I was talking to a buddy earlier today, who does odd and end repair work for guys in the church...the discussion came up about the issue with my truck fuel issues...he threw the thought out that he has been doing a LOT of repairs for guys on their mowers carbs. The carbs are getting a good bit of "gunk" as he described it "Thick Corn Starch" like materials...from HIS research the Ethanol they are putting in the gas, is "gumming" up the carbs...He seemed to think that this could be the issue with my Fuel Delivery Issues...possible needle cloggage? Or Heavy Build-up in the Float Department of the Carb?

Any thoughts on this as a possibility? Any one heard anything in relation to the Ethanol they are putting in the fuel these days? And would the Ethanol affect modern day Carbs such as my Edelbrock 1405?

 

Modern day carbs, no. They are made with ethanol resistant materials. That said, if you have ANY old rubber fuel line in your system, you should probably think about replacing it. The problem is that the ethanol eats the rubber parts in a fuel system. New fuel hose is ethanol resistant, and if you were to have a factory carb, the rebuild kits will replace all soft parts with ethanol resistant ones.

It's a big issue around here for people with older outboards on their boats. Carbs get gummed up by the "dissolved" rubber fuel system parts. It's so bad here that we actually have a number of stations that sell ethanol free gas.

 

ethinol is bad for any carb of any age. ethinol can seve as a vehicle for water and if you let new gas "sit" for a while in a carb bowl it will corode. i use the sta-bil thats specificly meant to help with ethinol in anything that sits more than a week includeing my gas cans

 

I am thinking this may be somewhat of the issue...I have a newer carb (just over a year old)...however the rubber hoses that have been on the truck (new now, within the last month) were old, the truck has ran fine for over a year now, and about a month ago, BAM...fuel no longer wants to be delivered to the carb...here is the link to the WHOLE story...https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...e.html...still trying to figure it out...

 

It's definately a problem. Maybe not so much the ethanol, because here in Colorado we have had ethanol "flavored" gasoline for while. Before that we had MTBE since the mid-90s.

But something is different. I have had issues with not only small engines like mowers, trimmers and generators. But my motorcycle (Kawasaki ZX7R with 4 carbs) has acted up and so has my own 4 barrel carbs.

I had a set of Holley 450s on my 428 that needed rebuilt TWICE because the gaskets deteriorated rapidly. I now have an Edelbrock 600 cfm carb on my 390 that has gone downhill recently. Without a doubt I know the gas has "eaten" or "shrunk" the gaskets to the point the boosters aren't sealing.

Like I said, we have had both 5 and 10% ethanol (E5-E10) for over a 12-15 years, but these last couple years something changed.

And before when a carb would gum up it would look like yellow or brown snot, now it looks like white powder in the carb bowls and the crap is stubborn to remove.

Josh

 

Might be a good thing I'm running Ethanol then if gas is really screwing things up.

 

You still have E85? They pretty much gave up on that here. I can only think of 2 stations that have it, and they are seperated by at least 30 miles. What really killed it was having gas (alright E10) priced at $2.50 and E85 at $2.25 when it meant you were getting 30% less mileage and yet paying more.

Current gas prices are about $3.69 for regular unleaded, E85 at the Co-Op is $3.09. So not much has changed... Diesel is about $4.09 pathetic.

Better to run straight E100 with a small tank of straight gas to start the engine in cold weather.

I can't prove it and too lazy to Google it, but I don't believe the current issues with gas have as much to with the Ethanol as it does something else they have added or deleted from gasoline. I see the problems posted with carbs and fuel systems on numerous boards.

Josh

 

Agreed. Definitely a problem. Not sure if this is a Colorado only problem but when I moved here and bought a new mower the thing ran like crap the next year. My dirtbike carb got clogged up after sitting awhile when I had no problems before I moved here. A couple weeks ago my truck failed the emissions inspection for hydrocarbons, all I did was replace the cap and rotor (didn't have time do any other tune up stuff and still make it to the free re-inspection) and put new gas in it (old gas was in there for probably a month), and HC dropped 60%. Not sure how much had to do with cap and rotor or how much had to do with the gas, that's just my story. Another thing to note about CO gas is that regular is only 85 octane which has to do with the altitude but I doubt if this has any effect on the gas turning to goo.

