I have a '94, SOHC, 5spd. Stock everything.

It pings under moderate acceleration, going up hills, etc. Started around 50K. miles

I have heard everything from "protege's don't ping" to "there's nothing to adjust".

It has been well maintained, plugs regularly replaced & gapped, etc. Timing per specs. Engine de-carbed once in a futile attempt to fix the problem. Generally run 87 octane Mobil.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

there are too many possible problems. but also one of them as oddly as it sounds could be you dont have enough water in your radiator. this makes the water pump make an awful sound that i cant stand but yet is a pinging type sound that only sounds during acceleration. some more possibilities could be faulty oil pump, dirty valves, dirty injectors, and so on and so on.

what does it sound like? or where does it come from? if you listen real close you can tell if its coming from the injectors, the valves (the top of the engine), or the water pump (the side of the engine). my money is on the water pump cause if its doing it during acceleration it spins faster with less water to cool it and keep the friction down. so check the level of fluid in your radiator.