Is it possible to put a knock sensor in the Vulcan? It seems like it's spark knock to me, and a colder spark plug might help the pinging out.
You're referring to the engine running in a constant open loop. Engines will do this if the computer determines that the coolant isn't hot enough; it'll run blindly, which means dumping fuel into the engine to prevent detonation (because rich is better than lean.)Originally posted by apolinaras@May 5 2004, 11:19 PM
I suggest very much against t-stat swap. ECU will think that engine has not completely warmed up and will dump extra fuel into the mixture, so you will run rich, your MPG will SUCK big time.
Believe me, I have been through this hell for past year or so, service advisors at Northridge Ford here in Chicago know my voice when I call (that is how much I have tortured them). It is Atlanta plant idiots who failed to build headers right, they are not being cooled properly. The TSB I had done on my car to set the computer straight did not do $hit but waste my half day.
Change the sparks, flush the coolant, pop-in the Water Wetter. Cheaper, quicker!
BTW, call the dealer and check if you have an outstanding brake switch safety recall, I just found out mine did (and I follow these things very closely).
This will cause you to dump more fuel. Unburnt fuel will glog your cats and ruin your oxygen sensors and will cause even more fuel to be dump or even cause a fire. If you don't want to spend the money, you will in the long run. Go like this too long and you won't be able to pass smog.Originally posted by FullDuplex@May 6 2004, 01:07 PM
I've got my pinging under control with 93 octane, but I don't want to spend extra money in these days for 93...So I 'll go ahead with t-stat replacement.
Our Duratec's have a compression ratio of 10:1. Am I missing something?Have a compresion test done to measure your compresion ratio. 9:1 Ratio will call for 91 octane or higher. 8:1 is normal for 87 octane. 10:1 is dangerous for regular vehicles, unless you are programmed to run on 100 octane fuel on a regular basis.
This is assuming that the engine's pinging ISN'T caused by the engine running too hot; I bet they've tried many different gas locations, it's hard to think the Vulcan ping problem would be so widespread if it were really gas quality. Besides, acting like a slightly lower temp thermostat is going to cause holy hell any time soon is asinine; if the ping doesn't go away, it's not exactly impossible to just put the old one back in, and if it does go away, that was a lot easier and cheaper than, say, getting a computer reflashed. And, if nothing else works, we can just assume that the pinging problem is a flaw in the vulcan design, although it doesn't seem to have hurt it's reliability.This will cause you to dump more fuel. Unburnt fuel will glog your cats and ruin your oxygen sensors and will cause even more fuel to be dump or even cause a fire. If you don't want to spend the money, you will in the long run. Go like this too long and you won't be able to pass smog.