I purchased a 2003 Holiday Rambler Vacationer with a W22 Workhorse chassis and Chevy 8.1 engine. I have always had Ford 460 or V10 engines, so I am not real familiar with this one, so I seek your advice. I have driven it twice and there is a noticeable engine ping on hills or under a load, what could cause this and is there something I can do about it? This rig sat for a year prior to my purchase, could have this contributed to this issue? All input is appreciated!

Have you run fresh fuel though it?A load of premium with a can of Stabil may do wonders for it. Also, Chevron with its "Techroline" does a good job of cleaning fuel systems. You might run a few load of that through it. It could be a number of mechanical issues too.

I agree with Scott bad gas (most likely sitting to long in the fuel tank). This happened to me earlier in the year. I have the same engine in my RV. I have a 50 gallon fuel tank so I went to Walmart and bought 3 cans of Stabil $6.94 per can and that treats 16 gallons of fuel, X3= 48 gallons and it solved the problem for me. I also put in 48 gallons of 92 octane fuel!

May be time for a tune up also. New plugs and wires. Do the gas treatment, injection cleaner, plugs, wires, and maybe fuel filter.

Try a bottle of Lucas fuel treatment

The engine has a "ping" sensor that will(is supposed to) adjust your timing for different grades of gasoline if it senses detonation. Perhaps what you are hearing is not pinging or perhaps you have a bad sensor. Hook your engine up to a Scan Gauge and check to see if there are any error codes that are stored in your engine control module.

Pinging | Good Sam Community

17 Replies

ScottG
Nomad
Nov 17, 2016
Even an eng with a ping sensor can ping. It only has a certain amount of adjustment it can do.
Bad fuel, extreme oil burning, excessive eng temp, etc. will still make it detonate.
J-Rooster
Explorer
Nov 17, 2016
kcgaz wrote:
Thanks for all of the great input as always. Has anyone used SeaFoam for this type of situation? I know that it stabilizes the gas, but it also appears to clean the fuel system as well and was recommended by several friends.
Yes, on my post I said I used Stabil that was a misquote I use Seafoam.
Hank_MI
Explorer
Nov 17, 2016
rgatijnet1 wrote:
The engine has a "ping" sensor that will(is supposed to) adjust your timing for different grades of gasoline if it senses detonation. Perhaps what you are hearing is not pinging or perhaps you have a bad sensor.
Hook your engine up to a Scan Gauge and check to see if there are any error codes that are stored in your engine control module.

I agree it may not be a ping you hear. Could it be an exhaust leak? These engines are know for breaking exhaust studs and cracking exhaust manifolds. I just installed a set of header on ours because of a broken stud and leaks. Couldn't hear it at idle or while cruising but while accelerating or climbing a grade it was there. As mentioned the ping sensor should adjust the timing to stop any pinging.
usersmanual
Explorer
Nov 17, 2016
kcgaz wrote:
Starts and runs great, just passed emissions with flying colors and all numbers were very low. The check engine light has not come on, so I think I will go the route of running some SeaFoam through and then change the plugs. Thanks all and more to follow.

not that that is not a good thing to do(plugs) assuming it has a like 80 or 90K on it and sea foam cant hurt
but pinging is most likely bad fuel or the detonation sensor is bad
fyrflie
Explorer III
Nov 17, 2016
I had some noticeable pinging on my 2001 workhorse. The further I drove the worse it got.
I got off the freeway and it stalled. Restarted no problem but had no power.

What I found was that the Cold Air Intake tube had worked its way off of the intake manifold/ throttle body. Once I reconnected it, the MH ran fine.

My point is: Just one more thing to check.
Good luck
dr3x
Explorer
Nov 16, 2016
I will add most do not understand untreated fuel only has about 30 to 45 days shelf live so to speak
dr3x
Explorer
Nov 16, 2016
x2 on Seafoam and a fresh tank of 87 or 89 octane and run that tank at least to 1/4 tank then refill with 87 or 89 and run it, poor fuel from sitting. Also change that fuel filter and air filter
kcgaz
Explorer
Nov 16, 2016
Starts and runs great, just passed emissions with flying colors and all numbers were very low. The check engine light has not come on, so I think I will go the route of running some SeaFoam through and then change the plugs. Thanks all and more to follow.
Chum_lee
Explorer
Nov 16, 2016
Is the "check engine" light on or intermittent? If so, the first thing to do is check for any fault codes. If not, try the gennie in a can solutions and fresh fuel of the proper grade.

Is the engine running normally otherwise? IME, new tune up/maintenance parts rarely fix pinging issues.

Chum lee
MountainAir05
Explorer II
Nov 16, 2016
kcgaz wrote:
Thanks for all of the great input as always. Has anyone used SeaFoam for this type of situation? I know that it stabilizes the gas, but it also appears to clean the fuel system as well and was recommended by several friends.

SeaFoam works great, But it bad on the plugs if you use it a lot. Being its a 2003 its due a good tune up anyway. Clean it out and with SeaFoam or Chevron gas and a few bottles of Techron. 40 gallons should clean it out within 70 miles or so.

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