Pinging while towing 460
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Pinging while towing 460
Last time I posted I bought a '97 F-250, ext cab long bed 4x4 w/460 and auto trans that was flood damaged. The truck started right up after I had it towed home from the auction. The flood damage was pretty much limited to wet carpet and rusty front wheel bearings. So far I've put about 2000 miles driving around town with it. The truck has 67k miles on it, the motor runs smooth.
Recently we bought a '26 travel trailer (6100lbs on the trailer axles) and I took it on the first trip this weekend. The truck towed the trailer well but will ping on flat ground, even going as slow as 50mph.
I ran regular then plus, it helped but didn't eliminate the pinging. I haven't checked the timing but it really shouldn't have changed. Are there common failures or is the 460 prone to pinging?
Mileage while towing was 7.2mpg, I expected slightly better but I guess I'm not too bummed out, my old F-150 w/351 got 8.5mpg average on a 8000 mile trip. The 460 is a MUCH stronger motor for towing than the 351, we cruised at about 58-62mph, 50-60 up the hills.
Thanks for any tips on the pinging.
Jeff
Recently we bought a '26 travel trailer (6100lbs on the trailer axles) and I took it on the first trip this weekend. The truck towed the trailer well but will ping on flat ground, even going as slow as 50mph.
I ran regular then plus, it helped but didn't eliminate the pinging. I haven't checked the timing but it really shouldn't have changed. Are there common failures or is the 460 prone to pinging?
Mileage while towing was 7.2mpg, I expected slightly better but I guess I'm not too bummed out, my old F-150 w/351 got 8.5mpg average on a 8000 mile trip. The 460 is a MUCH stronger motor for towing than the 351, we cruised at about 58-62mph, 50-60 up the hills.
Thanks for any tips on the pinging.
Jeff
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Pinging could be a few things. Check the air filter first. It's also likely that the cat is clogged- I can't imagine flood water doing it any favors. You can easily replace the cat (cats? on your truck) with high flow cats from catco (summitracing about $60 each)
Opening up the exhaust and letting the engine breath will help a lot. This is a good excuse to put on true dual exhaust. You can expect a 10-15% increase in mpg over stock.
The other thing to check is the ignition system. How are those plugs? wires? cap and rotor?
If you're looking to spend $ on upgrades, I have to say that I'm VERY happy with the Jacobs pro street ignition system I installed on my truck. It increased torque and added 10% to my fuel economy. Jacobs claims it will stop pinging, but I would look for restrictions at the intake and exhaust, first.
Opening up the exhaust and letting the engine breath will help a lot. This is a good excuse to put on true dual exhaust. You can expect a 10-15% increase in mpg over stock.
The other thing to check is the ignition system. How are those plugs? wires? cap and rotor?
If you're looking to spend $ on upgrades, I have to say that I'm VERY happy with the Jacobs pro street ignition system I installed on my truck. It increased torque and added 10% to my fuel economy. Jacobs claims it will stop pinging, but I would look for restrictions at the intake and exhaust, first.
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Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Pittsburgh!
Originally Posted by ford390gashog
that just covers up the true problem. the 460 should run on 87 octane with no issues.
But if he's only towing occasionally it might be the easiest cure.
Carbon deposits could be the real problem... but I can't fault the basic tune-up info above.
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 19,402
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From: Bonita Springs FL
Check your timing, and also pull the codes to look for an EGR problem. My truck pinged like crazy when I bought it. The EGR valve was stuck open and gummed up with carbon so bad there was no exhaust gas entering the intake. So the computer thought the valve was open, and leaned out the mixture accordingly. Ping, ping, ping.
A new ignition will have ZERO effect on pinging, just by definition alone. Pinging is caused when the mixture ignites prematurely. Nothing you do to your ignition, short of advancing it, will help.
A new ignition will have ZERO effect on pinging, just by definition alone. Pinging is caused when the mixture ignites prematurely. Nothing you do to your ignition, short of advancing it, will help.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,007
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From: Brentwood,CA
Originally Posted by andym
. Nothing you do to your ignition, short of advancing it, will help.
you want to retard the ignition to prevent pinging not advance it
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Thanks for the replies guys.
I pretty much ONLY use this truck for towing out travel trailer (6100lbs on the trailer axles) so I need to figure out the pinging.
