My 2000 Ranger has a camper top on it, and it gets a ping to it when accelerating going up a bridge or overpass. I have tried all grades of fuel, and it does it least on 93 octane. It is only when trying to climb uphill with about 1/2 throttle, if I mash it and force it to downshift and rev up, it goes away, or seems to with the increased engine noise.

Does anyone else have this noise on thier engine?

I have checked the idler and belt to make sure i wasn't being misled, but like I said, it is only at certain engine speeds and loads.

I am religious about the maitenance on this truck, and i doubt the fuel system/air intake/ intake valves are gummed up, I had the air tube going to the throttle body off not too long ago, and it was shiny behind the butterflies.

 

I just read 3 posts down about the PCM and coil packs. Let me know if this is the same issue i have.

 

My 2000 ranger does the same thing. I just got a tune up 2 months ago and it stoped for a while, but it has started up again. There is no where to get any better than 93 around here so I don't know if that will help or not.

 

Now I have been disagreed with on this, but I have used a lower temperature thermostat (180*) and my pinging problem went away, but I also have an older vehicle. It keeps your engine running a bit cooler, and thus a little less prone to detonation. Have you also thought about running slightly colder plugs? Just a thought.

 

I have a 1999 Ranger 3.0L and I have noticed the pinging noise before. I was driving on the freeway and I noticed it going up steep grades. I was using 87 octane gas at the time. I refilled with higher octane (91 or 93...I can't remember) but it seemed to go away using the higher octane gas. Now, I normally try to use a higher octane gas to reduce the pinging. Hopefully, someone can shed some more light on this discussion.

-Smooth.....

 

You guys and/or gals checked the Tech Info thread at the top of the forum, right?

To make it easy for people who run across this thread if they do a search on 'Pinging", here are the relevant part(s) of the Tech Info material:

V. Pinging, Spark Knock & Detonation

What is Pinging? - I

What is Pinging? - II

Connection B/T EGR System, DPFE and Pinging

Connection B/T Dirty MAF and Pinging

Connection B/T Octane Rating and Pinging

Connection B/T Bad Ignition Coil/PCM ('98-'00) and Pinging (PDF)

 

howdy, new member here,.........i've tried a few things i've picked up on the forums in the past year to try and alleviate my pinging problem - '99 3.0 w/ 5 sp. manual - including 180' thermostat, hot water bypass mod, 93 octane.....as well as opening up air intake port on airbox, MAF mod,....and recently installing a DZK underdrive pulley and a larger air inlet tube. All of these helped a bit i think, some more than others (thermostat, hot water bypass and 93 octane), but still had problems when really getting on it, or at 70+ mph especially when it's windy out. I saw this thread and read the tech info items and realized i needed to try a new ignition coil pack. I bought an Echlin unit for almost 120 bucks today (got it at NAPA, decided to spend a little more as i did see a motorcraft unit on the net for under 70 bucks) and i think it has totally solved my problem. My test run was only about 15 miles but i did everything i could to make it ping and it seems to be fixed. Finally!.....I might have heard the slightest knock in 2nd or 3rd gear but i'm not really sure(and if so, i'll bet i have pretty bad carbon build-up from running 93 octane for the past year or two which i should be able to get rid of over time with additives), but the real test for me is 5th gear flooring the accelerator at 60 mph and not letting out of it untiltil 80+ mph, it would Always ping heavily before if i tried this. With the new coil pack, NO pinging at all! Finally.....it runs like it should. Thanks to Rockledge and everyone else responsible for posting the Tech Info bulletins.......now i feel my truck has a new lease on life........

 

Welcome to FTE basictrans.

Thanks for the positive feedback, let's hope the fix is permanent!

 

yeah i'm hoping/thinking the fix will be permanent. Forgot to mention this in my post, but this improvement is with lower octane fuel....two fuelings ago i filled with 15.6 gal. of 89 octane (on top of 4 or so gal. of 93 octane in the tank), then my last fueling was 17.7 gal. of 87 octane so the fuel is i'm guessing 88 octane or so blended....which makes my engines' change of heart even more impressive to me....i reset the computer so will be driving easily for a few days to get it to remap, i'll try and repost in a week or so to report how it's behaving over a longer term....

 

followup report....filled up again on 87 octane this week, it's been running like a bat outta hell with NO pinging all week, so the ingnition coil pack replacement did fix it for me! It's amazing to have it run so well after 85,000 miles of having to baby it even while running premium....No more!....87 octane for me now!!!

 

Yo basictrans,

Where did you pick up that Echlin unit, was it an on-line purchase or did you go into a NAPA store? Do you have a part number or any other specifics that might help me pick up one for my green machine.

 

Buzzsaw.....
got it from my local NAPA store,
Echlin ECH K38 109.00$
they also had a Milage Plus MPE K38SB for 84.99

online i saw Advance Auto with
1) GP Sorensen GC428 61.48
2) Borg Warner E98 119.99
3) Niehoff FF179D 86.99

I also saw a Motorcraft unit F5SZ-12029-A somewhere online for under 70 bucks.

These were all for my '99 Ranger, not sure what other years they are good for. I've been know to make mistakes so double check all numbers ......

 

Yo basictrans,

Thanks a bunch for those part nums and prices. I'll check into those and see which ones are available down here in Alabama. I've knocked my pinging problem way down but I am hoping to deliver a knockout punch with a coil upgrade.

 

Hey Buzzsaw,

I should have been clearer in my first post and mentioned that my ignition coil pack was one of the "bad" units (verified by checking the coil's number in the PDF file for the "Connection B/T Bad Ignition Coil/PCM ('98-'00) and Pinging (PDF)" link that Rockledge listed above). So you can check your coil #, if you haven't already, and probably get a better idea if buying a new one might help your engine's pinging.....I doubt that I really needed to buy the Echlin unit, i.e. the proper Motorcraft unit would likely have done the job of ending my pinging problem too....i just decided to go all out and spend a little more, which i usually don't do. Hope this helps.

 

My coil is the Motorcraft F5SZ-12029-A so it's not the bad unit. I was wondering if the Echlin was a "hotter" unit than the Motorcraft. I can't seem to find any specifics on the two to compare so maybe someone reading this will be able to shed some light on the two. The mod's I have done have really gone a long way toward stopping the ping but I still can detect it at times and I am looking to deliver a knockout punch if I can.