PING: Jim Warman -- again

Ok... I typed justin PING: Jim Warman and it put it with a diff. thread.... stupid thing. Anyway.. here it is again:

Heyas Jim...

I was over at my regular shop a few days ago working out a deal w/ a new computer (I'm building them a new computer & networking all of their existing comps at the shop) and anyway... they were pretty swamped and we got a van come in that needed a tune up.. so they asked me to. So.. I check the air filter, check the plugs (whoah), fluids, etc. As I'm replacing the plugs... I overhear a problem on a Ford Taurus... the owner saying it's pinging a bit. So my regular mechanic Adam says he'll test drive it & verify it... he goes off for about 5 or so mins.. comes back & confirms it's pinging. He pulls out the "Octane Adjust Shorting Bar" and tests drives it again... no more pinging. I researched on the web what this is & he explained why he removed it and how it helped... but I was wondering if this was dangerous to do at all. Thanks, Jim =).

-Mike

Reply to
<memset
Loading thread data ...

Wait... it was a Ford Escort.. not Taurus.

Reply to
<memset

Removing the shorting bar wont cause any damage... after all, it simply retards the timing a very few degrees. Personally, I would much rather fix the problem... retarding the timing this way takes power out of the motor and affects the mileage adversely.

It's no surprise that pulling the shorting bar can cure a ping but there are several things that can create the ping including base timing, faulty EGR, combustion chamber carbon deposits or even a helicoiled spark plug thread.....

Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

Reply to
Jim Warman

I was thinking the same thing... but then again I don't know squat so I thought I'd run it by you. Thanks a million for the feedback.. I know you're busy.

-Mike

Reply to
<memset

The only issue that would cause this to be the correct fix is running gas that is too low in octane for the car's requirements. Some cars, if I remember correctly, were set up for premium octane, however, some had the option to remove this octane jumper and run regular. I remember reading that in a fuel injection book from Probst. This was seemingly more prevalent on the turbo cars, and I thought it was mainly a California requirement that the car had to be able to run on regular fuel.

You're right about researching the problem though... I wouldn't be real happy if I was paying someone to just detune the car without addressing the problem that caused the pinging.

JS

Reply to
JS

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.