[bvwib]

Morning everybody,
I was noticing a ping noise on my car. This usually happened when I accelerated hard(when getting on highway). It was getting worse and worse, so I took it to a mechanic. They told me that I needed to put in high octaine gas...but for what I remember, using super was bad for the car. Has anybody had the same problem? (1998 base)

 

[rich00es]

I have not experienced this problem. You could try switching gas stations to see if it makes a difference. Also, has it been usually wet or humid lately? A tank or 2 of premium shouldn't hurt.
HTH.

 

[MoparPerformance]

The 2.7L is not designed for high octane fuel though through my experience does seem to perform nicely with it. The pining can be bad for the engine so be careful. This has been a major problem for Dodge Ram pickups and there are PCM updates to correct this.

Using premium fuel in my 99 3.2L never made a difference although it did in my 3.3L and my new 2.7L. My reccomendation is DO NOT use generic or Arco fuel! Most of these fuels are are not nearly as pure. I only use 76 or Shell and have not had any problems.

Here's what I would do...... Use some better quality gas if not already before trying premium. Check with a Dodge/Chrysler dealer to see if there are any PCM (Powertrain Control Module) updates available. If you haven't had any and they tell you no, verify it with another dealer since some for some reason lie about it like my dealer did. Hell while it's in you may want to also get a TCM (Transmission Control Module) update. It usually costs $60.00 - $90.00 and is a good thing to do, couldn't hurt. After I would remove the negative battery cable for 15 mintues then reattach it. This will reset your air/fuel mixture to original factory defaults. This is how the dealers do it. Be advised that this resets your TCM as well. These thigns should or could correct an octane related type ping in the engine. If it's a different type of ping or from something else it's another story.

Else, on a more serious note....... I have heard of a 2.7L supposedly common issue that involves something with the valves breaking or something, it will blow the engine from what I have heard. Be careful.....!

That's what I would try first, then take it in to a dealer and have them check it out if there are no fault codes you can pull.


Good Luck.............

 

[bvwib]

Thanks rich00es and MoparPerformance for the advise. Im going to try the fuel change and at the same time ask for those updates. Hopefully that will take care of it. It would be such a shame otherwise cause my car is only in the 60's.
Will keep you fellas posted..

 

[MoparPerformance]

Well, good luck man......! Also, a locking gas cap is a good idea, may be a little paranoid but people may be able to poor shhht in your tank..... With all three of my treps I have always had locking gas caps just so that's not really a possibility when a problem arises. You should be able to get them at Kragen or Pep Boys. Definately, let us know how it goes..............

 

[bvwib]

Update

Well I took it to the dealer and I mentioned the updates, but according to them it was the head. I said fine, let me contact the warranty so they could give the go ahead. When the mechanic slapped them with the big estimate they said...wait a min, let's try changing the valves first. They were more than sure that it was the valves.WHAT can I do, they are the ones paying. Sure enough, the job was completed yesterday (after a week of work) and the problem was still there.
Dam, I visited my car everyday to get an update. Felt like my car was going thru a major heart operation. I literary know what the inside of my engine looks like.
Now I have to wait another week or two :mg:. while they reopen my baby up and send it's head to the machine.
Will give another update soon...

 

[SANDMAN]

Headers? or the Heads? The headers are the exhaust headers and I don't think they'd cause a ping, so I assume you are talking about the heads. Either way good luck hope everything get fixed.

 

[Bart]

I had a ping for a while that was developing over time... mainly after I discovered my EGR tubes were a little loose. I took the initiative to tighten them, but the bolts going into the EGR valve stripped the holes in the EGR valve assembly. Ever since then I've noticed a slight exhaust leak under hard acceleration and some pinging. My uncle has one of those "suckers" that sucks air in and tells you how much CO2, hydrocarbons, CO, etc. are in the air where ever you place the nozzle. There weren't any abnormal numbers (of course), so he just recommended the mid-grade fuel until it gets noticably worse. I've been using that since and no more pinging. I use texaco gasoline, by the way.

bvwib, did they check the EGR system? the EGR system is there to stop pinging, among other things. AI think most of the time, pinging is related to the EGR system not recirculating enough exhaust gas to raise the combustion temp.

If I were the mechanic, that's the first thing I would check... If the valves were bad, I'm sure there would be more problems than just pinging.

 

[MoparPerformance]

Hey, good info.......!

 

[bvwib]

Hey thanks for the reply. Im going to ask the mechanic about the EGR. By the way, what exactly does it stand for? As a matter of fact im going to print out this to see what he says. Im sure they know what they are doing, if anything they're problably fixing something they are not suppose to just to make that extra buck.

 

[1mz-fe]

Exhaust Gas Recirculation

 

[bvwib]

Update:

Well after a long and hard battle with my extended warranty (Old Republic, which i do not recommend) im finally getting my car back today. My repairs were the following:

12 new guides, valve seals , shaved heads, gaskets, thermostat housing, two belts, plugs, driver window control and last but not least an oil change.

Price: a little over 2k
my deductable: 50
my cost: 400 bucks *

The fact that im getting my car back with practically a new engine..PRICELESS

*why? well the dam insurance company didn't want to pay for shaving the heads ..(belts, plugs, oil change) <--this i knew about

 

[Warlord187]

So is the pinging gone?

 

[bvwib]

Im picking up my car at 5pm EST. I'll let you know how it's running on Monday.
Have a good one!

 

[rich00es]

Wow...that's a lot. I hope this solves your problem. Nothing worse than a mechanic wanting to do everything but...
Thanx much for letting us know what the problem was and your experience.

 

[bvwib]

Wow, is the host of this site affiliated with the insurance company I have?? lol!

Well it's a week later and my car is running smooth. It actually feels like it gained some nice pickup. Im going to take it easy for now, since it's still fresh out of the garage.
One little problem though, I ran that key test (where you turn the key back and forth 7 times) and i got the following codes:

P1684
P0122
P0123
P0118
P0113
P1490
P1489
P0406

Does anybody know what these mean?

*Hey no prob rich00es. hope my case was just "one in a million"

 

[rich00es]

Glad to hear you got your car back!
The packers and movers have come and gone...stuff will be on it's way to Norfolk tomorrow so can't tell you the codes which are my Haynes book which is gone...
Wife has told me she's driving the Intrepid...I get the Neon (no cruise control). Oh well...
Maybe the codes are "left over" from your head/valve problem. Hope so...

 

[bvwib]

Hey rich00es
I posted the codes on another thread and i got a reply. I printed them out and showed the mechanic. He said exactly that,left over from the work done. He's going to reset the computer on my next visit.
thanks anyways!