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

 

first off welcome to the site.

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

link for the kit
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/99-00...1%7C240%3A1318

 

I have valve covers off of a 2001 v6 for sale. $50 shipped =]

 

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

 

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!

 

What was the problem?

 

To me it sounded like it could have been an idler/tensioner pulley because the noise went away when he removed the belt.

This is why a mechanics stethoscope is handy.

Tell us what it was, this is a shared knowledge based forum and you never know who will be searching for your answer.

-Eric-

 

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