 miles on my ranger... I did do a search on ping, the search engine only came up with 17 threads-- and some of those had nothing to do with what I was wanting to know, so next best thing, throw the question out there, again! I'll try doing another search, thanks for your help! One quick question, where do you get Ethos FR, before I hit the only 3 auto parts in my area?
Thanks!

 

You won't find Ethos at your local parts store. Ethos FR can be ordered directly from the Ethos website. You can buy enough of the product to treat 160 gallons of fuel. It will cost $20. That's about 12 cents a gallon which is not to be taken lightly but it should be enough for you to evaluate whether it will be worthwhile. Then if you like the results, you can buy a gallon which works out to 6 cents per gallon.

Ethos also makes some enticing comments about gas mileage but since I bought my truck new and have been using Ethos continuously since that time, I have no basis to determine if there was an improvement.

If the PCV valve is clean, it should be fine. It's really a nonwear item.

A check of the spark plugs may yield additional information about your condition. Since they are so difficult to replace, you will probably be well advised to install new ones. I like the Autolite double platinums. This is a copper core plug that I think is better than platinum core. Platinum's main claim to fame is resistance to wear. As a conductor, it is about 15% as efficient as copper. The Bosch platinums have been troublesome for a number of people.

I'm surprised at your lack of results. Did you make sure to open up the search to all dates? Also "ping" would not be as frequently used as "pinging". Maybe that will help.

 

The Ethos is a nice alternative, but i would only consider it as a "if all else fails" product. From what i hear, our engines are designed to run 87 octane and if you increase the octane too much, you will not have a complete burn which will leave deposits(correct me if i am wrong). If you have pinging in your engine, there is something not right. I have even heard that increasing your octane will, over time, increase the amount of deposits in the combustion chamber which will increase compression and also act as a insulator. Both of these increase temperature inside the combustion chamber. The temp increase will out-weigh the increased octane to a point where you will need even more octane to get the same protection against pinging. My engine has pinged ever since about 30,000 miles. I am now at 46,000 and i have tried just about everything to solve it. The only thing that seems to work for me is to go easy on the gas pedal and run 89 octane every now and then. It is strange that you say that your engine pings more during the winter becuase it is just the opposite for me. I figure the cooler air entering the combustion chamber takes longer than warm summer air to detonate, helping to prevent pinging. Im not too sure about your case. Anyway, the other day i talked to a mechanic who said he might have found something to help me out. He said that he found a explorer sport trac with pinging under load. The problem was a bad ignition timing chain tensioner. I know that the sport tracs use 4.0's, but i am definately going to look into this anyway. He said that there is a TSB out about it. I will see him again on saturday when i bring my truck in to get the fan belt changed. I plan to ask him more about this at that time.

 

try some marvel mystery oil, similar to ethos but you can get it at local auto parts stores and it doesnt raise the octane as far as i know. you can use it in fuel and the crankcase.

 

I would like to have you consider that using the least expensive approach first may be your best approach. While a timing chain tensioner could conceivably be your problem, trying the Ethos first would seem to be a means of confirming this prior to having the engine disassembled only to find out that it's fine. Given the nature of the lubes and fuels most folks use, deposits in the combustion chamber seems a far more likely proposition. As I pointed out above, you spend $20 to treat 160 gallons of fuel. During that time, I feel very confident your pinging will be eliminated but if it isn't, you're only out $20, a far more sustainable loss than that involved in a chain tensioner repair should that prove not to be the problem.

Also, while Ethos raises the effective octane of the fuel, it's not going to permit someone who needs to use premium to use regular instead so your concerns about deposits from the incomplete burn of premium is not a worry.

Yes, our engines are designed for 87 octane and that's what I use. With regard to premium creating deposits due to improper burn, I have never heard of this. All I've ever heard is that the engine can't take advantage of the better burning characteristics of premium because the table the computer uses don't include the necessary values so that the ignition timing can be adjusted optimally, that's why firms like SuperChips and Diablo are in business.

I put up with pinging on my first Ranger for years. Using premium bypassed the problem but it cost me 20 cents a gallon to do so. Ethos, which provides several other advantages, costs 6 cents (when purchased by the gallon which treats 1280 gallons of fuel) and I'm betting it will prevent engine deposits in the first place as well as get rid of them in older engines.

Regarding Marvel Mystery Oil: While this product may have a similar purpose, it is a petroleum-based solvent. Ethos' cleaning and lubricating esters are a derivitive of the canola seed so, chemically, they are completely different.

 

I'd recommend Seafoam for Decarbing the engine first, you can pick up a can for 6 bucks at napa auto-parts. It'll decarb the engine, but make sure you do it in a very well vented area because the next time you start it up (after feeding it into the engine) it's gonna blow all that carbon out of your tail pipe.

You can also add it into the oil right before a change, and run it through the fuel system (via the gas tank) to help clean the injectors as well.

Don't quote me, but I believe you pour it in through the brake booster line on our trucks. Let it sit for 15mins to an hour, and then crank it up. you'll be blowing really bad smoke for 2-3 minutes after it's started, then it will clear up.

If that doesn't solve the pinging, you can be pretty sure it's not due to carbon build up.

Ford dealerships do something similar as well, and recommend it be done every 30k. They have a MOC chemical engine treatment that decarbonizes the engine. My dealership down here charges close to $700.00 for it. Seafoam's just as good from what I hear, and it's 6 bucks and 30 minutes out of your life. hehe.

 

Thanks for all the leads... as soon as the weather gets a little better, I'll be able to do something about the ping and give a post on what I figured out.
thanks again