Engine Ping When Accelerating

[CJoel]

Car is 1999 Z28 that was originally a V6 that got totalled and rebuilt

I bought it about 2 years ago so dont know details of all the history

120,000 miles on odometer but no way to be sure of actual mileage on engine

Runs very good but lately has engine ping (spark plug knock) when accelerating most of the time

I took it to Chevy dealer and they basically told me not to worry about it but it is annoying and Ive read that it can damage your engine

Dealer also acting strange about doing any kind of computer programming on the car because "We dont know for sure what engine or chip is in there"

Anyway, what is most likely the cause of the engine ping ?

-EGR valve?
-Fuel filter?
-Knock Sensor?

There are no engine lights coming on and as far as I know all the lights still work

Thanks for any help and I will post some pics soon

[c5z28]

Car is 1999 Z28 that was originally a V6 that got totalled and rebuilt

I bought it about 2 years ago so dont know details of all the history

120,000 miles on odometer but no way to be sure of actual mileage on engine

Runs very good but lately has engine ping (spark plug knock) when accelerating most of the time

I took it to Chevy dealer and they basically told me not to worry about it but it is annoying and Ive read that it can damage your engine

Dealer also acting strange about doing any kind of computer programming on the car because "We dont know for sure what engine or chip is in there"

Anyway, what is most likely the cause of the engine ping ?

-EGR valve?
-Fuel filter?
-Knock Sensor?

There are no engine lights coming on and as far as I know all the lights still work

Thanks for any help and I will post some pics soon

Pull the spark plugs and see for any excessive wear, burnt, red color etc. Go to the regional section and ask where a local tuner is.

[CJoel]

Dealer told me spark plugs were good

But I dont know if I trust them at this point

[c5z28]

so pull them-have you looked for local tuners so they can run it with the computer connected.

[CJoel]

Ive talked to a different shop on the phone who seems cool. Will probably end taking car there before I go back to dealer for anything

He told me try adding Octane booster or using lower octane gas to see if the knock gets better or worse

[c5z28]

May not be true for all but should be taken into account

http://www.installuniversity.com/ins...sity/index.htm

[Rk ws6]

HAHAH weird just had this comming home mine threw the service engine soon light and was just plug wires that werent pushed all the way on....

[DaddySS]

Ping is very serious for any engine, especially these, and you should address it asap. Ping or detonation or knock is the burning of the fuel mixture prematurely due to heat and compression in the cylinder and can damage pistons quickly.

Common causes of ping:
Engine running hot
Lean fuel mixture
Low octane fuel
Wrong heat range plugs
Carbon build up in the cylinders.

First and easiest thing to try is different fuel and make sure you get good high Octane - 91+ octane.

[SteveC]

It could also be a timing issue.

SteveC

[CJoel]

Im already running 93 octane and always have. Should I try running lower octane or adding octane booster?

What is the best kind/brand of spark plugs for LS1 ?

[CJoel]

Ping is very serious for any engine, especially these, and you should address it asap. Ping or detonation or knock is the burning of the fuel mixture prematurely due to heat and compression in the cylinder and can damage pistons quickly.

Common causes of ping:
Engine running hot
Lean fuel mixture
Low octane fuel
Wrong heat range plugs
Carbon build up in the cylinders.

First and easiest thing to try is different fuel and make sure you get good high Octane - 91+ octane.

If Carbon buildup is the problem, what can be done about that?

When you say engine running hot , that means my temp guage right ? (Just want to be sure)

[DaddySS]

Top engine cleaner for the carbon build up. GM, sea foam, mopar top end cleaner - take your pick.

Engine temp on the gauge - correct

NGK TR55s gapped to .060 for plugs

For fuel, sometimes just changing brands helps

It could be timing but I wouldn't expect your timing tables to change.

Pull the plugs and see what they look like.

[0rion]

are there any mods done to the car or pcm?

[CJoel]

are there any mods done to the car or pcm?

None to the engine that I know of

The car was lowered a little and it has 17" inch SS rims

[99RTA]

Change the fuel filter and if it still pings test the fuel system pressure. I had the engine in my 99 ta ruined becauce some idiot drove it WOT with a blocked fuel filter....number 7 cylinder doesn't take that for very long before it it spits pieces of piston into the exhaust.

[CJoel]

Change the fuel filter and if it still pings test the fuel system pressure. I had the engine in my 99 ta ruined becauce some idiot drove it WOT with a blocked fuel filter....number 7 cylinder doesn't take that for very long before it it spits pieces of piston into the exhaust.

What is WOT ?

[99RTA]

WOT=wide open throttle=broken piston if fuel filter is blocked and idiots continue to go WOT trying to get the trans working properly while the engine pings and knocks.

If you hear pinging AT ALL in a LS1 STOP HALT do not continue unless you like fubar.

[CJoel]

WOT=wide open throttle=broken piston if fuel filter is blocked and idiots continue to go WOT trying to get the trans working properly.

Ah ok thanks

How often do you change your fuel filter on your car?

[99RTA]

once a year OR if i ever hear pinging!

[CJoel]

once a year OR if i ever hear pinging!

Thanks for the info

Did they fix your car after driving with blocked fuel filter?

Hopefully a fuel filter will solve my problem

How exactly does the fuel filter cause pinging ?