Thread: V8 pinking

Hi Brownrangie;

what sort of work was done to the heads ?
engine pinging is generally caused by
Too much advance ,Have you Check the Timing of your engine ? you can easily check this with a strobe ( Timing light )
ie how many deg etc.
Low octane/ high comp engines can also cause pinging but seeing yours
does't ping when you're running low Octane , I'd says oz spec D2 V8's might be low Comp engines. not sure haven't check the specs
Another cause of pinging is Carbon build up on
valves. did you have your Valves refaced when this head work was done?

I haven't quizzed the mechanic yet, but I think the heads were just reshaved and cleaned up. I will check with him regarding the valves. Appreciate you reply. It will give me a bit more info to discuss with him.

Cheers

The D2 will adapt to whichever fuel you run,,
AFAIR it must ping to adapt,,
but if its pinging a lot I'd say a sensor is shot,,,

good point Pedro , now would that be the "Knock sensor"?

I knew that!!

What octane unleaded are you filling up with?

With standard 91 octane, it will ping its head off. The Rover V8 with the redesigned inlet manifold, unlike the Disco I V8, was designed to run on PULP. Some of the early DIIs like the 1999 and 2000 came with the lower compression pistons, but the later ones all had high compression pistons and would ping with regular unleaded. The ECU does not retard the ignition far back enough even when the two knock sensors are doing their job.

If you fill up with 95 octane, it will occasionally ping. With 98, it seems to be OK. This has been the experience with myself and another friend of mine whom I drive a lot together with. And we both tow with our V8s.

But get your engine tested by going to your LR dealer and they can plug in the Land Rover testbook to see if your MAF, and O2 sensors are working within the limits. As they get older, they will "drift" but an Aussie spec vehicle will not trigger the "check engine" light. In the USA, the exhaust system has pre and post O2 sensors, so a different setup to Aussie vehicles.

Thanks TempestV8. I run 95 most of the time with the occassional 98 to give it a clean. Interesting re your point that they occassionally ping. That is definately my situation. Hopefully Wednesday I should have an answer.

Well I took it down and plugged it into the testbook and all tests were coming up good and within limits. One test though did show some rough running on the left bank. So a knock sensor was ordered as apparently they do get picked up by the computer.

The knock sensor went in yesterday. Drove it last night and today and I am still getting the pinging. Have filled up with 98 tonight so will see how this runs for the week.

Still at a bit of a loss. Did read somewhere that it could be a hole in the cats. Can anyone advise what the long term impact on the engine would be with this going on ?

Appreciate any comments.

Cheers
Peter