E85 on in a engine not compatible?

[dennit469]

i put some in last night just for the hell of it and it didnt run bad....put 5 gallons in mixed with probly a gallon of regular gas.. i looked at the list and my vin number doesnt match to the 4.0l fords of 98 that were on the compatible list but it didnt seem to hurt it, ran fine and water temp stayed the same....and ideas if i can do this all the time or should i do the conversition????

 

[KPT]

If I'm not mistaken it will run fine. Your seals will not last though and expect leaks in the fuel seals.

 

[techieman33]

If you want to run e85 you HAVE to make the conversion. Your current fuel system will get eaten alive by that stuff. Once in a blue moon and you'll probably be ok, the computer can correct for it. But there is no way I would run it on a regular basis, the few pennies you might save won't make a drop in the bucket when your replacing all of your fuel lines and seals.

 

[Cozmik]

What is involved in doing a conversion to a 'Flex Fuel' motor?

 

[dennit469]

so i should be alright just running like half a tank of it every now and then? i just wanted to know if it will do any harm to the engine itself??

 

[kert0307]

If you mix it half and half it will be fine. If you go too much over that, you engine will throw a CEL for a lean mixture, but it will still run ok.

As for seals going bad, I have heard that rumor as well, but I've also seen people do experiments with it and show no effects.

 

[zoso1030]

What is involved in doing a conversion to a 'Flex Fuel' motor?

I dont remember it but there was an article on how to do it in a mustang magazine i have, from what i remember they changed the fuel lines, injectors, and alot of other stuff that I can't remember right now

 

[mikeh44]

no

 

[dennit469]

If you mix it half and half it will be fine. If you go too much over that, you engine will throw a CEL for a lean mixture, but it will still run ok.

As for seals going bad, I have heard that rumor as well, but I've also seen people do experiments with it and show no effects.

seals on engine or just fuel lines?

 

[kert0307]

fuel lines

 

[Glen4X4]

I've heard rumors both ways that its fine and not fine, I ran it in my 95 explorer a couple times but not a complete full tank. I seen some for video on the internet that supposedly the vehicle had 170k or something like that and all its life was ran on E85 and they tore the motor down and seen that the E85 had no effect on the engine but who's to say any of that is true. I think its a more of a run it at your own risk if your motor isn't built to be run by it.

 

[kert0307]

I've heard rumors both ways that its fine and not fine, I ran it in my 95 explorer a couple times but not a complete full tank. I seen some for video on the internet that supposedly the vehicle had 170k or something like that and all its life was ran on E85 and they tore the motor down and seen that the E85 had no effect on the engine but who's to say any of that is true. I think its a more of a run it at your own risk if your motor isn't built to be run by it.

Ya, I saw that too. I'm not sure how much I trust it though because it was donated by a company that builds a lot of ethanol plants around here.

 

[dennit469]

Ya, I saw that too. I'm not sure how much I trust it though because it was donated by a company that builds a lot of ethanol plants around here.

So it shouldn't harm the engine and does it improve performance any?

 

[BrettS]

So it shouldn't harm the engine and does it improve performance any?

Actually it decreases performance and MPG... there is less energy in E85. It is cheaper, but you'll typically get about 20% lower MPG while you're using it, so that offsets the lower cost.

Really there's no reason to run E85 in an engine that's not designed for it. You may damage the vehicle and you won't get any benefit.