3.1 V-6 is starting to give me problems

[fli]

HI all,
New guy to this forum with a newly developed dilemma.
I commute 90 miles to work each eay in a '91 3.1 Liter V6 RS.
This is what I call my "sensible" Camaro ,since the only ones I had owned prior to it were all early 70's variants ('70-'73) with the good old V8.
This morning OTW to work it started to ping when I would go to accelerate from a steady state cruise condition. If I push the accelerator thru this the ping goes away or if I back off a bit it goes away. I am not getting a check engine light from the ECM and otherwise it runs just fine.
The engine has at leat 300K on it and has given me NO problems.
I have only tuned it up once since I bought the car in 1996.
I know I am way past tune up time but this problem seems to me that it may be signalling a problem other than the standard tune up items. You know,...Cap,Rotor,Plugs.Wires ,Filters etc.
Any advice?
Thanks,
fli

Update,
I have performed a full tune up including wires and fuel and induction air filters and there is not real improvement.
I have also tried to pull any codes from the ECM and all it gives me is 12's.
I have also noticed that the engine is running rough at the first cold start in the morning and will smooth out after it warms up.
Any ideas?
fli

[MrDude_1]

is there oil in it?

i know of several v6 owners who just totally forget that they need oil in their cars... :D

[fli]

Yes there is oil in the engine.
Was that a rhetorical question??
fli

[Chris85TA]

With 300k on a V6 your on borrowed time. It could be theres a lot of carbon on the valves and there not sealing properly. Or there could be a weak lifter.

[MrDude_1]

Originally posted by fli
Yes there is oil in the engine.
Was that a rhetorical question??
fli

naa, there are just 2 v6 owners here that didnt check that.... heh, thats all.


now, is this ping under load, or is it regardless of load and dependant upon throttle position or what?


FIRST thing i check with ANY ping is the timing... check your timing first, it may have just slipped enough that it pings lightly under load....

chris, the carbon on the valves thing is BS that cleaner companys want you to believe.. the valves dont lose their seal from that... the pounding that they do keeps the sealing surface clean... the carbon build up on valves is on the stem and in the combustion chamber...

i donno where you're gettin the lifter idea from....

[Chris85TA]

Yeah I agree, check the timing. You might wanna do a compression test too. Have your tried different gas? Maybe some octane boost would help.

[Camaro_hunter_d]

Pinging. Dealdly detonation.

Timing. Books say 10*. Mine and alot other runs better at 12-13*. 300K? DAMN. Timing chain. Double roller. 59.99 PAW. Rebuild distibutor. It needs it. Other then that typical stuff.