Here is the scoop,

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060522/..._fuel_vehicles

 

Certain users around here have been advocating using E85 in most everything... They just may have an economic interest in ethanol production or maybe even vehicle repairs -hehe

 

The use of ethanol is OK if you engine was designed to run on it. Ford and GM offer bi-fuel engines in some of their vehicles.
You cant bet the oil companies paid a little money to have that article posted.

 

I'd guess, if the article is true, the car companies put it out on their own. I don't believe GM and Ford are worried about the oil companies going bankrupt right now, if they're really warning against using E85, it's for good reason.

 

That news article leaves more questions than answers. Definitely written to create fear amongst the fuel buyers. I have read about the corrosive properties of E-85 before, and as yet no one has come out and said how long will the fuel componets last before the corrosion makes them unusable. Is it 3000 mi, 30,000mi, or 300,000 mi. And if the part or parts rust out why can't they be replaced by new corrosion resistant parts? If it takes 60-80,000 miles or more to rust thru, then maybe replacment by identical parts wouldn't be so bad anyway.

I can tell you I have burned E-10 ethanol blend in everything from briggs& stratton lawn mowers and briggs flood pump, kohler air cooled welder, V-10 pickups ('99 and '05), '90 caddy deville, '02 Buick Le Sabre V-6, and 4.6L '05 crown vic, and my son's V-8 '85 Lincoln Signature series for the past 6 years. And ABSOLUTELY NO FUEL PROBLEMS! I am experimenting now with blending E-85 with E-10 in my V-10 powered pick-up just to save a little money and keep my money away from the arabs. So far it runs fine, mileage the same and blending it 50=50. NO RUST ANYWHERE. E-85 promotions around here are offering a gallon of E-85 for 85 cents till it runs out, and that doesn't take long, with no one lined up asking any questions about corrosion!

 

-Can we say warranty claims??? I can hear it now:

"I don't know why it quit working and there are holes in the pistons."

"Did you use regular unleaded?"

"Absolutely!" -with hand behind back and fingers crossed...

"Did you use E85?"

"Absolutely not!" -with hand behind back and fingers crossed...

"Why is it we find alcohol in the tank?"

"That must be from the bottle of Heet I used last winter or something you put in during service or something from the fuel system cleaner."
"This engine is just defective and you must replace it under warranty!"

For good information on E85, conversions, and use, see the following:
http://www.answers.com/topic/e85

 

Most cars can run E-85 if you don't mind the impact to performance and fuel economy. The bi-fuel ones typically have knock and fuel sensors to change the fuel and spark curves to better adapt to the fuel and change a few parts in the fuel system (injectors, o-rings, etc) to improve long term durability.

If you have an older vehicle with a real distributor tuning your car to run on E-85 is just as simple as advancing the timing a couple of degrees. While it isn't a perfect solution (E-85 requires a slightly richer mixture) you'll recoup some of the lost power by taking advantage of the higher octane of the fuel.

 

Sounds self-serving and deceptive to me. The auto companies, telling you not to use this cheaper new fuel in your car. But WAIT ! we, the auto companies just happen to have several new models available that it are ethanol ready right now. So won't you please buy a new one from us. Please please pretty please. If I had a newer car or truck that was under a warranty, I probably wouldn't do it. But on my 69-76 stuff, I am ready to expieriment. DF, @ work on lunch

 

I don't think it's rust that is the issue, it's the fact that Alcohol is verry corrosive to the "soft" parts in your fuel system.

 

Thanks 77250 for the rust vs corrosion issues, and Torq for the excellent link and the CE light indicating the fuel mixture is too lean and simply mix in a little more unleaded on the next fill up to correct the mixture.

Still, though, NO ONE CAN TELL ME HOW MANY MILES OR HOW MANY GALLONS OF E-85 ETHANOL WILL I RUN BEFORE NOTICING EQUIPMENT FAILURES.

i'VE HAD NOTHING FAIL OR CORRODE YET!

 

Nobody can tell you that you are going to blow a tire tomorrow either... You might run 50 gallons or you might run 5000 gallons, -no way to tell. I had a lawnmower fail with less than 5 gallons of gasohol. I had a carb gasket fail with ~500 gallons of E10! Again nobody can tell. Just run the fuel your vehicle is designed to run. If you want to run E85 buy a flex fuel vehicle.

UR welcome, -but I do wish it was that simple. The CEL is not a good lean condition indicator.

 

hmm and a quote from that article.
So I guess anyone that has ever modified a vehicle is totally doing it wrong because the automakers, made it that way for a reason. I mean doing things like putting in the early timing chain into later model 460s is bad because Ford put the retarded timing chain in for a reason and you shouldn't tamper with that reasone because they are much smarter than you are, and that loss of power because of it is just your imagination or should I say the gain you get from the change. There is no possiblility that you a dumb customer could ever improve apon thier infinite wisdom.

 

Well Torque, I think you are a very highly intelligent, well read fella with some great links to support your ideas, and you are quite knowlegable in matters concerning Ethanol, ethanol burning, E-10, E-85, etc, etc.--- I do know one thing, when one of these new E-85 pumps opens up around you, you'd better stand back while all these non fuel compliant autos line up for blocks to fuel up for the promotional .85/gal price. Even with the warnings, the promotional price of 85 cents is just too much. Just put in 1/2 of a tank of it. Still save $12 bucks, and the arabs won't get it.

I gotta start corroding stuff and ruining fuel componets before I am slowing down my usage, and NO, I am NOT buying that notion if you want to burn E-85, you need to buy a fuel compliant vehical. Maybe just blend it 50/50 like your excellent link said, or until the CE light comes on, then richen up the tank a bit, or on distributer ignitions just bump up the timing a degree or two. How did Henry Ford get those first old Model T's to run on it? they had the old one hole down draft carb. No fancy fuel injection or computer programmed ignition in those old girls.

Best of luck to you Torque! One thing, if you all keep burning the dinosar stuff there will be more of the cheap Ethanol avail for the rest of us to burn.

 

4wd- There is plenty of info in that link on how to convert to E85. No reason to bash on me or yell at the rest of us because we won't answer your question. Keep using all the E85 you want in your vehicles. Nobody here is stopping you so no reason to get upset. If you want to yell at someone try your Congressman, or the EPA, or Osama, etc.

As far as the old Model T, -all they had to do was change the mixture and spark but they did not run all that well. Modern vehicles are not quite that simple tho, -nor can users make simple adjustments.

Nobody around here is lining up for the E85. Nor are there any promotions going on. The nearest station is about 8 miles from me. When I go by it there does not seem to be any lines...

 

Sorry Torque, I didn't mean to bash you by disagreeing with you. Sorry you took it that way. I always try to be agreable when I disagree with something someone says. Also, my use of caps and underline was to empasize a point I was trying to make that no one ever has said "---"you know. I did not mean to ever yell in any of my posts, as that is childish, immature, and certainly not worthwhile to appear in this site; and in our discussion, unnecessary. You have put up an excellent link that I have bookmarked and have read several times and find something new everytime I read it.

happy motoring, and thanks!

PS. Maybe they weren't running that special 85 cent/gal promotion price for the E-85 at your local station. That would explain no lines.