hi, i just purchased a used 96 e150 conversion van, it is immaculate! it has the 5.8 in it and pings under all conditions. the check engine light came on after i drove it about 30 miles. it seems to run fine, if you are just crusing along and maintaining speed, it pings like crazy, if you step on the gas to get it moving, it runs strong. What could it be? i cant afford any major repairs, and i can do alot of the work myself. also, the abs light comes on and off even if you are not using the brakes. I could really use the advice, i need this van to be safe and dependable as i have triplets and a 7 year old that i must get around.
thanks

 

my guess would be either the fuel filter or possibly wrong grade of fuel

 

Being a 1996, I would do the basics if they haven't been performed.

1. Change spark plugs (the standard Bosch-Platinum Plus plugor NGK Iridium IX plug will work great)
2. Change plug wires
3. Change Cap and rotor
4. Change fuel filter
5. Change air filter
6. Run a couple of tanks of fuel with a good fuel injector cleaner
7. Clean the MAF sensor (I use Valvoline's PYROIL brake parts cleaner as it leaves no residue)
8. Check for vacuum leaks (How does it idle)
9. Flush the cooling system and put in a new 50/50 mix
10. Pull CEL codes, clear codes and see if any new ones occur after preforing the above

 

thanks for the replies. this van is immaculate! it has all the routine maint records with it!! even all the registration and insurance cards in it for the last 11 years!!! I took it to autozone and they did the free code reader thing, and it showed 2 reasons for the MAF sensor.( po171, po175) he recommeded clearing the codes, and then clean the sensor to see it it helps and see if the codes return. ( the records show that all the tune up stuff was done recently) I poured Multi fuel/valve cleaner stuff in and filled the tank. within 10 minutes it started stalling and coughing, but if i pulled over for a minutethinking i would have to call AAA, but revved the motor, it ran like a beast after a few minutes, a short while down the road, it did that again, so i knew i did something that got some kind of result!! ifigured it was thecleaner doing its thing in the injectors.it also seems to shift too quickly. meaning, if your crusing along slowly, it seems to get to high gear at a low speed. the auto zone guy said that the sensor could be confusing the module into incorrect shifting patterns. he said that stranger things have been know to happen, but at this point, i am going to clean the MAF and from the research i did on the internet until well into the wee hours, all things pointed to that.
I will post the results soon.
thanks again for taking the time to reply!!!
tripletdad