2000 Ford Ranger 2wd v6 3.0l Flex Fuel
65,000 miles
Automatic


The truck pings when accelerating uphill and won't go away!



I checked the ignition coil and I have the right one per Article No. 00-24-08 that ford put out.

I changed my spark plugs and noticed the old ones were gapped way out of specs. (Just recently bought the car)

The higher octane I use, the less I hear the ping. But no matter what, there is pinging going on.

A couple people have told me that the car is idling a bit high, so I'm thinking that the PCM is not working correctly and needs flashed.

I took the truck for a smog yesterday and it passed with flying colors.

I have seen zero error codes or check engine lights and smog passed, so I'm running out of ideas.

Should I get fuel injector cleaner and get the pcm reflashed? Would it be better to just get an aftermarket chip?

I've also noticed NO mpg improvement since changing the spark plugs(remember they were gapped wrong).

still 300 miles to a full tank (16gal tank I believe)

From what I've read if there was something going wrong I would have a light but no lights, no anything, just pinging when accelerating.

any help would be really helpful. Thank you for your responses!!!!!!

 

Have you tried cleaning the element inside the mass air sensor? You do this by spraying CRC Electronics / Electrical Contact Cleaner at the filament inside the meter if you can't remove the sensor from the meter housing. The CRC cleaner is sold at any parts store. It's non-residual.

 

SeaFoam. (period)

 

Yes next oil change put a hole container of SeaFoam in your oil. Check your oil level with the seafoam. Fill it up till your dip stick reads full, it will be low on oil so let it run for a while. Some/most/all of the sea foam will then burn up so you must check oil level after letting it run for a while. Should help pining.

 

If my MAF was working incorrectly would I be getting check engine lights or anything? So far I've seen nothing that is telling me that. I've used sea foam on another car and i love it, Ill try that as well as try fuel injector cleaner. My real question I guess would be about the idle being a little high. Everyone around me is saying that the timing is off or advanced a little. The old plugs were gapped way too wide which may suggest that someone ****ed with the timing as well somehow. I don't know. Does anyone know how much it costs to have the pcm reflashed at ford? Or would it be better to get a performance chip?

 

You can unplug your MAFS and drive the truck and you will NOT get a CEL (I have done it before). If you are running a K&N filter or any other type of oil based air filter, I HIGHLY recommend taking out the MAFS and cleaning it with CRC electrical contact spray. Then, unplug your negative battery cable for 15minutes so your computer (PCM) can relearn everything.

Have you checked your fuel filter? How many miles on it? Those need to be changed regularly. How many miles on those spark wires/ignition coil (Are they the original ones?)? Have you changed the PCV valve?

Can of seafoam in the tank and half through your brake booster line should help (If the pinging is carbon related).

The idling too high could be a bad idle air control which is located on the throttle body. (Mine went bad ~30k miles). Does it stumble when you come to a stop light or stop sign like it's about to stall but doesn't? What RPM does it idle at? I think 'stock' is about 7-800 rpms.

Timing shouldn't change your idle RPM. If someone flashed your trucks PCM before you bought it with a "performance" program or it has a chip in there, that can change the idle RPM.

It could also be oxygen sensor related. They could still be in "ok" range according to the PCM so it isn't throwing any codes.

Have you tried unplugging your negative battery cable for 15minutes and letting the coputer re-learn everything? (Now that you passed emissions I assume you don't have to go back for another check and you can re-set the computer).

 

I haven't touched my fuel filter. I just changed the plugs two weeks ago or so.

I passed emissions so im assuming that my sensors are working. i mean i passed with FLYING colors.

My truck never stalls or anything when coming to a stop. I unplugged the positive cable for a awhile today, not the negative. I didn't know it was the negative I was supposed to do that to! Nothing is performance on this truck, everything is stock..... So ill try taking off the negative cable and running seafoam through the brake booster line and see what happens.

two people said something about my idle but it doesnt seem high to me. i can barely hear the truck when its running.

i havent touched the pcv valve either. I figured that if I passed emissions as well as i did that my car was working properly, at least emissions wise (oxygen sensor, pcv valve, egr valve, etc).


If I replace or fix/clean all this stuff what else is there to do? Take it to Ford and have them reflash my PCM?

I think that the pinging may be caused by the timing being too far advanced or retarded.

Im just wondering how can that be if everything is controlled by the PCM because It is distributor-less.

I don't see anything that isn't stock on this truck. (besides the rims)

I bought it off of an old guy that used it as a work truck for awhile.

I mean, its only got 65,000 miles on it! What the heck is wrong!!?!?!?!

Thank you all for your suggestions so far. Do they have electrical cleaner at autozone?

 

I had that problem, and it was fixed by the dealer with a PCM Flash and the newest tune downloaded, however, I have the 4.0 ltr. It'd be worth a try though?

Good luck.

 

is that what you asked for? a pcm reflash?

How much was it?

was your timing off or something?

 

Pretty much all auto stores sell the CRC Electrical Contact Cleaner. You will need a special bit to remove the screws on the MAFS. I believe it is one of those secure-torx bits (Size T20 I think?)

Remove the negative cable for 15 or more minutes.

Approx @ what RPMs does it idle at?

