Ford Explorer: '93 pinging/knocking disaster

Without hearing the noise for myself, I'll go out on a limb and suggest that
the noise you are hearing is indeed a piece of carbon (you should see the
size of some of the "mushrooms" that grow on the backside of the intake
valves). In addition to some of the other stu you have read, it is also
possible that a faulty lower intake gasket may be the source of your ping -
this has been a common problem on the 4.0 OHVs as well as the SOHC motors. I
still wouldn't discount the EGR totally since the early systems were
rudimentary compared to the latest offerings. They are easy to test......
apply vacuum to the valve diaphragm and the motor should stumble badly or
even stall. There remains the possiblility that the EGR is fouled with
carbon and is restricting flow (this includes the EGR passages).

As for who will pay for removing the errant carbon particle..... sad to say
the view will be that it was your carbon particle to start with and it is
still your carbon particle now..... that large pieces can break off and
become troublesome (though it is rare for them to hang around for too long)
should have earned a mention in the preservice discussion. What you might
try is intoducing a water spray into the manifold (it can be done carefully
and slowly through a vacuum hose) to see if this will further reduce the
size of the piece and allow it to pass through the exhaust valve.

Don't lose heart with the car... remember that it is nearly 11 years old and
nothing is forever. My '92 has over 170,000 km (105,000 miles) and is a
treat to drive on regular gas. Easy to park and dependable, it is our second
vehicle and receives the most and roughest use (especially from yours
truly).

Good luck


--
Jim Warman
net

"Ron N.Y" <net> wrote in message
news:lIIjb.13903$%srv.hcvlny.cv.net... 
owner , well maintained and cared for . Developed bad 
about it a month ago with a few responses . Did 
plugs,wires, maf sensors dirty, carbon build up etc . Went to 
with any codes , sensors were probably ok , not the 
most part with high octane , looked like it was a 
out for me an all data service bulletin on the 
PM-3 to flush out the carbon in motor . Agreed on a 
to pick it up I was told after the cleaning it 
days and see if it goes away . He thought maybe it 
something up inside .After a good day of driving it 
pissed and am quickly starting to hate this truck that 
'open up the motor' to fix it he would but no 
suggestions as I don't know what to do and how to handle 
station guy and don't think he did anything wrong on 
SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME 

Hello, Jim. Although not totally on-topic, your comment about water to
get carbon out was something I wanted to follow up on as it is the
second time I've heard that suggested lately and it may apply to me.
Among other vehicles including my '97 explorer with 150K miles (the most
reliable vehicle we have out of 5 road vehicles), I also have a '74 GMC
horse truck with a 2 bbl carburetor 350 V8 that has had an internal
tapping sound for years. The carbon build-up in one cylinder is so bad
that we use a shortened spark plug to keep from mashing it. The truck
still runs fine (with that tapping sound), especially after we recently
replaced the old timing chain, but it would be nice to clear out that
carbon. What method do you recommend for injecting water and what
cautions should be observed? The other guy suggested a water spray in
the carb, but warned it could shock the engine and break something, so
we left it alone. Thanks.

=Vic=
Bear Gap, PA

Jim Warman wrote: 

I went through various attempts to fix the pinging with my '92 and
finally gave up and ran premium gas. That eliminated the pinging and
the truck ran great. I started using premium at about 50,000 miles,
the truck now has close to 200,000. Can't help with the carbon, but
have heard of Jim's suggestion before.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 02:44:33 GMT, "Ron N.Y"
<net> wrote:
 

My dad was a mechanic, and he taught me the water trick back when carbureted
engines were the norm. Your just take a quart or so of water, and with the
air cleaner off, and the engine idle increase slightly, you pour the water
slowly into the carburetor intake, slow enough to not stall the engine.
Presumably the water changes to steam and that is what takes a whack at the
carbon build up. He also recommended a product made by GM for the same
purpose. "Top Engine Cleaner"

A Google search on "GM Top Engine Cleaner" came up with these articles among
others:

http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/maintenance/cleaner.html
http://www.sytyarchives.com/howto/viewarticle.php?article_name=top_end_cleaner.php&d ir=engine

this way is much more messy
http://www.corvetteforum.cc/techtips/viewsubtopic.php?SubTopicID=119&TopicID=5

hope this helps



"Vic Klein" <net> wrote in message
news:net... 

No one will say for sure or guarantee what will fix this problem . If I figure in tune-up , wires , EGR , maf sensor ,etc,
etc etc, and aggravation , your right , I'm probably better off using premium gas . I USED to like this truck . Modern
technology , computer controlled emissions , piece of shit pings like crazy , at 75,000 babied miles you would think they
could prevent this from happening or at least come up with a fix . Poor design ? Blame Ford ? I sure think so !!! Yeah so
what it's 10 years old , it still shouldn't be pinging this bad !
Ron

"John Shoemaker" <yahoo.com> wrote in message news:com... 
bad 
to 
the 
a 
that 
handle 
on