Questions for Everyone about Detonation or "Pinging"

[Shran]

Do you have a manual transfer case? If so... next time you hear the noise you're hearing... grab the shifter and pull it to the left just a little bit. I've had several RBVs including my Explorer and 88 Ranger that will make a noise that sounds like pinging or something worse but it's just the stupid shifter rattling. Rule that out first.

All of my 2.3 powered trucks would ping under load. I think it sounds more like a crackling noise, like the wrapper on a box of valetine's day chocolates. My mom's old Tracer did it a lot, and my V10 will on occasion if it has sat for a few months and the gas starts to go stale.

I tried running 91 octane ethanol free gas in my '88 recently and it actually made it worse. I'm not sure what's up with that, maybe it's not pinging in that case.

 

[ford4wd08]

Do you have a manual transfer case? If so... next time you hear the noise you're hearing... grab the shifter and pull it to the left just a little bit. I've had several RBVs including my Explorer and 88 Ranger that will make a noise that sounds like pinging or something worse but it's just the stupid shifter rattling. Rule that out first.

All of my 2.3 powered trucks would ping under load. I think it sounds more like a crackling noise, like the wrapper on a box of valetine's day chocolates. My mom's old Tracer did it a lot, and my V10 will on occasion if it has sat for a few months and the gas starts to go stale.

I tried running 91 octane ethanol free gas in my '88 recently and it actually made it worse. I'm not sure what's up with that, maybe it's not pinging in that case.

I do have the manual case. I can give that a try. I believe it is just valve train noise at this point, and nothing to worry about.