Has anyone tried the alternative fuel E85 for there flexible fuel vehicles. It seems that quite a few 3.0 liter engines are compatible with the E85. Check it out at www.e85fuel.com

 

I've been seeing more and more discussion the past several months about ethanol and other alternative fuels. No surprise that this heightened interest coincides with the skyrocketing price of oil. Contrast this to a few years ago when nobody wanted to talk much (if at all) about alternative sources of energy.

There was a good thread a little while back in the Ranger Forum about ethanol, and the 3.0L FFV engine in particular:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=361315

 

thats all i run, its like 4 cents cheaper than 87 here

<att

 

I also run E85. Right now it's about .35 cents than unleaded plus (89-90) and .37-.38 cents cheaper than regular unleaded (87).

 

About a year and a half ago it was only $.85 per gallon. But atleast it is still cheaper. I've heard that the only thing keeping you from putting it into any engine is a small filter. This filter is what makes a flexible fuel vehicle.

 

It's more than just a filter. E85 is corrosive and will eat all kinds of seals in a normal engine and FFV's also have larger injectors.

 

That's right. And there is also a flex fuel sensor built into the electronic engine control (EEC) system which senses the % of alcohol in the fuel and sends a corresponding frequency signal to the PCM which in turn modifies spark timing and fuel injector pulse times accordingly.

 

Just have to put in my $.02. I have been using the E-85 for about two and a half months, and have been very happy with it. I don't know if the engine miss I experienced had any thing to do with the moonshine or not. I think that I am going to get another injector from the salvage yard, just to keep on hand, and use the E-85 for a while longer and see if it happens again.

The fuel efficieny dropped by about 2 mpg when I started using it, plus, I have to drive a few miles out of my way to get it. So I figure the break even point to be around $.35 cents per gallon. I got to talking with the fuel jobber one day and he said that his ethanol suppliers keep the price just a little to the good of regular gas. I wish that they would keep it to where it was a better bargain, then maybe demand would go up. He also told me that several people were putting it in their cars that were not designed for it , and were shelling out injectors. That's why I wonder if it had any effect on my injector. So, anyway, I am going to try it for a while longer. I have always liked the idea of having an alky burner.

Ed