Is pinging a concern?

[Mike98GT]

I get some pinging when I get on it in the heat with the a/c on (it was 90 degrees last week here)
Is this a concern? How can it be fixed? I use 87 oct. Stock GT

 

[DBMSTNG]

yes it's a concern. you could damage your engine severley. use higher octane gas to make it go away.

 

[Mike98GT]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what make the ping sound?

 

[sasscuba]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what make the ping sound?

valves

 

[Dan_Soprano]

valves

ummmmm NO!! that pinging that you are hearing is called Detonation, which if not corrected, will blow a hole in a piston and ruin you motor!!!

 

[Red2000GT]

ummmmm NO!! that pinging that you are hearing is called Detonation, which if not corrected, will blow a hole in a piston and ruin you motor!!!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

 

[Dan_Soprano]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

thats what I am here for.

 

[Bone Racing]

try some 89 octane

 

[oogtdude]

yup move up to 89 octane my 00gt would get some slight ping on 87

 

[millatime]

is it detonation when you only hear it accelerating hard only over 5k rpms

 

[Babbat]

is it detonation when you only hear it accelerating hard only over 5k rpms

Yes. If you have detonation, don't screw around, get better gas or the problem fixed.

 

[millatime]

how can I get the problem fixed? the cars still under warranty

 

[Mike98GT]

What causes detonation?

 

[FallenPhoenix]

detonation is when the cylinder is hot enough to ignite the air/fuel mixture before the spark plug does. And the reason it tears up the engine makes me cringe. When that cylinder is on it's compression stroke, the power stroke from another cylinder is pushing it up and when it detonates, it tries to push it down while it's still trying to compress. Bad bad stuff man, octane rating is a fuels resistance to burning.

If you put 114 race gas in your Geo Metro it probably couldn't even ignite it since it takes more of a spark the higher the octane rating.

 

[Babbat]

To add on to fallen's explanation, picture yourself punching a brick wall every time you hear the "ping". How long would you hand enjoy that treatment? If it has happened since your last refill, throw some octane booster in your car, waste a 1/4 of a tank, and fill up with premium. It was probably just bad gas. Otherwise, your timing might be too advanced, or a couple other problems.

 

[el_kid_1]

Yes dude...pinging is very very very bad. Get it to your dealer.

 

[Mike98GT]

It has done it only a couple of times on the same tank of gas with the AC on (87 oct.) Otherwise the stang is tip top and accelarates smooth and strong. Do you think it was bad gas, or should I run 89 oct. from now on? (30k miles)

 

[CottonBurnerz]

What exatcly does pinging sound like? Is it a poping sound? When does it usually does this?

 

[03GTvert]

I have since started using 89 because of pinging. My question is why would my stock motor start pinging? I bought the car "new" with 4K miles on it and it started pinging very early on. Surely the timing doesn't get "off" by itself, does it? Sorry if this is a stupid question.

 

[bierbelly]

Guys, whether you like to believe it or not (and I assume you do), these are relatively high performance engines. Very few HiPo engines will run well on 87 octane. It's funny how nobody believes things in the owner's manual, unless it's something that will save you money. It's to Ford's benefit to indicate these things will run ok on 87, but I wouldn't believe it. Other problems could be occurring, but the easy fix is trying a higher octane first.