yes i hear a pinging noise whenever i throttle it a little harder than normal.

WHat i have done so far:
I have tried 89 gas in it did a little difference not much

Checked my timing today if i turned it forward half way it would ping like crazy and it would even ping when i revved it up. also if i keep on turning it back it would get better and now i have it all the way back to where it was before and it is still in there but not as bad does it alot worse when i get to higher rpms. its either like a spark knock or pinging
My dodge dakota did the same thing which i am not too worried but just seeing what you guys think on here what i should try next

 

the knock sensor might have gone bad. did you check the timing w/ a timing light? how long has it been pinging? multiple tanks of gas? If its only from one tank, it could have been terrible gasoline, but its unlikely.
I've never actually heard of a knock sensor failing on a civic, but it is an electrical component, so it wouldn't shock me much at all.
Try to get this done sooner than later in that pinging can destroy a healthy engine pretty quick. (sorry to be an alarmist on that...)

 

its been pinging ever since i got the civic about a year ago, my cap is all the way back right now and no i did not check it with a timing light
but where is the cap suppsoe to be at cause it was all the way back whenever i bought it too so i dunno what else to do i mean i get great gas mileage 41 on the city motor runs awesome no idling does not burn any oil or fluids always starts up so i just need to get this fixed what else should i do next and where about should the cap be at

 

maybe couple months after i got the car but i did have a head gasket probelm which had to replace the head gasket but it did it before that and had timing belt changed but it was doing that all before i had that done

 

You need to check the timing with a timing light to ensure that it is accurate. Doing it by ear is not going to work well. Once you properly check and adjust the timing, if the noise is still there you can assume it is something else. But for now that is what you need to do. The first assumed cause of pinging is maladjusted ignition timing. If it still pings after that I would check to make sure that your crank and cam gear are in sync and not off by a tooth.

 

well there's the problem, it shouldn't be all the way advanced.
no one can tell you where it should be, as it varies slightly from engine to engine, even among engines of the same engine code.
you NEED a timing light to do it.

 

yah its too much advanced so i need to back it off some but yah i talked to my uncle today with a timing light i am meeting him tomorrow and he is going to help me out so i will get it timed tomorrow and let you all know how it is ping should stop after that

 

Yeah, setting the ignition timing to spec should fix the problem. Do this ASAP as severe pinging will ruin an engine. To set the timing, a jumper wire must be inserted across the service connector and the engine must be warm and idling to spec. Using a timing gun, the pointer should align with the red mark (middle in group of three marks) on the crankshaft pulley.

 

yah well its been doing it for awhile and accutally i was busy all day today so now its going to be tuesday whenever i get off of work i am going to do it and get it timed right i know how to hook it up just dunno how to point it on there or i mean to tell how its in time so yah but i will figure it out but na i dont think there is any motor damage car runs too good and gets about 42 mpg on highway so yah it runs wayy too good but its not hurt yet but maybe later in its life it might if i kept it this way but i will get it fixed tuesday

 

Like everyone else said, the only way to know is to set it with a timing light. If you have to turn the distributor all the way to one end to get proper spark timing, chances are good that the cam timing is off. This is fairly easy to check as you just need to take off the upper timing belt cover to see the marks on the cam sprocket.

If you have a knock sensor, test it. Keep the timing light hooked up but undo the test wire so the car is in normal operation mode. Rev the engine to about 2000 rpm while watching the timing. Hit the knock sensor with a wrench or something to simulate knocking. Timing should change.

Once you're sure the timing is OK, the next thing to consider is there could be a lot of carbon in the engine, a seafoam treatment might help. Carbon deposits in the cylinder will increase the compression ratio of the engine and cause pinging.