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Old 07-24-2020, 11:50 AM   #1
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Engine Load % - Scangauge

My van pings when going up grades even when unloaded (stock interior). I took it to my mechanic who plugged in his Ford software and he said everything checks out. No stored codes, no check engine lights, nothing. He pulled some plugs and they looked good. Even switched around some COP's to make sure it wasn't funky with them.

I did some searching on google and found a thread where someone having a similar issue as mine checked his engine load % on scangauge and noticed it was high, even when cruising on flats. So I checked mine and mine is high as well. When slightly accelerating on a flat, it will go up to 60. Anything going up a small hill and its in the 70-90 range.

The guy ended up changing his cats and it fixed his problem. I think one or maybe both were plugged. My van has 156k miles on it and I'm wondering if my cats could be plugged as well. The only thing thats different is that my van still feels like it has full power whereas the other guy said he felt a significant loss of power.

Is there anything else I should be looking at that causes such a load on the motor and pinging? Anyone else have this issue?

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Old 07-24-2020, 12:10 PM   #2
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Your MAF is likely contaminated. CRC MAF spray cleaner should do the trick. Oil, dust, or other contaminants act as an insulator. The MAF measures air velocity indirectly by measuring how much heat is is lost from the filament. So a little bit of contamination makes it think less air is flowing than really is. The 02 sensors have a limited range they can correct for, and the knock sensor only detects detonation, no pre-ignition.

Also the MAF can build up resistance from corrosion it it's ever been exposed to engine coolant. When my radiator exploded coming over the Siskyous it sucked a bunch in, and cleaning did not help, so I had to replace it that time.
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Old 07-24-2020, 12:12 PM   #3
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I’m not noticing this on my van, but we had a plugged CAT on a Subaru we had. I noticed a loss of power then too, but no codes. It helped me diagnose to unplug the upstream O2 sensor and run it up and down the street a few times with an open hole to free up the exhaust. I noticed way more power without the excess back pressure. Your van will likely throw a code and for sure be noisy, but it’s a cheap test if you want to try it.

I’m not a mechanic... just what worked for me. Good luck and let us know what you find.
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Old 07-24-2020, 12:17 PM   #4
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Jin, I hope it isn't your cats. I think you have like 4. That could get expensive.
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Old 07-24-2020, 01:02 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by carringb View Post
Your MAF is likely contaminated. CRC MAF spray cleaner should do the trick. Oil, dust, or other contaminants act as an insulator. The MAF measures air velocity indirectly by measuring how much heat is is lost from the filament. So a little bit of contamination makes it think less air is flowing than really is. The 02 sensors have a limited range they can correct for, and the knock sensor only detects detonation, no pre-ignition.

Also the MAF can build up resistance from corrosion it it's ever been exposed to engine coolant. When my radiator exploded coming over the Siskyous it sucked a bunch in, and cleaning did not help, so I had to replace it that time.
I will definitely give this a try. I didn't mention that the pinging started after I put in a K&N filter on the van (filter only), so this could likely be the issue.
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Old 07-24-2020, 01:03 PM   #6
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Jin, I hope it isn't your cats. I think you have like 4. That could get expensive.
Yeah, I got 4!! I'm hoping carringb's post about cleaning the MAF will do the trick.
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Old 07-24-2020, 02:45 PM   #7
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I just cleaned the MAF as I had some CRC MAF cleaner already. The MAF did look like it had some gunk in it, so I was hopeful that a cleaning would cure my issue. Unfortunately, the load numbers haven't changed much after the cleaning.

I'm at 30 at idle and as soon as I give it some gas to get going it jumps up to 60. Is there any other way to test the MAF?

With the clogged cat theory, I guess I can test the temp at the inlet and outlet of each one to see if one is creating more resistance/heat.

Anything else I should be checking?
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Old 07-24-2020, 04:00 PM   #8
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Ignore the Load %. I don't know what the ScanGauge is measuring, but it's not useful.

But knowing you put in the K&N, I guarantee it's oiling your MAF. I suggest carrying the cleaner with you. You'll probably have to do it a couple more times before it stops misting oil. After that, it should be fine for a while until to you clean the K&N.
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Old 07-24-2020, 04:56 PM   #9
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Ok. The filter has been in for about a year.
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Old 07-24-2020, 05:08 PM   #10
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My van will ping like yours and is a little down on power if I forget and use 87 gas.
When I fill up with 89 gas it runs perfect. YMMV
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