pinking

MX3KEV21 · Post by **MX3KEV21** » February 9th, 2007, 12:41 pm

my car started too pink when first started up in the morning not everyday though maybe just once a week. the car was running good then the next day a started it up and it pinked just as soon as it fired up then the car lost a bit of power and would be hesitant and after a few days it would start to go back to normal then it would pink on start up starting the whole problem all over again. ive got new leads plugs dizzy cap and rotor arm also a new fuel filter and air filter the timing belt has been changed and is correct. When i put the new plugs in one piston was wet and the plug was black then the next day two of the pistons were wet and the two plugs were black but today the engine pinked again and i checked the plugs that were black and they had turned cleaner. could this pinking be the engine switching from rich to lean running, i have too admit the car i let the car go to the petrol light all the time before refilling.

the engine also pinked when i put the new dizzy cap on and when i changed the oil and filter. wtf is going on?

atlantamx3 · Post by **atlantamx3** » February 9th, 2007, 12:45 pm

I am guessing you mean Ping?

LOL

MX3KEV21 · Post by **MX3KEV21** » February 9th, 2007, 1:36 pm

yeah i mean ping

Post by **Custommx3** » February 9th, 2007, 2:15 pm

You sure its pinging not HLAs?

MX3KEV21 · Post by **MX3KEV21** » February 9th, 2007, 2:26 pm

definately a ping.

kiwi_MX3 · Post by **kiwi_MX3** » February 9th, 2007, 2:46 pm

any more ping's and your playing a game of ping pong.

Id punt a guess that you have dirty injectors and they are not
closing hence the excess fuel to be found in the clyinder.

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » February 9th, 2007, 3:31 pm

Pinging is usually a result of timing being too far advanced ( though you can get pinging with it too far retarded as well ) And there are other things that can cause it as well.. I'd agree with Kiwi on the injector issue.. but I think there is more than one problem here.. You say you did the timing belt recently.. did you inspect the auto tensioner? Since your pinging isnt consistant.. I am suspecting that your timing is changing on the fly at random times. The reason that it then stops pinging for a bit is because the ECU compensates for knocks and pings as they are detected by the knock sensor.

Run a couple of bottles of good fuel injector cleaner through your next couple of tanks of gas.. and keep a watch on the wet plugs and pistons. See if that helps get the injectors working properly again. Double check your initial timing (as per the shop manual) and make sure its set to 10 degrees BTC. Use a timing light and watch your timing marks as you rev the engine a couple of times to make sure the mark is behaving consistantly. Dont forget to Jump TEN & GND at the diagnostic box prior to start up when you go to time it.

If your timing mark is jumping around a lot... check two things.. one.. make sure the distributor housing is bolted tightly to the head. And two... Check that Auto Tensioner.. if its not keeping consistant pressure on your timing belt.. your timing could be changing randomly. This idea is supported by your claim of the engine pinging at start up. See if the tensioner is weak.. then as the car sits.. it would slowly press on the timing belt.. slowly changing the timing of the engine as it sits overnight.

Mostly speculation on my part to be honest.. but it gives you a couple of things to check. Hope this helps.. Cheers

Tunes67

kiwi_MX3 · Post by **kiwi_MX3** » February 11th, 2007, 2:19 pm

Id say Tunes has hit the nail on the head.

MX3KEV21 · Post by **MX3KEV21** » February 11th, 2007, 4:36 pm

the timing belt was done about 4 months ago and the pinging only started a few weeks ago so it can't be the timing belt. found two cracks on dizzy cap got a new one and when i put it one then started the car it pinged again and the pistons are not wet anymore and plugs not black. it seems to me that the car is switching from rich to lean everytime it pings. is that possible?

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » February 11th, 2007, 4:56 pm

the timing belt was done about 4 months ago and the pinging only started a few weeks ago so it can't be the timing belt.

You didnt answer my question. Did you check or replace the auto tensioner when you did the timing belt? Bury your head in the sand if you dont want to check that if its too much work for you.. but its the most likely culprit to your issue.

Tunes67

MX3KEV21 · Post by **MX3KEV21** » February 11th, 2007, 5:53 pm

a dont know if the tensioner was changed i neva got the timing belt done the person who had the car before got it done.

Tempus · Post by **Tempus** » February 15th, 2007, 6:31 pm

couldn't a flakey O2 sensor also cause the car to fluctuate between rich and lean? (presuming that's a probem here)..

but still, too rich or lean a mix is (someone correct me if I'm wrong here) much less likely to causing pinging than a problem with the timing.

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » February 15th, 2007, 7:08 pm

Too lean of a fuel mixture could extenuate a timing issue.. It could make the engine ping more. But by itself shouldnt cause pinging. And a rich mixture wouldnt knock or ping at all that I know of.. since it burns so much cooler since not all the fuel is getting ignited.

Tunes67