2002 windstar engine pinging??????

[olopezm]

Just use a pick or a paper clip to pull all the build up inside the ports; holding a vacuum cleaner next to each port surely helps to prevent the sludge from falling somewhere else.

Oscar.

[MARZBX157]

I used Throttle Body Spray by Berryman's to clean out the ports with a pick. I didnt have access to a vacuum so I used shop towels to catch any gunk. I again drove to van today and no pinging even though one of the IMRC clips is broken and the metal arm is laying on the Engine. This is because I made sure to close the secondary butterfly valve in the Intake before buttoning it up. Good Luck

[schadd1971]

well looks like I have a starting point (and hopefully a cure) to work on....right now the van is in the body shop getting the sliding doors replaced due to rust so look forward to tearing into it...

[schadd1971]

well, heres an update....took plenum off ..I noticed a lot of oil in the plenum and cleaned it up....the butterfly valves had a lot of black carbon on them,,,,I cleaned them up with cleaner and cleaned the egr ports...( had some built up)...I them did the sea foam in the vacuum line carbon cleaning...seemed to go ok.....but the plugs had a lot of build up...in fact they were not good looking....replaced plugs....cleaned things up and no more pinging and miss........buttttttttt....whats causing the draw of oil though the pvc line....it had been a long time that the pcv valve was replaced so I got one and put on today...what causes the oil to be drawn into the intake plenum,,,and how to solve it....??????? any ideas???

[olopezm]

Good to know your problem's are gone!

That's normal in these engines; Ford issued the TSB about the isolator bolts and also a replacement for the valve cover which "should" resolve the oil problem, but I read it doesn't. I personally haven't replaced that cover, when I did the isolator bolt a few months ago, the plenum wasn't that bad...

You can google a little for that replacement cover to find a way to modify the one currently installed to match the replacement design.

Oscar.

[schadd1971]

yeah.I had a 2001 before this and I did replace the valve cover but haven't on this 2002 because there was someway to see if it needed it or not ( can't remember for sure been three or four years ago...I think you look in it for that baffle and I think mine had it...well have to look at that again)....and I think they started to put the so called corrected cover on some vans and mine had it...I remember looking into that when I first got the van but need to look again to confirm....if anyone has any ideas or feedback about the oil /pvc issue would be glad to hear them....

[MARZBX157]

I installed an oil separator into the PCV line on mine a while back when I originally removed the Upper Intake Manifold. It fills up about half way at about every 5,000 miles and I empty out with each oil change. Its a simple set up which you can purchase at Home Depot or Lowes hardware, or you can look on Ebay for this item as well. Good Luck.

[schadd1971]

I just came across that the other night regarding the 3.8 in a mustang that had the same problem and the guy installed that in his pvc.....does it interfere with the flow/suction...???? does it help keep things dryer in the intake and reduce carbon build up?? whats your experience???...and do you have any pictures??

[MARZBX157]

Well, when I opened up the Plenum this time around there was not really any oil that I noticed, but there was carbon build-up on the Butterfly Valves and on the EGR Ports especially. I think the problem is not the oil but EGR clogging things up hense causing the pinging, maybe the updated DPFE will fix this problem. I will take a picture of the oil separator set-up I have so you can see it.

[schadd1971]

cool , look forward to the picture....I did replace the dpfe a while back........I had build up on my plugs that matched the pictures in hayes manuals showing ash on the plugs due to oil so Im am interested in the filter in pvc unless Im being too picky...the plugs were in for 3 years so I guess it wasn't to bad considering how long they were in....just worried about carbon buildup....does that make sense..???

[wiswind]

The improved valve cover REDUCES the amount of oil droplets that are drawn out through the PCV valve.
It does NOT eliminate it.
I installed a catch can in the PCV line that also reduced the oil even more.....but I still had some drawn in.
In the winter.....I would get a LOT more fluid.....due to condensation.
I have a picture of my catch can settup in the pictures that the link in my signature part at the bottom takes you to.
I used a "Greddy" catch can.....and put long hoses in to be able to locate it up front, next to the washer fluid fill spout.
The idea was to give longer lines and have them slope DOWN to the catch can.....so that vapors would condense and run down to the catch can when the vehicle was shut down.
Over time, the hoses got soft and needed to be replaced because they were starting to collapse under vaccum.
No big deal......but ANY modification that you make needs to be monitored to make sure that it is holding up to the heat and oil exposure.


I DO recommend that you use a Genuine Motorcraft brand PCV valve.....some of the after market PCV valves are not very good.
The PCV valve is NOT just a check valve to permit flow in only 1 direction.
There is a spring in there and the plunger is tapered on the end.
Under high vaccum conditions (like at idle) the vaccum pulls the plunger against the spring and reduces the opening....restricting the flow (more air flows through a given opening with more vaccum....so reducing the opening size will offset this).
When you have low vaccum, like when you accellerate......the opening in the valve is bigger, so you still have PCV flow.

Sure, if you had no PCV flow.....the intake would be cleaner.....but you would certainly develop sludge in the crankcase......it is CRITICAL that the vapors be removed.
While I don't want to make it more (drawing more oil in), I certainly don't want to do something to reduce it from what FORD intended.

The new "isolator" bolts that the TSB for 1999 and newer Windstars had bushings that were made of a material that was much more resistant to breaking down due to exposure to oil.

As for cleaning out carbon that is already built up inside the cylinders.....there really is not much you can do outside of taking the engine apart.....not a small task at all.
Some have reported CAREFUL fine mist spray....the water droplets causing the carbon to come off in small spots.....but you have to be SUPER careful......too much water (and it does not take much) and you will hydrolock the engine (water does NOT compress......like air / gasoline VAPOR.)

Also....there is no cleaner that you can spray/draw into the intake....or put in the fuel that is going to do anything to clean clogged EGR ports........that requires that the upper intake manifold be removed so that you can physically clean them.

[MARZBX157]

This is my set up.

[MARZBX157]

Additional photos

[schadd1971]

thanks for the pictures.....am going to try this....wonder if I could go to the junk yard and get pvc tube and modify with filter/oil separator so rubber line won't collapse or go punky.......

[12Ounce]

I used to have pinging issues ever so often. I would lift the intake "upper" ... clear the EGR ports and the problem would go away for a while. Once or twice, it was due to the EGR control system ... the flow sensor bad or the sensing tubes plugged up. Ford finally improved the EGR flow sensor, and I glued the plastic intake "manifold" to the intake "spacer" ... leaving no path for oil to drip down on the ports ... and I haven't had pinging for some years now. (Those who have the later "upgraded" intake upper .... the upper with all parts welded together.... will not be able to make the modification that I made.)