Just wanted to get some opinions here about a small problem I am having. My V-10 started "pinging" off and on last year, and at times was pretty bad. It would help if I bumped up the octane in the fuel, but not completely. A mechanic freind says it is most likely an O2 sensor causing the timing to advance too much. Before I start throwing parts at it, does an O2 sensor sound like the most likely cause. I do not currently have a scanner to check them, although it is on my list of things to get. Thanks

 

No, an O2 sensor is probably NOT the cause.

It could be a bunch of things, do all the tuneup stuff, like a fuel filter, clean the MAF, air filter, etc. etc.

Is it really a ping, or a heat shield, the bellhousing cover, or anything else?

We've had a handful of people complain about pinging, and they sometimes never ever find out what's wrong, they just disappear

 

Whats the mileage on the truck?

 

The truck has 75,000 miles. And yes I am sure it is engine pinging. I have a suspicion that another noise I have is the bell housing cover. But the pinging is very obvious at low rpm under power. I have thought about replacing the knock sensor, but I am not sure that will do much to stop the pinging.

 

most times that low RPM ping under load can be resolved with a aftermarket tuner and good fuel strategy like one from Mike@5star..

everything i have read it seems the stock Ford fuel map is not very good under those conditions..

seems people who get teh revised fuel software in the 5star tuner, claim ping goes away and you gain a bunch of power, simply from better use of whats in the engien already..

Mike described it best like this " imagine a sprinter being forced to run in rubber boots, then give that same runner a set of professional level runnin shoes", thats what gonig with a tuner can do..

it doesnt change the runner, just the conditions the runner has to work with.

think of it as hidden power, just waiting to be unleashed..


p.s. for what its worth my truck does the same thing..if i try to climb a mild grade in OD with RPMs below1500, the engine will start pinging. if i drop it out of OD the ping goes away.. moments like these make me wanan just pony up and order a dam 5Star tuner on teh spot...that pinging gives me nitemares of my motor grenading

 

The knock sensor is not the easiest thing to get at. If you have the original plugs in the truck I would replace them. Ford recommends 100k miles for plugs but most get misfires before that. It wouldn't hurt to replace the O2 sensors due to your mileage but they are probably OK yet if they are not coated with deposits.

I would change the plugs and boots, clean the MAF sensor and replace the fuel filter if its been in there more than 10k miles then go from there.

The stock tuning on the truck is programmed to run stoich most of the time whitch can make kncok worse. Even with my truck tuned with fresh plugs and everything I still get a little knock when lugging the truck below 1300rpm in OD, mainly in the winter months. During the summer the knock disappears.

 

Interesting. My truck, I can monitor it with the SCT X3 (from Mike at 5-star) and see the knock sensor working, and when it backs off the timing. I have heard ONE ping once in a while, but otherwise, the knock sensor does it's thing.

VERY interesting...

 

I have a 2002 F-150 with the 4.6 and 5 spd manual tranny. About 5 years ago out of the blue it started pinging a lot at light throttle when the temps dropped below 60*F. In the warm weather no ping. I replaced the inlet air temp sensor to no advail. I was able to finally eliminate most the pinging and the ticking noise that I and my mechanic thought was an exhaust leak. I researched and found that this "exhaust leak" sound in early PI engines can actually be caused by sticky exhaust valves in the rear cylinders due to poor rear cylinder cooling in these PI engines. This was coking of the oil around these valves and causing sticking valves.

Not to be pushing anybody's product but my "fix" was a simple non mechanical one. I'm also a member of bobistheoilguy and after research I tried LCD products, specifically LC 20 for the oil and FP 60 for the fuel. All I can say is they worked for me. My cold temp ping is minimized and I no longer have the "exhaust leak" sound. The down side is you have to add the fuel additive every fuel fill and the oil fill every 1,000 miles after the initial fill. It's a high maintanence product, but it works for me.

Whimsey

 

Excellent info from everyone...

Absolutley check these below first:

clean maf
new spark plugs
new fuel filter
remove and clean throttle body front & behind blades
run some seafoam through engine via vacuum
o2 sensors check or replace



From a Stock Programming side.. that a tune would help correct.

Fuel strategies in stock programming are not set up correct for open loop situations.

Knock sensor strategies in the stock programming ,most of the time the retard rate and the rate it retards is not aggressive enough.
(I would not replace the Knock sensor as most of them are just not that precise of a sensor anyways.)

Spark/Timing adders.. timing can be added and substracted based on coolant and air temps.. cooler conditions PCM will add
timing warmer conditions PCM will subtract timing. The Stock programming strategies are set up ok here but based on a vehicles
condition and location these can be modified as well.


Last option is for high mileage vehicles and depending on how severe knock is pull heads and service them..remove carbon build up from heads and pistons.

 

I just had spark plugs and boots replaced about 5,000 miles ago. Has K&N air intake and a Gibson exhaust. Fuel filter is replaced every 12,000 - 15,000 miles. I clean K&N filter twice each year. Do not have $400 right now for a programmer, so if nothing else helps I will have to keep filling up with 90 octane gas.

 

Just for reference on dead thread, v10's use low tension oil rings, use only 5w20 oil. heaver oil can cause pre-ignition when oil dilutes the octane. use techron in gas to clean it up.

 

That is the first I have heard of this. Interesting. I just changed to 5w30 Motorcraft syn this weekend. Hmmm. May have to change back! I do have pinging, but I think it is exhaust stud related.

 

First you heard of it because it makes no sense. A thinner oil will get past the rings quicker than a thicker oil like w30. Not that it makes much difference when the oil is at 200+ degrees anyway. Ford is recommending 5w30 in more engines now than they did ten years ago. Besides I bet money as much or more oil gets ran through the engine from the PCV system putting it back in the intake than gets past the rings. Don't run Techron in the truck if you are pulling much of any weight, it will make detonation worse while running it.(don't ask me how I know)

 

1999 V10 under hood sticker states 5W30 oil should be used.

 

Well, since I have switched oil weight to 5w30, the startup knock is about 1-2 secs vs 3-5 secs. I have not put enough miles on it to gauge oil consumption, which was about 1/2 qt per 3k miles, not bad anyway. I bought Seafoam last night to clean the fuel and intake system and will do that today. Hopefully will help in the 'ping' dept. Yeah, I did the Techron when towing too. ONCE! Not advised!!

I will have to check the under hood sticker on mine to see what weight oil is on it. My manual and the oil cap have 5w20. I have always thought that is a awfully thin oil to use on a large working engine. I just attributed to smaller oil passages in the internal components needed the thinner oil to move through.