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I have a 2000 mustang 3.8 auto, when its hot and in gear only, give it a little gas just over idle and a eratic tapping noise appaers. sometime at idle it will happen if its been running long enough.take the belt off and it goes away! check for loose bolts pulleys and balancer all ok. definately coming from the front of the motor, from the water pump timing cover area.runs great no problems execpt for this noise. when i first heard it I thought for sure it was a loose torque converter bolt untill I traced the noise to the front of the engine any help or suggestions would be appreciated! I am a tech by trade but this is stumping me!
THANKS
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your problem is a faulty valve cover. 99-early 01 had poor oil baffles in the covers which lets the PCV valve suck oil into the intake, where it deposits in the intake,intake valves, fouls the spark plugs and eventually causes cat failure. the excessive oil deposits causes heavy spark knock or detonation or pinging whatever you want to call it
easy fix. there is a kit for a valve cover upgrade. you can find them on EBAY for about $80 just search for windstar valvecover. or go to a junkyard and get a valve cover from a 97 or 98.
change the PCV valve and run seafoam through the PCV line to clean out the oil deposits. it will smike like a diesel on a -40 degree day for a few minutes but it will really solve your problem combined with the new or 97/98 valve cover. change the spark plugs too
if it was pinging it wouldn't change when i take the belt off or it would get worse since the water pump isn't turning increasing engine temp.
well change the water pump if you feel like it. kinda a dumb idea to take the belt off and run the engine. all your doing is running it hot and killing the battery.
trust me heavy spark knock is common with ALL 99-early 01 3.8/4.2 ford v6 engines because of the poor oil baffles in the valve covers. it sounds like a bucket of bolts rattling on a paint mixer. all your doing is hammering the rod bearings along with a host of other problems like poor gas mileage and reduced power without increasing the octane rating of gas or colder plugs to compensate for the problem. it was a TSB with ford so it is an issue and an easy one to fix. i listed the fix. take the advise or leave it.
taking the belt off may reduce the power demand of the engine enough to eliminate the pinging. that is not a fix though. trust me change the cover and seafoam the engine then change the sparky's. it will be alot better
__________________
current mods
98 3.8L 11psi P1SC Procharger,97 junkyard engine ,3.73`s,7.5 Detroit Truetrac,TA rear girdle,B&M shift kit,2500 stall
mods to complete
8.5:1 ross .030" pistons,Eagle H-Beam 351W rods,Comp cam 224/236 .569"/.578" 112* lobe sep,Rhodes variable duration roller lifters,Pro-M Univer MAF,siemens deka 60lb injectors, upgrade to D1@20psi,Delk Main Girdle and Main studs, Head studs,Comp 1.7 roller rockers, home ported heads CFM 216/196,PI 3500 stall
well i should of left your advise cause you were totally wrong! just as i had figured, any way the car is fixed. and the so called dumb idea led me to the problem. the crazy idea of valve covers and sea foam make me laugh now that it over, any way car is fixed and thats all that matters!
my girlfriends 2000 V6 is having a similar issue I need to know what you did so I can try to fix it. I think she is over due for a timing belt job. shes at 104,000 miles, and here car knocks under acceleration sometimes (or at least I think its a knock, sounds like a paint mixer with rocks). from 40-55 and from 0-10 the car shakes and acceleration is spotty if there at all. any ideas? thanks!
its a timing chain not a belt btw and that one sounds like general tune up and again the PCV problem
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fordforlife0225
dude you are the yoda of subs
Mods:
Sniper Tune
Heads, Cam, Stroke, Port n Polish, 3 Angle Valve job (courtesy of the last owner)
Spec Stage 3 Clutch and Aluminum Flywheel
MAC O/R H-Pipe and MAC Flow-Paths(do your self a favor and DON'T GET FLOWMASTER 40'S!)
3 Inch Drop
AM Cold Air Intake
NGK Iridium IX (TR6IX) Plugs, Performance Wires
1500+ Watt Stereo- JVC,Kicker,Infinity
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HELP!3.8 ENGINE NOISE
