2001 ford explorer XLT. Over the last 8 months the vehicle has been acting like it’s not getting enough fuel. It pings and lunges under acceleration. I have had the fuel filter, plugs and wires replaced and had the computer checked for error codes but nothing was found. The vehicle idles fine and only seems to have the problems under moderate and heavy acceleration. No check engine lights are coming on. Any ideas

 

Detonation. When you have excessive carbon build-up in the compression chamber it can cause a ping or knock or lack of power. Whats happening is the carbon is not cooling off enough since the last cycle and it's igniting the fuel early in the compression stroke. A few tanks of any fuel system cleaner will help clean it out. Some service shops offer a de-carbonizing service that will probably fix it faster. You can also move up to higher octane fuel and I'd also suggest changing your brand of fuel. Use one that advertises "carbon cleaning" "fuel system cleaning", etc..