2006 F-150 5.4 3V Engine Detonation/Pre-Ignition...I've Had it!!!
 

Anybody else have problems with a 2006 5.4L 3V engine where it constantly pings/detonates under any sort of throttle, regardless of load/grade/speed?

I have 11,000 KM's on this truck and this condition started at about 7,000 KM's. I have been to two different Ford Dealers and both say that they can definitively hear the pinging but Ford Engineers say this is normal condition.

OK - I'm no super mechanic but I've been around long enough to know what is normal condition and what isn't. What I am experiencing is not normal.

I use Chevron 87 Octane but have tried 89 and 90 Octane. No difference.

The engine has an anti-knock sensor that is supposed to move the timing based on engine condition and any sort of knock it detects. I don't think this is happening but will a defective anti-knock sensor trip the Check Engine and register a code?

I know I am not nuts because even the Ford mechanics comment on how bad the knocking is but they say because it isn't tripping a Check Engine condition, there is nothing they can do. When they call Ford, the Engineers just say normal driving condition.

I know it is just a matter of time before I drop a piston or melt a head but when you pay $40,000+ for a truck you think that you could get a half decent engine???

Any thoughts?

I would say take it to the dealer and have the PCM reflashed. Maybe your software has been corrupted for whatever reason.

Agree with you...They tried this and said it was the most current PCM.

My trucks knocks/pings when I floor it from low rpm. It kinda pauses, pings then moves. They wouldn't do anything for me either.

did you try better gas or from a different gas station....i knkow with my last truck i got gas one time a turkey hill and the truck ran like crap for a while then i switched back to sunoco and back to normal...

It pings at any RPM. More pronounced when you step on the gas.

I have tried different gas, different stations, different octane. No difference.

Have you taken it to more than one dealer?

Yes...Two different Dealers and same answers. They hear the problem and then call Ford to speak with an Engineer. The Engineer says nothing they can do...This is normal operating condition!!! They were even so bold to say that the Owner's Manual even states that "Occassional Pinging is Normal". This is far from normal but they don't really care!

i bet if you got in one of their trucks on their lot and it didn't ping they would say that's normal too. my truck doesn't ping. that's normal,not pinging.

since it didnt do it from the start but now does with low miles on it, i was wondering if a vacuum leak making it run lean or partially plugged fuel filter making it run lean would cause the pinging. Hopefully a keep it simple thing might work here, but if real life mechanics heard it id hope they would check out even these simple things that my weekend mechanic skills can (which doesnt go real far). Heres a good one, i went to my dealer and asked a mechanic to listen to an engine noise, he asked me what motor i had, i said the 5.4. He said yeah they are a little noisey and thats normal. Needless to say i went to another dealership where they replaced the cam phasers and made my normal noisey motor quiet. If occassional pinging is normal but yours truley does it every time you touch the pedal, id be going from dealership to dealership until you either run out of dealerships or the pinging gets fixed. Good Luck..

fuel filter. check it. all it took was one bad gas stop to choke it. going gas shopping won't help a clogged faucet.

Isn't there still issues with the fuel injectors sticking? Too much fuel at the wrong time can cause pinging also. You would think that would trigger some lights but you never know.

If it had a stuck injector it would run so rich there would be plenty of black smoke coming from the exhaust.If he doesn't have black smoke it's more likely a lean condition.

Similar Problem
 

Hi, I am new and I have a similar problem. Mine only knocks when I start from a dead stop. If I open the hood I can hear a small knocking sound. I took it to the dealer and the tech told me to run 3 tanks of Chevron with Techron fuel treatment through the truck... It sounded like a long shot but I figured I would try it. He told me he could do a "top engine clean up" but that would cost $90. Hopefully the fuel treatment stops mine but to be honest I have my doubts.

I would try every dealer you can. Get a FSM try all the above suggestions, clogged fuel pump and leaking vacuum lines, injector problem is a good place to start. If you try all of these suggestions and you still have this problem, as a last resort you could try custom tunning.