If you change all that stuff and it STILL pings, you need to take it into ford and have them check it out. It could be as simple as reflashing the computer with a newer updated strategy (Some pinging with 87 is normal but with 89 or higher octane, their should be 0 pinging) or something else.

Tell them that you are having problems with it pinging on different octane levels and you have done all the proper maintenance. (BTW: Have you tried gas from different stations?) I have no idea how much they will charge you.

What's puzzling is how your gas mileage hasn't dropped at all. Usually if your O2 sensors or PCV valve needs changing, your gas mileage goes to hell.

On a side note: At 65,000 miles (vehicle bought new or especially on a vehicle bought used) I would change, plugs, wires, ignition coil, PCV, fuel filter, air filter, clean MAFS (I clean it every few months since I run a K&N oiled filter) and some seafoam or lucas treatment (whichever you prefer).

 

as well as gas mileage going to hell if those need changed, i would get an error code or my emissions wouldn't pass as well as they did.

I replaced the plugs and air filter. The ignition coil is the updated one that their service bulletin said to replace the old one with to help with pinging. I will clean the MAFS tonight as well as take off the negative battery terminal tonight. Ill price out the coil and wires as well as the fuel filter tonight.

I just don't get the point of all these sensors if there is so much play in them that i can pass the smog without any error codes and still have pinging going on.

I've tried different stations as well. That is why I'm certain about the higher octane ping. It's less than with 87 but still noticeable.

the plugs were gapped way wrong so i fixed that with the new plugs but oddly enough the gas mileage stayed exactly the same.

what exactly does resetting the pcm do to everything? I'm doing that in a few minutes.

Just resetting the pcm wouldn't change my idle and timing right? that's hardcoded as a flash in the pcm's memory, correct? So assuming I replace everything and reset the pcm and nothing changes for the better, I'll most certainly need a reflash sense im getting zero error codes.

I'm trying to think of everything as logically as i can.

its pissing me off though. hahah.

 

also i have no rpm gauge so i have no idea what I'm idling at. Just the sound, which doesn't sound high to me.

I'm more thinking about the timing being off than anything. but Im going to try everything else mentioned in this thread as well.

From the posts it seems the mafs might be dirty but not dirty enough to trigger any codes, correct? Just incorrectly measures air flow?

 

You can completely unplug the MAFS and the CEL will not turn on. It could be dirty or bad causing an incorrect measurement of the incoming air.

What you could try is unplugging the MAFS and driving the truck (I have done it before to rule out the MAFS as a cause of my pinging...ended up being a bad coil). If the pinging is gone, the MAFS is your problem. If the MAFS is the problem try cleaning it with the CRC stuff, if that doesn't help, you need a new one.

If it still pings with the MAFS disconnected, then the MAFS is not the issue.

 

thanks dude, i will try that while i drive to the parts store tonight! Ill let you know.

thank you all for the help so far. I love this site. really informative and helpful.

 

I cleaned up the MAFS and noticed a black spot on one of the small wires. I sprayed the sh#* out of it but it wouldn't come off, I know not to touch it!

I went for a drive and my throttle response improved. I could still hear the ping though!

I unplugged the sensor on the side of the highway and drove again, aside from the car driving sort of weird there was NO ping when I pressed on the gas full throttle. Usually I would hear popcorn popping. I guess its time for a new sensor!

I guess it was working well enough for the car to drive around with no CEL but not good enough to stop the pinging.

Am I right in my conclusion?

I guess Ill know when I buy the new sensor.

 

Well I've got a MAFS that works without a problem. I bought a new one when I did the MAF Mod. If one from a 2002 3.0l non flex fuel will work I'll sell it to you.

 

i dont *think* it'd work because the 2000 3.0L has the IAT sensor by the PCV tube on the intake, instead of integrated in the MAF like the '02+

 

Whoops. Well the dealer will probably charge an arm, a leg, and your left nut to buy one. Try a junkyard. I got mine for $25 and the dealer wanted somewhere around $150.

 

yeah I know how much they are after some research I did on the web....

Ill try the J-yards first then Ill check autozone, etc.

So far new is about 140. bahhhhh- i wish i didn't have to buy the whole assembly. I want just the sensor dammit!

 

Did you remove the negative battery cable for 15 minutes after you cleaned the sensor?

 

I just asked them to upload the newest tune into the ECM... Mine was covered under warrenty, but I think they said that it would usually be $75.

 

yes, i unhooked the negative battery cable for over 15 minutes while I was cleaning the sensor. I bought a new sensor today and slapped it in, guess what!

i can barely hear a ping. I have 87 octane in it right now and i bet there are carbon deposits etc because of the hugely gapped plugs i took out of it plus the sensor being broken for a long time plus whatever else happened when I didn't own it. So seafoam hopefully tonight and higher octane gas tomorrow and we'll see what happens.

Already I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy with the results after the sort of pinging I heard the new sensor makes 11112091029019201% difference.

We'll see how it goes!

 

Unplugging the MAF sensor will eventually set a code and cause the CEL to come on. Most likely a P0102 or P1101 will be stored.

 

Right but, if you unplug it for a short trip to test it out, it wont set off anything.

 

Awesome!

Keep us posted.