New Pinging 2003 GT questions

Matt's 03 GT · Aug 28, 2006

Hello everyone:

I just picked up a 33,000 mile 2003 GT, 4.6 liter. The only mod that I can see is Roush side exhaust. The only thing I have done so far is to add a K & N and remove the air silencer. (Really woke up the exhaust!) Here are my questions:

Yesterday driving on a relatively steep grade the car started pinging bad. I was in 5th at about 75 - 80. Even downshifint to 4th the car was still pinging. Should I do a tune up now (should be plugs only I think)? or is there something else that I am missing? There are no codes and other than this the car has run fine.

What can I expect for intervals on the tune up?

Is the cause of this the crappy gas in California and if so should I run 89 or 92 octane? (Is there a better brand than Chevron?)

Sorry for all of the questions, but I have an 800 mile road trip next week and want to make sure the car is in great shape.

Thanks in advance for your help,

Matt

Kilgore Trout · Aug 28, 2006

Well, when you lug the engine under heavy load in high heat conditions probablility of detonation is great increased. You were wise to downshift...

Try running slightly higher octane gas.

The previous owner may have loaded a performance tune which requires premium fuel also, you should try to find out for sure.

stng · Aug 28, 2006

I just went through this today actually... 99% certain that you have the same problem as me, Clean the MAF sensor with some electric contact cleaner. Chances are the new K&N was overly oiled and you got it on the MAF. So clean it and disconnect the battery for like 10 minutes and you should be fine.

Kilgore Trout · Aug 28, 2006

Doh, I should have caught that

I used to say "clean your MAF" to everything, been trying to back off on that...

But yeah, this time I agree with stng. Never hurts to reset PCM after cleaning MAF.

Here is a tech article on it:
http://www.bullittarchive.com/1007.htm

Be VERY careful, the MAF is fragile AND expensive...

Mustang5L5 · Aug 28, 2006

My '03 does it too once in a while. It has done it since new but then again that's when i tossed my K&N in. Maybe i'll clean it up.

Around 01 there was a slight compression increase, so our cars might be on the very limit of running 87 octane. With gas prices the way they are i really don't want to run 89 unless i have to

Matt's 03 GT · Aug 28, 2006

Kilgore Trout said:
Well, when you lug the engine under heavy load in high heat conditions probablility of detonation is great increased. You were wise to downshift...

Try running slightly higher octane gas.

The previous owner may have loaded a performance tune which requires premium fuel also, you should try to find out for sure.

I'm almost certain that there is no Performance Tune (the air filter was stock and most everything else is as far as I can tell). I have heard that California, thanks to the C.A.R.B. is getting oxiginated fuel that can be as much as 30% Ethanol. Do you have any Idea if this will cause a drop in Octane?

If I run higher octane, should I run 89 or 92? I have heard that stock tune and 92 octane can cause problems.

Matt's 03 GT · Aug 28, 2006

stng said:
I just went through this today actually... 99% certain that you have the same problem as me, Clean the MAF sensor with some electric contact cleaner. Chances are the new K&N was overly oiled and you got it on the MAF. So clean it and disconnect the battery for like 10 minutes and you should be fine.

I read the article on the bullit site about cleaning the MAF. Is there an easier way rather than taking the whole thing apart? Or should I just clean it along with new plugs and Just be done with it?

Part of the reason I am being such a ninny is that our trip will take us over the Grapevine during the hottest part of the day. It may be over 100 degrees F and a long climb!!

I just don't want to have problems from all of the pinging!!

Thanks,

Matt

Kilgore Trout · Aug 28, 2006

Well, there are only two screws holding the MAF onto the top of the air intake. It is extremely easy. I can have mine off, cleaned, and re-installed in about 10 minutes.

You said "along with new plugs"... I strongly suggest that you not mess with the plugs especially if you are going on a long trip and are not a very skilled mechanic (no offense I just do not know your skill level). The stock plugs are good for 100,000 miles tops and are easily good for 50-70k miles anyways. How many miles on the 03?

