Pinging ...Whats up?

[Litewallace]

I am the owner of a 2001 Cobra. It has 15,000 miles on it. It seems when I get on it hard, I hear lots of pinging. Is this valve noise or the "ping" you get from cheap gas? I use only premium (93 octane) gas. Whats the deal? Help!!!!! :confused:

[kpl]

the deal is that Ford doesn't want to fix it otherwise the car wouldn't put out 320hp as advertised. According to Ford the pinging is "normal". The only real fix is to get a custom chip burned or get Ford to buy back your car.

[greysvt]

Litewallace,

I have an 01 Cobra and it pings too. I have had two fixes - first time in they did the ssm15571 ( PCM reflash). the second they changed the timing advance curve ( do not know the tech reference # for this fix)

I haven't been hard on it since the last fix because of wet weather here on West Coast.

If you can believe it the tech reference bulletins indicate that some pinging is normal. Something is wrong and it is systematic with some of the 01s.

I even put in 94 Octane and Octane booster!

There are a lot of threads on other sites regarding this problem. Check out corral.net.

Some have fixed with chip. I am not a techi but seems that knock sensor is not working or if it is then if it senses knock then the pcm cannot process info fast enough to change the timing and eliminate the ping. I haven't tried it yet but why don't you try to gradually get on throttle to the point of ping and then stay on it to see if the computer "figures" it out and maybe the ping goes away. Just an idea.

Blueovalnews.com also states some interesting info on Aviator 4.6L engine problems. In the article they reference 01 Cobra pinging cylinder heads.

Good god!! Do we have to buy aftermarket cyclinder heads to get rid of ping.

I really like this car but certainly would like the ping fixed!!

Let me know how things go

[Tim Probst]

The ping the reason I traded mine in! I can't believe they still don't have a fix!

Tim:eek:

[greysvt]

LiteWallace & All other 01 Pingers;

Blue Oval News has an article on Aviator 4.6L Engine problems. Seems these engines were failing prematurely. They have the same cylinder heads and gaskets as the Cobra. Our ping may be related to cylinder head problem. I have had my car in twice to get the ping addressed. It is still not fixed. Ford actually claims a little ping is normal. From what I have read/researched ping/detonation or pre-ignition is damaging to engines. I am getting frustrated.

I am hoping all that are having this problem can post their VIN#s so we can write a joint letter to SVT or Ford to have them address this problem once and for all. They should do a recall and fix this so that they can retain all of us a loyal long term Ford customers. I don't want to be adversarial but rather encourage Ford to find a solution for us.

I don't want to muck about with half-assed solutions myself and risk voiding my warranty. This issue is in fact holding me back from getting any mods out of my fear of voiding the warranty.

You can respond to my email at colin.sinclare@shaw.ca if you want to sign on a letter. I will draft it by yr end so you can review.

Anyone else gone down this road? Don't want to re-invent the wheel if I don't have to.

If there is anyone out there from Ford reading this, please offer your advice.

Regards
Colin

[kpl]

try this:

Ford Dispute Settlement Board
PO Box 5120
Southfield, MI 48086-5120
Toll free: 1-800-428-3718

maybe you can at least get an extended warranty out of them

[cobramach]

Does everybody's pinging issue start about the same? After just over a year and 6800 miles, mine seems to be pinging under pretty hard acceleration around 4500-5000 rpm. Plus, it feels like the engine is pulsing. Could this be the timing being pulled, as I have read on Corral.net? I took it up to 110 yesterday under hard acceleration and felt this. The pinging is very faint, not at all like my old 88 GT with a bad knock sensor and a vacuum leak (and 130,000 miles). That is my only other frame of reference. The Cobra just started doing this. Being a late production car, I thought I had escaped the ping, but I'm not so sure now. How widespread is this?

[kpl]

How widespread is this?
go search scoa.org and blue oval news sites, you'll find lots of postings going back to mid 2001. There was a lenghty thread on the old svtoa forum, but I don't see how one can access it anymore. Funny how that worked out.

[greysvt]

KPL,

Yes, I did see the long and detailed thread on this site some time in 01. I have it printed at home. It was actually a link from Blue Oval News. I don't think it is archived on this site anymore.

From what can tell this does seems to be a systematic problem with some 01 Cobras. Many people have found their own fix and some have had success with the Ford fix (SSM15571). I have had a couple of Ford SSMs done and it still pings. I can imagine there are several possible causes/solutions. I have yet to go back to my dealership to have them, once again, try to fix this. I don't have a lot of patience for these guys. It seems the burden of proof is on the owners shoulders.

I actually spoke to a former Ford dealer guy at a parts store where I live and he recalls the Ford Probe GT had a ping problem and it was a cylinder head issue. He believes Ford did a recall on this car to fix it. I have not researched this to confirm it. I have a 1993 Ford Explorer and it pings to because one of the cylinders gets bunged up over time.

I feel like one small cog about to battle the big bad corporate citizen!!

[cobramach]

I am also reluctant to take my Cobra to the Ford dealers around Denver. I posted a few weeks ago on the "Crossroads Ford Refuses Warranty Work" thread regarding my decidedly neutral experiences with three different Ford service departments in the area. Just plain shoddy work, and they are mighty proud of it. Not to go off topic, but I had my F150 in for a new fuel pump in August. After getting it back, I was trying to put fill it up, only to find that they had totally crimped the inlet pipe, causing a veritable gas geyser. Fortunately, my attention only lapsed for a moment. A few weeks later, I noticed the tailpipe had started to droop. I crawled underneath and found that they had not put the pipe back in the hanger after reinstalling the gas tank. Neither of these oversights was major, but it was a pain.

That is the thing that bugs me about Ford service lately. Just a few years ago, it wasn't like this. It is something that has developed over the last three or four years. They don't pay attention to detail. And I'm going to take my Cobra to them? I guess as long as I have a warranty. I will only drive Ford and have for most of my 25 years of driving (Geez, that makes me sound old). I just wish they were as loyal to me with good service. Does anybody know of any reliable Ford service departments anywhere in the Denver area?

[keelhauld]

Then I started hearing something that sounded like a ping when I got on it. I couldn't believe it.

It turns out what I hear is the transmission noise, as the noise started when I put the Pro 5.0 in. The tranny just got louder. It also only happens when I gun it in 4th, all the other gears no noise.

Ford checked out the tranny fine, so I won't worry about it for now.

Bill

[Skip Miner]

Bill,

I have a Pro 5.0 shifter and noticed the same thing. At first I thought it was pinging, but after exploring I discovered it was from the gearbox. Also, I remembered my '66 GT fastback witha 289 HO and 4 spd box had the same sound. It came on after I got some mileage on the car. MY 99 white vert has 47K. You don't suppose it's unique to white convertibles, do you?

Skip

[Tim Probst]

The more miles on your car the more carbon build up you get. The build up gives you higher compression causing the ping. The 01 heads where machined at an outside vendor. I think that when Ford tried to get more HP out of the heads they caused the Ping. Just a guess! Mine pinged, that's why I got rid of it!

Tim :mad:

[rjacobra]

I've got a ring, not ping...

It doesn't sound like it's pinging, but
a faint higher pitched sound, best
described as intermittant ringing.
Does it at speeds 75+ - could be
a vibration thing somewhere.

Anyone else? The easiest way to
mask it is turn on the stereo...