Are you at least running 87? I run into 85 once in awhile and none of my toys run on it. High altitude or not. When towing I run mid grade or premium. In summer in Las Vegas is when the pinging starts due to heat but man my trucks have been running ruff this winter. Down on power and hard to start. Ran Shell, BP, and Sinclare. BP being the best.

 

I'm just goin off what hydra said with that. I've always changed mine around 15,000-20,000 and they look a little rough. It depends on more how u drive and what kibd of fuel usage. I live where we can get in the - temps and use ****ty winter gas.

Anyway, in a sense I believe there really isnt a right or wrong answer personally. $20 bucks a year for plugs i wouldn't say is a waste of money. But ultimately its the owners decision

 

Yes I don't think we have 85 octane up here unless I just haven't seen it before. I ran 89 octane in it yesterday and it seemed to quiet down the pinging, I can still hear it if I really sink my foot into it so 91 would probably cure it.

 

Thats just a bandaid solution. Still there is an underlying issue here.......

 

I've been having a simular problem with mine and I'm looking to replace distributor cap, rotor and plugs for sure.
Possibly the wires, that remains to be seen.
It's been probably 40,000 miles since my last tune-up.

For you I would say double check the inside of that distributor cap.
If I read your message correctly you weren't able to change the rotor cap.
That could be your problem but it's also possible that your distributor cap is bad and allowing moisture in.

I'm sure you realize that with these things age has nothing to do with life span!

Radar

 

I have a 2000 R/T 5.9L and I have always found that it would ping if i ran lower octane. If it's pinging the higher octane will defiantly help a lot. I run 93 octane in my truck and never have any problems. Also try adding some STP in a tank of gas and clean out your fuel system it might help, I do it every couple of tanks and have no problems with pinging anymore, winter or otherwise. Truck has been on Long Island its whole life though so the weather is defiantly milder here. I hope you can fix it because I know how annoying it can be.

 

I forgot to add that I use Lucas fuel treatment on a regular basis.

I found that i can get at Farm & Fleet for about $24.00 a gallon.
I have one of the small single treatment bottles and one of the quart size bottles in a box in the back of the truck at all times.

I use the gallon to fill the quart bottle, this bottle has that small tip on it.
I use it to fill the 5 oz. bottle.
I put in a bottle full at least once every couple of weeks.

At $24.00 per a gallon it's fairly inexpensive to use on a regular basis.

 

Oh yea, just blame it on hydra.....LOL


And "Lucas", well your just wasting your money......IMHO.

 

Haha, sure why not?! The Lucas stuff made my p0420 code go away, and now its back. I cant remember the name of the other stuff I used, but I'd say it helped my fuel system

 

Well I can not honestly say that it's made any noticable difference in my truck but I did work with a guy for a while that started using it on his truck and saw a noticable improvement!

I know what his truck ran like before and after and you could recognize the change.
His truck was pretty bad when he first started working there!

That is my only testimonial.