Matt's 03 GT · Aug 28, 2006

Kilgore Trout said:
Well, there are only two screws holding the MAF onto the top of the air intake. It is extremely easy. I can have mine off, cleaned, and re-installed in about 10 minutes.

I am a reasonably good mechanic. I have had the heads off of a couple of my cars in the past... they even ran after I was done! . I am just woried about doing the Plugs because of the horror stories about plugs blowing out! I don't want that!

Kilgore Trout said:
You said "along with new plugs"... I strongly suggest that you not mess with the plugs especially if you are going on a long trip and are not a very skilled mechanic (no offense I just do not know your skill level). The stock plugs are good for 100,000 miles tops and are easily good for 50-70k miles anyways. How many miles on the 03?

So with 33,000 miles there seems to be no reason that the stock plugs will cause the Pinging?
I will clean the MAF as this problem seemed to start when I put the K&N in. Is there any cleaner that you recomend? and is there anything I can do to keep it from fowling the MAF again? I will try this and report back tomorrow!

By the way thanks for the quick response. This is an awseome site and I look forward to learning from everyone here! :SNSign:

Matt

Kilgore Trout · Aug 28, 2006

I recommend for cleaning MAF that you use Quick Drying Electrical Contact Cleaner spray. Do not use carb or brake cleaner.

I say leave the plugs alone. If you are going to change them do a search for tips on that, there are many tips and tricks to it.

Welcome to StangNet

Matt's 03 GT · Aug 29, 2006

Kilgore:

Thanks for all of your help. I was able to take the MAF sensor out and clean it in about 10 min's!!! It worked great. I romped on the car, running at redline all over the neighborhood and had no pinging. Then it started again... I'm sure it just pulled more oil out of the filter. I will clean it again tonight.

Should I clean and re-oil the filter with less oil to avoid this from hapening again? Or will it just clear itself up in it's own time?

thanks again,

Matt

Jinx · Aug 29, 2006

Matt's 03 GT said:
Should I clean and re-oil the filter with less oil to avoid this from hapening again? Or will it just clear itself up in it's own time?

Personally I would clean and re-oil the filter. Just go easy on the oil. If you can get it, the aerosol (SP) application beats the squeeze bottle hands-down IMHO the coverage is more even and you don't have to douse it to get complete coverage. I know K&N offers both.

Kilgore Trout · Aug 29, 2006

No, putting more oil on the filter is not the answer. The oil will wear off just keep the MAF clean. When the K&N gets dirty throw it away and switch back to paper.

Jinx · Aug 29, 2006

Kilgore Trout said:
No, putting more oil on the filter is not the answer. The oil will wear off just keep the MAF clean. When the K&N gets dirty throw it away and switch back to paper.

Not sure if there was any confusion . I'm not saying put more oil on top of what's already on it. I'm saying clean it thoroughly then put on a light coating. I've used K&N filters for over a decade and have never had issues with oil on a MAF. First thing I did when I bought them was to clean off the oil applied by the factory, then put a light spraying back on. This is just my opinion FWIW.

Matt's 03 GT · Aug 29, 2006

My thought was to remove, clean and very lightly re-oil the K&N to see if that will keep it from fouling the Maf again. I just don't want to pull over on our trip to clean the Maf if it starts pinging again.

Kilgore, why would you recomend going back to paper filters? I have had k&n filters in all of my cars for about 10 years and have seen dramatic (for the price) increases in performance. I am just wondering what your justification is? Is there something (other than the obvious maf problem) about these cars that makes this more of a concern?

