1988 Mercury Tracer ENGINE PINGING WHEN HOT

1988 MERCURY TRACER
91,000 MILES • 4 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC
Avatar
KERRY67
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
On my 1988 Mercury Tracer wagon, it makes a loud pinging noise when you accelerate when the engine is hot. IT does not do it when it is cold but it is very loud when it is hot and it only happens when accelerating. Any ideas ???
Sep 24, 2008 at 9:42 AM
Advertisement
Avatar
MMPRINCE4000
  • CERTIFIED EXPERT
  • 8,548 POSTS
The pinging is caused when the fuel mixture ignites prematurely and put extreme stress on the mechanical parts of the engine.
This can sometimes be caused by a bad tank of gas. You want to fix this problem quickly, otherwise you can cause severe engine damage.

Have the mechanical timing checked, this is done by going into diagnostic mode and setting the base timing by adjusting the distributor.
Sep 25, 2008 at 8:38 AM