Stock C5 Pinging Question
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 515
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Stock C5 Pinging Question
2002 Coupe, MN6, 161,000 miles, Completely Stock
Has what sure sounds like intermittent light pinging when under load such as going up a hill.
Several peculiar things:
Only happens right around 1500 RPM
Giving it more throttle does not initiate pinging or make it worse.
Seems to happen more/worse at lower altitudes (I live at 5400').
Any ideas or anyone know what is so special about 1500 RPM. I have considered that it may be something else, but it sure sounds like pinging.
Has what sure sounds like intermittent light pinging when under load such as going up a hill.
Several peculiar things:
Only happens right around 1500 RPM
Giving it more throttle does not initiate pinging or make it worse.
Seems to happen more/worse at lower altitudes (I live at 5400').
Any ideas or anyone know what is so special about 1500 RPM. I have considered that it may be something else, but it sure sounds like pinging.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,649
Likes: 50
From: Goldsboro NC
While I agree with FASTFATBOY, there are some other things that need be mentioned. Have you done a tune up recently on the car? ie. filter, changes, plugs, and wires....Id like to believe some type of maintenance was done seeing the amount of miles ad still running, but has it been done recently?
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2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
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don't lug the engine uphill at 1500rpm for starters... I'm willing to bet the car is not driven hard and rarely (if ever) sees the upper rpm band, you could have excessive carbon buildup on the pistons... if that is the case a good top end cleaning and some spirited driving can clear that up... also use the highest octane gas available in your area if you aren't already doing that
Instructor
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 243
Likes: 53
From: Draper UT
My brother's C5 had that problem and we determined it was carbon buildup. We live at 4800ft, and the cars seem to run pretty rich up here. I've found BG44k works awesome to clean out the carbon. We ran a can through his car and drove the **** out of it. The whole back bumper was black with soot. It solved his pinging problem.
Run a can or two through yours and see if it cures your problem.
Run a can or two through yours and see if it cures your problem.
Advanced
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 88
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From: Dallas TX
My brother's C5 had that problem and we determined it was carbon buildup. We live at 4800ft, and the cars seem to run pretty rich up here. I've found BG44k works awesome to clean out the carbon. We ran a can through his car and drove the **** out of it. The whole back bumper was black with soot. It solved his pinging problem.
Run a can or two through yours and see if it cures your problem.
Run a can or two through yours and see if it cures your problem.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,364
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From: Western NY
Acct Suspended APR 2026 by request
Joined: Dec 2010
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2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
personally I prefer to do a top end cleaning where you introduce the cleaner through the intake... in my experience that works much better than any additive you can put in your tank and it also works faster, the results are nearly instant
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Advanced
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 88
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From: Dallas TX
I was just about to mention this. In my fbodies I used one of the vacuum lines, i think it was the PCV line. I don't remember. Was years ago. But I put it in through that with a friend in the car to keep it from dying.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,364
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From: Western NY
Yeah, that's the difficult part of doing that with a C-5, because there's no mechanical throttle linkage to modulate the engine speed with.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2007
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From: Goldsboro NC
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: altered state
St. Jude Donor '05
have a 5.3 in a truck started doing that with similar mileage...had been driving it too easy too long as its getting old so lots of carbon
Italian tuneup did the trick, the cleaners didnt do anything. MAF clean a good suggestion!
Italian tuneup did the trick, the cleaners didnt do anything. MAF clean a good suggestion!
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,364
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From: Western NY
Acct Suspended APR 2026 by request
Joined: Dec 2010
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2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
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... but your average owner doesn't have one of those already installed... e85 also works great as a cleaner from what I've seen, but again not a ton of people running that either
Advanced
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 88
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From: Dallas TX
Hey gang. Car was almost empty today. I put an entire 16oz can of sea foam in the tank and filled it up with 93. Not a lot of smoke or anything. But I aired it out real good with a couple of third gear pulls. Car runs smother and seems to be much more quiet on the engine noise. I put it all in the tank because my gas level sensor is messing up as well so I wanted to see if this would help clear that up. So far so good. It's at about 3/4 of a tank now and it's still working so it looks like I killed two birds with one stone. On the next oil change I might run a can through the intake system via the via the vacuum hoses.
Burning Brakes
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