Always learning,

Matt

stng · Aug 29, 2006

Keep the K&N... I have always run them and to me its worth it. Just go buy one of those K&N Filter Re-Charger kits. They are like $20.00 and it comes with the spray cleaner and the aerosol oil. Just make sure you dont over oil it, but make sure the whole thing is red as the filter doesnt work without the oil... Then give it plenty of time to dry. Wouldnt hurt to run a can of injector cleaner in your tank as well. Seafoam is the probably the best but I am sure they are all pretty much the same.

stangGT97 · Aug 29, 2006

Matt, is it possible that you have an air leak somewhere after the MAF? Vacuum lines can crack and wear out, causing an unmetered air leak. Also, are you throwing any codes? I know if your EGR system is not functioning properly (constantly closed) then you can be more prone to detonation, especially in the heat. Check to see if you have a timing adjuster, too much timing can cause pinging.

If you want to change your plugs, be sure to do it when the engine is cold, not even slightly warm. If you don't have one yet, invest in a quality torque wrench that can rear down to 10 ft-lbs - I torque my spark plugs to 12ft-lbs. They should also be gapped to ~0.054."

Another thing to check for is excessive carbon build up. this can be caused by excessive oil blow by from the PCV, building up in the top of the engine. Put a 1/3 can of seafoam into the vacuum line connected to the PCV, shut the engine down and leave for about 15 minutes. Then run the car and run it through the gears to get all the crap out. Replace the PCV with a Motorcraft part... in general, the Autozone PCVs are junk and let an excess amount of oil by, at least that was my experience with them.

Welcome to stangnet!

Matt's 03 GT · Aug 29, 2006

stangGT97 said:
Matt, is it possible that you have an air leak somewhere after the MAF? Vacuum lines can crack and wear out, causing an unmetered air leak. Also, are you throwing any codes? I know if your EGR system is not functioning properly (constantly closed) then you can be more prone to detonation, especially in the heat. Check to see if you have a timing adjuster, too much timing can cause pinging.

As far as I can tell this car is bone stock except the Roush side exhaust. The car only has 33,000 miles on it and drives like it was babied! No codes and cleaning the Maf yesterday helped untill it got fouled again!

stangGT97 said:
If you want to change your plugs, be sure to do it when the engine is cold, not even slightly warm. If you don't have one yet, invest in a quality torque wrench that can rear down to 10 ft-lbs - I torque my spark plugs to 12ft-lbs. They should also be gapped to ~0.054."

I think I'll wait untill after the trip to do the plugs. I want to take my time and make sure it is done correctly.

stangGT97 said:
Another thing to check for is excessive carbon build up. this can be caused by excessive oil blow by from the PCV, building up in the top of the engine. Put a 1/3 can of seafoam into the vacuum line connected to the PCV, shut the engine down and leave for about 15 minutes. Then run the car and run it through the gears to get all the crap out. Replace the PCV with a Motorcraft part... in general, the Autozone PCVs are junk and let an excess amount of oil by, at least that was my experience with them.

Welcome to stangnet!

I'll check the PCV Valve to see if it is factory. When should these be changed? Do you realy think it is justified to do the Seafoam? I am a sceptic with these "Magic" fixes. I would rather not use them if there is truly no reason!!

Thanks for the welcome. I am enjoying :SNSign: a bunch!!

Matt

stangGT97 · Aug 29, 2006

Yeah the plugs wouldn't be causing pinging, but it would be a good idea to check them after you return from your trip. If you have severe enough detonation, they could be damaged. The seafoam isn't really a magic fix, it breaks down the carbon so your motor will burn it off and clean itself out. I doubt your car has much carbon buildup since it is so new, but its always a possibility. To test if the PCV is bad, just shake it - if it rattles, it needs to be replaced. Good news is that they're only like $5 from Ford.

If cleaning the MAF resolved the issue, then it may be the filter contaminating it. The easiest way to check is to pull the K&N, clean the MAF, then put in a paper filter and see if the problem returns.

nwapache · Aug 29, 2006

Matt welcome to:SNSign: but dude....don't disrespect the seafoam baby! that'll get ya banned!

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