I've read about the 460s having clogged cats, the power seemed to good for an engine with clogged cats. I've driven a 50-60k mile truck w/460 while towing a car on a open car trailer. That setup probably weighed 4500lbs with much less frontal area and the truck wouldn't climb hills over 40-45mph.
I'll check the timing, the cat (there is only one on this truck) and the EGR. Any links on checking the EGR or just pull it and see if it looks plugged?
I should have mentioned the 8.5mpg I got with the F-150 w/351 was towing a enclosed 25' car trailer that weighed 5800lbs on the trailer axles.
Jeff
I pretty much ONLY use this truck for towing out travel trailer (6100lbs on the trailer axles) so I need to figure out the pinging.
I've read about the 460s having clogged cats, the power seemed to good for an engine with clogged cats. I've driven a 50-60k mile truck w/460 while towing a car on a open car trailer. That setup probably weighed 4500lbs with much less frontal area and the truck wouldn't climb hills over 40-45mph.
I'll check the timing, the cat (there is only one on this truck) and the EGR. Any links on checking the EGR or just pull it and see if it looks plugged?
I should have mentioned the 8.5mpg I got with the F-150 w/351 was towing a enclosed 25' car trailer that weighed 5800lbs on the trailer axles.
Jeff
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You could have restricted cat. Don't forget that the 460 has a lot of muscle. Pinging could be the first symptom before noticeable power loss.
The two pipes into one cat setup that I had on my truck failed with a big bang. The air tube blew out the side of the cat. That's when I went shopping for my dual kittys ($100 iirc plus the dual mufflers and pipe) I'd never go back to the factory exhaust.
My truck used to ping on 92 octane on big hills. Ever since I went with dual exhaust, it has not pinged once.
I could be completely off the mark with what's causing the pinging in your truck. But hey, not everyone needs an excuse to install dual exhaust
The two pipes into one cat setup that I had on my truck failed with a big bang. The air tube blew out the side of the cat. That's when I went shopping for my dual kittys ($100 iirc plus the dual mufflers and pipe) I'd never go back to the factory exhaust.
My truck used to ping on 92 octane on big hills. Ever since I went with dual exhaust, it has not pinged once.
I could be completely off the mark with what's causing the pinging in your truck. But hey, not everyone needs an excuse to install dual exhaust
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Originally Posted by 93f250-44cepeks-olf-olf
You could have restricted cat. Don't forget that the 460 has a lot of muscle. Pinging could be the first symptom before noticeable power loss.
The two pipes into one cat setup that I had on my truck failed with a big bang. The air tube blew out the side of the cat. That's when I went shopping for my dual kittys ($100 iirc plus the dual mufflers and pipe) I'd never go back to the factory exhaust.
My truck used to ping on 92 octane on big hills. Ever since I went with dual exhaust, it has not pinged once.
I could be completely off the mark with what's causing the pinging in your truck. But hey, not everyone needs an excuse to install dual exhaust
The two pipes into one cat setup that I had on my truck failed with a big bang. The air tube blew out the side of the cat. That's when I went shopping for my dual kittys ($100 iirc plus the dual mufflers and pipe) I'd never go back to the factory exhaust.
My truck used to ping on 92 octane on big hills. Ever since I went with dual exhaust, it has not pinged once.
I could be completely off the mark with what's causing the pinging in your truck. But hey, not everyone needs an excuse to install dual exhaust
The only worry I have with the dual exhaust is that my truck is a 1997 and from what I know it is OBDII. It has a O2 sensor after the main cat, I'm not sure how it would work to have 2 cats... Maybe just install one O2 sensor in one of the cats and the computer would be happy.
Has anyone ever modified an OBDII 460?
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You should be just fine with the O2 sensor on one cat only. On my setup (5.8) I have the air injection tube going into one cat only. It passes emissions with flying colors (although the inspectors roll their eyes and bust my chops about the ride height).
As long as the sensor is there and has a reading, it will not interfere with OBDII. The pcm has no way of knowing that there are two cats on your truck. It's only looking for the one sensor.
As long as the sensor is there and has a reading, it will not interfere with OBDII. The pcm has no way of knowing that there are two cats on your truck. It's only looking for the one sensor.
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