 

Its gas all over. I havent had the chance to drive my truck enough in my home state (TX), but my dad hasnt complained of any issues relating to his fuel system in his bumpside. But up here in OK, the gas in the town I am in is horrible. I can basically only use 1 gas station because everything else ive put in my truck, it wont run on. Before i figured out it was all over town, there was a stretch over a month where I was cursin', adjusting idle speed, air/fuel mixtures, and everything i could think of because my truck wouldnt even idle. AND THATS IN A STOCK 360 and all of its low compression "run on any gas" (saw that in an old ad for highboys) GLORY. Ive been running Lucas' Fuel System Cleaner and Upper Cylinder Lubricant once or twice a month because it claims to lubricate and protect the fuel system (in both my truck and car). Im guessing its helping, because those tanks of gas run a lot better...or at least i think they do. I keep a bottle or two of fuel stabilizer (one regular and one for ethanol) also in my truck's tool box (last time i got bad gas it helped).

I also am too lazy to google it, but have plenty of energy to bi***.

 

Ya, we have it up here at a few stations. I have to drive 4 miles to fill up. I think right now E85 is 60 or 80 cents cheaper.

 

With the cost of fuel going up -- both gas and E85 -- has made me strongly consider the option of getting a license to produce my own ethanol. I figure the start up cost is going to be around $200, which it will only cost me about $1.20 per gallon to produce. Even with a small still, I can made 20-30 gallons a day, which is far more than I could use.

I drive an '84 F150, with a 300 I6. So far, it has the EFI exhaust manifolds, the old style Carter YF carb, and I made my own brain box using a GM HEI module (good riddance to the junk TFI): The module is enclosed in an old Dell power supply box, which I added a heat-sink and it has a (pressurized) fan that is wired to come on with the key. Now, I plan to use a really low duration cam (Comp cams 252) and put a 4bbl alcohol carb on it. I am also going to add a second fuel tank to start up on gas.

I am located at 7100' above sea level in east central Nevada, which we can experience air temps of -40 degrees in the winter and morning temps are barely above freezing in July! I just hope a carb jetted for alcohol will start on gas at those extreme temps. I had problems this winter getting the darn thing to start at all when the temp was down around -30; I had carb icing! I am also thinking about piping hot air into the carb with a small electric heater and also heating the fuel lines, for those nice cold mornings.

I just hope I don't have all of the carb gunk that you guys are talking about. So far, I have not had any problems with Nevada's standard 10% winter-blend. With the fuel cost going up, and my remoteness, I thought that it was time to do something. Like I said, I can produce my own E85 for less than $1.50 a gallon, which will save me a lot of money; once it pays for the cost of the still, that is. It was nice being raised by a family of moonshiners. I just never thought about putting a still to use in this manner.

--John, east central Nevada (in the most remote village in the lower 48)

 

If you get permission to do that, let me know...I wouldn't mind doing that as well......but I have a feeling, you will run into some MAJOR brick walls with the government, I don't see them allowing private citizens to right to better themselves and save money....but IF you get it approved, let me know, I have family in the hollars of West Virginia and Kentucky...so a still isn't to far removed from my grasp either...just watch for Revenuers!!!!

 

You would be surprised how easy it is to get the permit. If you have everything in a building away from your house and the still is built well, then the permit is given to you; and it is free! There were changes in the law back in the 1990s to allow people to produce their own ethanol.

 

Sweet! And here are a few more words to make the post ling enough

 

The most major concern is that ethanol breaks up deposits in the fuel system. After 30 years of buildup from regular gasoline, then for the ethanol to break it loose, and clogs the fuel system.

Vehicles in the late 70's early 80's, due to the oil embargo of 1973 and energy crisis of 1979, were designed to run off of E10. Known as gasohol at the time. Check the owners manual to determine. If you were always running E-10 from new, you shouldn't have a problem with sludge breaking loose in the fuel system.

Another hurtle is they are using 15% ethanol now, and our trucks were never designed for that. It burns faster so it can create pre-detonation. A lot of complaints of our engines pinging themselves to death. etc... So recalibrating the engine to run the ethanol would help in that situation.

Then the fuel doesn't have the carburetor antifreeze like it did in the past etc since things switched to EFI...

My truck will not run properly on the fuel we get in California right now. I have to use stabul. With that additive it runs pretty good and fuel mileage increased.