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Can bad valve seals/guides affect engine ping?

2.7K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  Wrager  
#1 ·
I'm still trying to narrow down why my engine is smoking and I remember the last time I posted here I commented that my car didn't smoke upon cold startup, but I found that it actually does, which many have said may point to bad valve seals. I haven't had the opportunity to check on those yet, so before I do I just wanted to see if there is any relationship between bad seals/guides and engine ping. It seems that no matter how much I mess with my timing I just can't get it right. When I find what seems to bring optimal performance, the engine pings on lean-in, so when I tinker till the pinging stops, the performance just plain sucks. I thought that maybe when it's sparking just right it's making the valve shake due to a bad guide? It seems to work out in my head, but then I haven't seen half the things you guys have seen. Any feedback would certainly help.
 
#2 ·
Yes, it is possible. Oil reduces the gasoline's effective octane rating. I have no idea how much though.

Another possibility is the accumilation of carbon in the combustion chamber, raising the compression to an acceptable level relative to the ignition timing.
 
#3 ·
My .02...

You are on the right track...as Silver69Camaro pointed out, oil does reduce the octane rating of gasoline so it can "ping" at lower temps/pressures than normal. Add to that the oil residue / carbon that starts to coat the piston/valves, etc. It can create hot spots that also lead to pinging. From what I have seen, and a couple of old engines that I have trashed...it's a downward spiral just doesn't get any better. The pinging will probably take out a head gasket if it gets too bad or goes on for too long.

You can try to set your timing back to normal, run higher octane grade gas and a cooler t-stat. These are kind of bandaid fixes that work a little. I have not tried the "motor vac" system which is supposed to help clean out carbon. I think I read of someone letting the engine suck up walnut shells, too? Others sware by a good soak in ATF through the spark plug holes. I did soak an old piston in ATF just to see what would happen...it did remove some of the carbon but a lot stayed too.

The ideal solution is at least a budget rebuild with boring/honing and new rings to stop the problem.

Good Luck