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While under load, the engine sounds like there is a bunch of marbles bouncing around in the engine. Revving the engine in neutral does not create the noise. Filling the gas tank with 93 octane instead of 87 "solves" the issue with the noise.

Filling up with 93 octane seems silly and expensive for such an old car. Some Notes:

  • Prior to the issue occurring the spark plugs were replaced while troubleshooting a misfire, that has been resolved. I double checked and the plugs are correct for the engine.

  • The car has the 1.8L engine and ~200k miles

Is it possible that this is an issue with spark plugs or something else?

Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
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stoj
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1 Answers1

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Pinging is caused by one of several different reasons. It is usually a hot spot in the combustion chamber which is causing the issue. A hot spot is usually made of carbon buildup, the edges of which get hot very easily, will glow red as such, and will ignite the air/fuel mixture. If a hot spot is present, it will pre-ignite the air/fuel mixture during compression.

What you have to do is clean out the combustion chambers. The easiest and most effective way to achieve clean combustion chambers is to give your engine a SeaFoam treatment. Once the hot spot(s) in your engine are cleaned out, you should be golden.

DucatiKiller
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Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
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