NYCCL3.0

hello everyone,
my cl is a stock 97' and i'm experiencing a new sound (a pinging) that occurs only when the car is warmed up and driving. the sound appears to be coming from under the hood somewhere and only when the car is driving, especially when i get a little heavy on the gas. when the sound starts (car is warmed up) the car seems to lose some power as well. when my foot is on the gas it seems as if i can cause or eliminate the sound by raising or lowering the rpms, only when the car is in gear. no pinging in neutral... i'm no auto mechanic, any help is appreciated. thanks in advance!

NOMAD

BAD BAD BAD

If it's a constant sound like it's coming from the engine itself it could be serious. You may have a cylinder detonating too early so the explosion is trying to push the piston down while the mechanical force of the rod and crankshaft is not done pushing the piston up.
Try using a higher octane gas for one tank and see if it goes away.

If it's a mechanical clank type of sound then lift the hood and see if you can locate the area it's in.

Take it in. Take it in. Take it in.

some1

Is it a vibrating sound (similar to a duck?!) If so, mine does the same thing at a certain RPM reading.

NYCCL3.0

a duck, maybe? it reminds me of when i had an old cutlass in high school, sometimes when i turned the car off it would sit there and idle and bounce a little making a pinging sound... someone told me it was crappy gas, but i have no idea. this sound is very similar although it occurs when the car is driving. i think it may be an exhaust leak close to the engine, or something... i will take it in when asap.

NOMAD

Your old Cutlass was "dieseling". Basically the compressed gas and air mixture was igniting from the compression force instead of from the spark plug. That causes a pinging sound or knocking. The person that said it was crappy gas was pretty close. Like I said, the higher octane gas may solve the problem. Higher octane gas can withstand more of the compression force before self combusting... Basically it doesn't burn as easily.
Try higher octane gas this next fill-up or pour some octane booster ($4 max) in the tank and see if that stops it. Stop going to your same old gas station, they may be "watering down" the gas to make more money. Could be a problem with the car itself though so get it checked.

It's really important that you get this fixed, detonation in the chamber increases normal pressure forces extremely and can break things. You don't want to break any of those bits in your engine.

(FYI- They call it "dieseling" because diesel engines don't use spark plugs, the diesel fuel ignites automatically when compressed to the right point.)

NYCCL3.0

Nomad, i tried what you said and it worked thus far. i filled up with premium gas and haven't had the problem all day, and i drove over 120 miles, knock on wood.... my car has been making this noise for 3 days now consistently and the fill up seems to have remedied this problem. hopefully it was what you said, and it was caught before any engine damage was caused. it's unbelievable, that i pay over 1.60 for 87 octane in new york and it may be watered down... anyhow, thanks for the advice!

NOMAD

No problem. I wouldn't put it past the NY gas stations.
In the future just have it looked at and see what the people say. Eventually you can probably go back to the other octane unless it happens again.

blo2ck

MY 98 2.3 DOES THE SAME THING. ITS USUALLY WHEN I SHIFT AT LOW RPM'S(LIKE FROM SECOND AT 3 1/2 TO THIRD) THEN WHEN THE RPM'S AT LIKE 2.8 IT MAKES A PINGING SOUND. IT SOUNDS LIKE ITS COMING FROM THE INTAKE. I HAVE AN AC AUTOTECNIC COLD AIR AND THOUGHT I INSTALLED IT WRONG. GUESS NOT.