car is pinging, not sure what its problem. fuel pressure is goodaround 42,43psi with vacuum off. car make a wierd pinging sound in all rpm ranges, then sometimes it will quit, till i give it some heavy pedal, then it's like i screw something up and starts to ping all over again. , coolant temp is normal, spark plugs are new lookingjust changed out old ac delco originals to tr 55, though they might be hot, so went with tr-6 gapped 35 thous., seems to run lean, i cant get a scan for it around hear for less then 100 dollars,, so i might as well get a "kit" and try to scan, fix, then tweek it. motor and computer is out of an 1994 police caprice with the 5.7L i iinstalled new map, new plugs, new iac, intake air sensor, cleaned maf sensor with electonics cleaner for maf's, thought about cleaning o2's, and popin off cap and rotor. these motors are never ending with problems, but run great when fixed right. i baby my car and want to keep it for years to come. i was thinking of changing the knock sensor on the rivers side, because the ping comes from this side. i changed the knock module also. although it was for a 4.3 baby lt1, yea, i know, but its no worse or better, and i will stick the old one back in it. could the optispark do this, wires, coil, spark module, o2's egr i cleaned out, hold vacuum, along with the fpr (holds vacuum too.
now if i get this car going again, and delete some things, i want to know what is the best programmer and all the sensors, or egr emmisions stuff like that i can delete. i just want it to run without the ping, even at wot, at pe mode it still pings, first thing when it starts up and i take it for a ride in the cold pennsylvania winter mornings, it will ping before warming up//// any suggestions at all
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Are you running an iron head LT1 with an F-Body aluminum head tune?

 

stock iron head LT1 in 94 caprice. i want to scan it. seems to run really lean. any suggestions? opti spark must be working if plugs are clean, but who knows. i can do all the work myself, but am tired of the guessing game. after its running "better", i plan on a descent custom cam 215 @ .050 single pattern maybe 264 adv duration with 110 sep on a 108 intake lca,( I always buy my own custom cam and single pattern ones seems to build much more torque , plus i can have a nice fast ramp with quick closing intake valves) .520 lift, screw in studs, self aligning roller tip rocker arms 1.6 ratio, bee hive springs, msd super conducter wires (50 ohms per ft), and a was thinking of a non resistor spark plug, a performane coil, cai, with spark control module. fully porting heads, shift kit from trans go, no cats, egr, smog pump, resonators. tune afterwards for some super crisp throttle response and more pull and an red light race with another car to let them think they can blow this car away. i would like to see maybe 300hp to the wheels and 370 tq to the wheels would be enough for me. \
i do hear some noise near the opti spark, like electrical "zaps"? , but not sure. i heard of free scan downloads, but which one, and also i want to program, hard to do or not, i will learn. i want to drive my beast again. i love the sleeper look of the wagon. comes in handy when the kids are in it. i want to give this to my son when he turns 16 in 4 years, miliage is about 115,000 miles. state car at one time, so it is rust free underneath and seem to have been taken care of, tight front end, good suspension. rebuilt 4L60E tranny. so i want some help with it.

 

Are you sure its spark knock (detonation) that you are hearing, and not an exhaust leak? You would have to have a huge amount of knock to be able to hear it, since the PCM can pull up to 15-degrees of timing in response to knock. It can detect the knock and pull the timing before you are able to hear it.

What fuel is required by the iron head engine? What fuel are you running?

When you say it will "quit" do you mean the engine shuts off? Or is it just a heavy stumble, athat you appear to be able to overcome with a heavy foot on the throttle?

You indicate you hear a clicking at the Opti. Have you ever run it in the dark and looked for arcing around the Opti, coil, plug wires? Have you ever scanned it for codes?

Suggestion - focus on the poor running/knock. Leave the issues about the cam, and how to program it for later questions.

 

You're using a KS from a 4.3 and a different knock module. Are you sure they are compatible?

Have you tested the KS to see if it's recognizing knock?

 

made no difference, it was to see if mine was bad. i mean if an lt4 one can go in then what the hell is the difference? and like i said before the tuner cat is for the scaning and programming things that i do not have to replace. i have checked everything on this car, and no codes, this tuner kit is an investment anyways. i will keep you all informed of the progress and what the problem was in a few days as i get the kit tomorrow. anyone know where i can buy a good used cam for this?, or any other performance upgrade for when im done?

 

also the spark sound, in the dark test didnt come up with nothing. it is pinging for sure, so something is screwed up. i want to switch to non resistor wires like granetelli, and some plugs that are non resistor also like autolites racing plug ar472's. i know other lt1's that run them with no problems. and have a noticeable increase in the seat of pants take off as well as mpg. as far as a cam, i will buy anything thats gonna give me a worth while power increase for a reasonable price.. something in the 210 @ .050 will be ok. 260's adv, 110 sep maybe 112. anything will be better then the peanut cam it has now.