I have a 2000 1500 and the ECM says right on it "authorized software upgrade". So of course I think I have deathflash. However, The truck has plenty of power and it still spark knocks under light acceleration. Around 1500-2000 is where I would say you hear it the most. On 87 octane its bad, and I mean bad. It gets much better on 89 but you can still hear it, I have not tried premium and don't wanna pay for it either. It is very sensitive to gas quality too. Is this right for deathflash vehicles? I thought it took care of the spark knock but slowed it WAY down in power. Could someone have tuned it already? How would I know? I mean it could do a burn out, and tows damn good, no complaints in the power dept.

 

you prob need to change your plenum if its doing it on deathflash still, it must be pretty bad.

also changing your plugs to autolights 3923 and putting in a 180 t-stat will help too

 

You won't notice the power loss as bad, because you have a 5 speed.

 

the pinging is caused by either a vac leak, plenum leak, and/or carbon buildup.
pinging is not good for the motor, nor you feeling of power, so if you can't fix the problem, you should put in a high enough octane gas to cover it up.

other things you can do to slightly lower cylinder temps are a 180 thermostat and on notch cooler plugs (3923). these didn't help me so it may be a waste of time and money (which you need for higher octane gas). you might also try a seafoam or mopar combustion cleaner to remove carbon, which holds heat.

 

I checked the plenum when I bought the truck and it barely had a tinge of yellow coloring on the plate. I went out last night and the plate wont hold a magnet, so I'm assuming its an after market aluminum already. It has the champion plugs that are listed on the sticker beneath the hood in it. I'm not sure on the T-stat. it runs consistently about a 1/4" below the 210 mark. I'm gonna try the plug idea. If it keeps up, then I'm going to assume the plenum isn't sealed completely, maybe? It doesn't use any oil between changes or smoke out the pipe. Any thoughts? Its got about 125,000 mi. Also true that the 5-speed would probably make it less noticeable if a power loss was present. The spark knock is just audible with the windows up and no radio. When the engine isn't up to temp. it doesn't do it at all. Thanks for the replies!

 

ya your prob due for a tune up

 

How did you check the plenum? Just looking through the TB is not a good indicator.

 

When I removed the throttle body to clean it I took a look. I guess
I figure the vacuum test is a waste of time if the visual inspection looked good. Am I wrong? I have been before...haha

 

Your not wrong, the TSB suck's IMHO, no pun intended You should have a small mirror and flashlight so you can look all around inside it though.