I didn't know there was even such a thing as 83 octane. The lowest we have here is 85. Thats what I usually run unless I amgoing to tow.

 

My bad 87. We have 87, 89 or 92.

 

I'd use the cheapest you can (octane rating wise) to get it to stop pinging. YOu can also run cooler plugs and thermostat. Pinging is detanation in the cylinder before the plug fires, usually caused by heat in the cylinder and the heat generated by compression.
My fix is to look for the cheapest part I can replace that might fix it and start there. In your case I'd try the octane first as an experiment then look to the tune up parts.

 

My '01 5.2 pings really bad w/ 87 also. Sounds like a Cummins if I pull the boat. Bumpin up to mid-grade(89) cures the problem. The mechanic at my dealer said they could flash in new software to cure the problem but in doing so I would lose horsepower AND MPG!!!?? Don't think I could stomach worse than 13.5 mpg...LOL

Cbar

 

Ya, people who have that flash call it the "Death Flash". Really robs you of performance from what I have read, and a pain to reverse once it has been done. You need a new PCM or a programmer to get rid of it.

Do you have a chip or anything like that? If you do, remove it. That might fix it too.

 

I'd never take my truck in to dodge dealer to get that "death flash", I like my power to much. The truck is bone stock and has about 124,000 miles. It runs like a raped ape even with the ping which only happends occasionally under a heavy foot. I was just curious if a higher octane will silence this gas guzzling beast.

Thanks

 

YOu can also run cooler plugs and thermostat. Pinging is detanation in the cylinder before the plug fires, usually caused by heat in the cylinder and the heat generated by compression.
My fix is to look for the cheapest part I can replace that might fix it and start there. In your case I'd try the octane first as an experiment then look to the tune up parts.

I say the same thing. Try Autolite 3923 plugs, they seem to work well. If neither of them work instead of getting the "death flash" you could get a programmer, hypertech or superchips, and try that. It's about $300 new but might cure your problem and the worst you would get outta it if it doesn't cure your knocking is some extra HP. Also check you Plentum gasket to see if you see it leaking. That can also cause some pinging. If you dont know how to do this, just take off your intake and maybe your Throttle body if possible and look down in with a flashlight (a mirror helps if you hold it on an angle to the opening). And see if you see any oil leaking into the intake manifold.

 

my truck had deathflash when i bought it, I got a superchips programmer, put in the cooler autolite plugs and run 89 octane, now she likes to purr

 

The Plentum gasket is fine, no leaks anywhere, I already checked that. I'll try the plugs, but the programmer is a little steep at this time. Someone here at the office said I could be floating the valves and might need a valve job with new springs. Is this a possiblility?

 

Floating the valves would knock and noticably rob you of power. You usually see that at high rpm when the springs are not strong enough to return then to the seat when the lifter relaxes. Plus, that is an expensive..expensive fix. Try the cheaper fixes first. They way you describe it, it is most likely a fuel / heat ping, not the valves.

 

Thanks to all that have responded. I will go with the cheap fix first. I'm leaning on that the plugs and the higher octane will fix it.

Sniper623, the noise starts at around 3500-4000 rpm.

 

Just an update. I ran 93 octane and all the noise stopped. That fixed it, I guess 87 octane wasn't cutting the mustard. Thanks for all your inputs. :rck:

 

what is it with these 318 only getting 13.8 per gallon and the pings? I run 93 for the ping but still hate my milage...

 

318 with bad gas milage???.....try a 360 4X4 driving in the hills of Knoxville TN & the Smokies, now that's bad gas milage. I average about 11.6 :rck:

 

What is the recomendend octane for 1999 dodge 5.9L 4X4? My truck seems to knock running 83 octane, haven't tried the higher rating yet.

Some good advice earlier, particularly the heat likely causing knock and the use of higher octane gasoline.

I have only used regular in my Ram. Here in Colorado the regular gasoline is 85 octane due to elevation (use this octane down to about 3 K feet in elevation). The general rule is that an engine's octane requirement will decrease about 1 octane number for each 1 K feet increase in elevation. I get light engine knock climbing the hill to my house when the outside temp is above about 70 degrees, and I simply downshift the tyranny to get more engine RPMs. This downshift should be your first attempt to fix the problem.

If you get engine knock fairly frequently, the next fix is to use a high quality fuel injector (fuel system) cleaner to clean out any deposits in the engine. I like Chevron's Techron and use it just before an oil change to keep the fuel system and engine cleaner than it would be without using this.

I would then say that a higher octane gasoline would be your third choice to try to fix the knock problem. Try mid-grade first before going to premium. If all is working fine in your Ram, mid-grade should be all you ever need.

Good luck.

 

redline I think is better...and you should only have to use it once in a while not every oil change.

 

I did not say do a treatment every oil change. But use it before an oil change because there are some reports that it increases the viscosity of your motor oil (not proven, but reported). I do it every other oil change and change oil about every 5 to 7 K miles depending on how hard it has been driven. Have only used Techron, so can't speak about RedLine.