No mechanic has made any mods. that I know of.

I'll check the fuel lines this weekend.

I stopped running the 87 octane and switched over to 89 octane and it doesn't ping as bad as it did before when I ran the 89 juice. Maybe the Seafoam did some good. I'm going to use the other half of the can this weekend.

I need to find or borrow the tool to get the security star screws out of the MAF sensor so I can clean it properly. Do you know where I can find this special tool? The screws are the star screws with a pin in the middle.

I'm going to try spark plugs that are two steps colder. This was another possible cure that I found on a web-site for the pinging problem.

I have a good feeling that I will cure this problem soon.

Any good tool place should carry those tips for the MAF sensor. I would think a good auto part can get one for ya too. If you have no luck try the web site for whomever the manufacturer of the MAF sensor is. If not talk to any mechanic or better auto parts stores, and ask them when their tool guys make their regular weekly or bi-weekly visits. I'm sure that outfits like Snap-on, Matco tools, or Cornwell tools would carry something like this on their trucks.  Sometimes when I can't find time to meet with the tool guys I ask the mechanic shop or the auto parts stores where these guys visit regularly to pick up the tool for me and I pay the mech or auto part for the tool when I can get out there.

If you build a good working relationship with these guys you can get some great deals on tools - some re-manufactured high end stuff like impact guns that are factory re-builds, but don't carry the excessice price of a new one. Some of those Snap-on parts can cost a small fortune, but ask for one of their catalogs and you will find tools mechanics use that you've never heard of or seen anywhere else.

I used to use an Octane booster fuel additive liquid on my '76 Cutlass. I belive 'gunk' products made it. I didn't know much at the time but I was using Amocco 93 octane and adding the Octane booster to that!

I used it for years without a probem. I had a Chevy 350 with a Rochester quadrajet carb. I heard later that it can gum up the fuel system after yeras of use, but as I said  I never had a problem. You may want to try this if you are still planning of gettig rid of you Ranger.

Btw- I don't want to depress you, but have you seen the article on this month's 'Chevy High Performance' magazine about the 8-second '66 Nova (Chevy II) in it ?  Runs mid range 8-seconds - (8.63 at 158 mph). It's a 457ci small block makin 700 hp on nuts alone. Ya gotta love this guy - He wheels it to California over 2000 miles away at 9 miles per gallon to go to Hot Rod Drag Week. The guy says " It will do 8.90's through the air filter and muffler" - I love It !!

I just talked to my brother in-law tonight. I asked him if he had the tool that I needed and he said yes. We are going to go up the road to where he works at a (Ferd dealership) to get the tool out of his tool box. He's not a Mechanic but a Body man.

I purchased an S-K socket set and varius other tools from a Snap-On truck guy about 20 years ago when I worked for a junk yard. I still have the socket set and have never broken anything in it. I think S-K makes excellent tools and would love to buy a nice set of metric & SAE wrenches.

How good did the car run with 93 octane fuel and octane booster? Did you originally have a problem with it and thought this was a cheap fix?

Like I said before I'd hate to cover up a problem just to get rid of the Ferd. I wouldn't feel right if I did this to some pour soul. They might get pissed off and come back and murder my ass, as my address is on the title.

 I'm already depressed, I own a Ferd, HA,HA,HA. I'm not much into buying car magazines any more. Don't get me wrong, I still love the 60's & 70's cars. Sounds like a bad ass Nova!!

I don't know if you read it yet, but I will be going to Carisile Pa. next weekend for a piece of (Chevy Heaven). I'll let you know how it was when I return.

My good friend down the street keeps telling me to take the Ferd to his mechanic. He tells me he can fix any problem. He also said he is very honest and will not rip anyone off and doesn't charge as much as the other guys. I'm thinking of taking the Ferd down to this guys shop and see if he has what it takes to cure the problem. I'm very leary of any Mechanic these days. It seems like the very few times when I can't figure out a problem and I take it to someone else, they can't figure out the problem either. It seems like if the check engine light is not on or if it is on they still don't know how to fix the problem.

The cure to the Ferd blues tonight is to have many Coors Light beers and maybe a couple shots of Jim Beam Black!!    WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!

" THE END "

 I looked in my Haynes manual and read how you can test the coil pack, ignition module, and EGR valve. All I need is a electronic digital multi-meter and a calibrated ignition tester and a vacuum pump. I can also test other parts on the engine.

Since I ran the Seafoam through the upper intake manifold through the brake booster line, the truck runs so much better! I recommend anyone that has an engine with 75,000 or more miles on it to use this product as any engine will have some carbon deposits in the combustion chamber. I didn't think this stuff would make a difference, but it works great!

I found out what the DPFE sensor is and I had it replaced about two years ago along with the EVR sensor. I also have cleaned the MAF sensor that was  a little dirty. The original coil pack in this truck is supposed to have a weak spark according to the web-site that I visited and a different mechanic that my brother in-law knows at the Ferd dealership that he works at, he also said to replace the old coil pack with a new one. I haven't bought one yet, but probalbly will soon.

The mechanic that my brother in-law talked to while I was at the dealership said if the coil pack didn't cure the problem, he said that he could retard the timing a little bit. I'm not to sure if I would want the timing messed with as I may lose some performance from the engine. The mechanic also said that some of the Rangers had bad PCM's in them and if the body shop got one in that was beyond repair due to an accident as long as it has the same computer as mine and it tested good, he would switch the computers for free! I also found out that this truck doesn't have a knock sensor. O'h and this mechanic said that the warranty for this type of problem was up to 80,000 miles. The other dealership lied to me and said it was up to 36,000 miles. I could have had this repaired for free. I feel like going back to Plaza Ferd and give them a piece of my mind and a size 10 boot up the pooper!

I bled the crap out of the hydraulic clutch two weeks ago and now it works like it should.

I'm going to dump a can of Seafoam in the fuel tank this week to further clean the rest of the fuel system.

I also bought myself a digital multi-meter so that I could test just about everything under the hood. Hopefully this pinging problem with my truck will be cured soon.

Sorry about the long post, but I just had too much to talk about.

Would you believe I went into the Ferd "Motorcraft" web-site to find out what the proper spark plugs were since they changed to a colder plug because the original ones were too hot for the engine. They wanted a certain "fee" for veiwing this info. I'm not going to pay them jack *** for this info. I think I paid them enough when I bought the Ferd Ranger and all of its problems.

The next time that I go to my brother in-laws dealership where he works, I'll see if he can ask the mechanic that he talked to before about the right spark plugs for this engine.