2022 E-350 Motorhome
I have found a bunch of conflicting information on whether the model year 2022 7.3L V-8 will run ethanol or not (mine is the 350hp tune). The owners manual says that flex fuel vehicles have yellow gas caps but when I brought my VIN to the local Ford dealer, they showed no part number for a fuel cap for my RV at all. They ran the "Oasis report" and it is not clear other than I had no options for flex fuel but if all 7.3L in 2022 are Flex Fuel, would it show it as an "option"?

I read a tech article somewhere that said the 7.3 flex fuel PCM uses fuel trim to determine if it is running on 87 octane or E85. Does that mean that the flex fuel capable rig's only difference is a PCM flash? Ford (dealer, techs, and FoMoCo tech line) have all basically said "usually if it was flex fuel it would have a badge and a yellow gas cap". But is the fuel pump the same? Are the injectors the same? Is there an octane detector?

Why would I want to run E85? You lose about 10% MPG you may think. True, but in CA right now 87 octane is $5.50+/gallon and E85 is about $3.29/gallon. By my math, if I lose 10% MPG, it is still significantly cheaper to drive on E85. E85 also burns much cleaner and smoother. My daily driver has about 3k miles on E85 and it has been great.

Anyone know the difference between a Flex Fuel equipped rig and a non-Flex Fuel rig? If it is just a flash, could a dealer do it or do I need to go to the aftermarket? Can I dump Ethanol in my tank and be good?

 

When I bought my 21 350, the literature at the time said the 22's would be flex fuel. My buddy at Ford said that was on hold due to the other global issues at hand.

 

The Flex Fuel option is only available on the 7.3L in the commercial E series and stripped chassis. It is a specific option and it seems that very few 7.3L's have it. If you want a Super Duty that can run on E85 that option is still available on the 6.2L. This may change for 2023 if the 6.2L is dropped.

It's a lot more than a re-flash, and using E85 in a non-Flex vehicle may cause significant fuel system damage.

 

Ah. That might be the nail in the coffin. Mine "was" a commercial E-Series RDW Cutaway that does not have the Flex Fuel option.

 

A flex fuel engine must have proper programing in the ECM/PCM and it must have components in the fuel system made of specific materials so that the ethanol doesn't damage them. A 7.3 will tolerate 15% ethanol, as stated on the gas pumps at most filling stations. More than that, you risk damaging a bunch of rubber bits in the fuel system.

Why the heck Ford didn't just make the 7.3 a flex fuel engine is beyond me, but I bet there's a government regulation tied up in there somewhere.

 

I have no idea either, but it's one of the things keeping me from ordering a new F-350 with the 7.3L. You can order a Silverado or Sierra HD 6.6L gas with a flex fuel option.

 

I have a 2021 6.7 but wanted a 7.3 gas, but I will wait until it’s flex-fuel. I don’t think ethanol is going anywhere and I don’t want to worry about if a station puts 20-30% ethanol in some fuel to save a few bucks. Happens more than people think.

 

Ill,Iowa and Nebraska seem to have HIGHER THEN NORMAL ethanol in their fuels. I noticed this last year when towing a trailer through those states. My mileage dropped 20%. Flat land, no wind and 60 mph should not have done that. I will be driving the same route here in a couple of weeks. I will let you know if its the same as last year. I still think the Feds should regulate Octane and ethanol better then letting the states do whatever they want. Ethanol does not clean the air or burn less carbon. It also does not help feed the world. I am all for 0% ethanol and 100% gas while we still have it left to burn. Corn goes to mammals........ Biomass goes to Diesel and electricity. When we switch over to electric in 20 years it will be mute anyways....

 

No wind in Nebraska
I've checked my fuel in Nebraska a few times with the Torque app and it's never been over 10%. If you were going east to west in Nebraska your mileage would be affected some by the elevation increase going that direction.

Denny

 

Yeah I drive a lot in Illinois but will be in Nebraska in August and I don’t trust ethanol levels in off the path stations, just like I only get diesel in truck stations. The feds regulate but they can’t go to every station.

Ethanol decreases dependency on foreign oil first and foremost. No matter how much oil we use, it’s 10% less than before.

We are the largest producer of corn in the world and the majority of corn is used to fatten livestock, not to feed the world. If we could run more ethanol we could be oil independent.

Before you say it, we were not oil independent in 2019. We were “energy independent” which means we were net independent. We still used more oil than we produced by over 20%. But I do believe we need to produce more until we aren’t relying on foreign powers.

 

47% of the land in the US goes to food production. 70% of that goes to feeding cattle.

 

It may make you feel good while making this statement but you neglected to take into account the oil it took to plant the corn, fertilize it, run an irrigation pump, harvest the corn and deliver the corn to the elevators, not to even mention the energy required to turn the corn into fuel.

Mandating and subsidizing ethanol is horrible government policy.

 

Yes I understand that people hate ethanol. Yes I understand the production of ethanol. Yes I understand that ethanol is not gasoline and that burning ethanol means burning less gasoline.

I understand that Ethanol is energy positive, not negative. It does take oil, currently, to make ethanol but you get 1/3 more energy from the ethanol than was used to make it. I also understand that corn ethanol has taught us a lot but it not efficient enough for the hassle and needs too many protections.

And again, #1, I understand that people hate ethanol. I understand the #1 haters of ethanol are oil companies. But we, the people, love oil companies. They make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

I also understand that we love Venezuela and Iran and that once the war in Ukraine is over, we will love Russian oil again if gas goes back to $2.50 a gallon. Oil is valuable commodity but it also gets us into business with some of the worlds worst people. Ban ethanol and that’s 10% more gasoline that we need to refine from oil we have to buy from dictators and murderers.

Hopefully this won’t shutdown the thread and I won’t comment more. I just wish some would see that ethanol is just one of many ideas that we need to use to stop buying oil from countries that want us dead. It won’t solve it on its own, but it’s better than the alternative.

 

There's one fact that the ethanol haters don't want to hear and that's all the corn used to make it is still used to feed livestock just in a liquid or dry state and it's easier for them to digest it and less is wasted going out the south end. It also allows the feeders to use lower grade feed that would normally go to waste as a filler because the byproduct of ethanol production is so high in protein. Also all ethanol plants are located next to rail lines to eliminate the need to truck haul it by truck after it's produced, same for the animal feed and all the other useful byproducts coming from it's production.
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Denny

 

Interesting information. Thank you.