Taken the forbidden drink...

[joshuaT]

Pulled up to the gas station and I put in 5 gallons of E85. All the warnings aside in my mind too. I called white lightning, a place in cali that makes kits to convert cars, and they don't have a kit for the 97 4.3 vortec because they couldn't get it to work right. So he suggest to fill up 5 gallons and see what it does. I drove it 7 miles home, I was in the red on my fuel gauge, and it seemed to be fine. The only problem so far was the engine getting hotter because I was pushing another blazer who died lol.

Anyone else tried it?

[NotaDime]

i havent tried that, but ive used this fuel before......



www.s10forum.com

[joshuaT]

I have no complaints so far. Went to my truck after it sat for a few hours and it started right back up. The wait4me guys said they can't do my pcm if I use E85.

[1fast4by]

Well... its less efficent that regular gas, gets less power (on any sort of stock tune) Gets far worse fuel milage...So why the hell would I try it?

Our 03 Tahoe gets 7mpg Average less on E85, and falls on its face when you want it to GO!... F*ck that

[mrbigshot]

dependss on the engine, on a stock one its not worth it. on a high compression built engine its worth it. 105 octane and the engine runs about 30 degrees cooler. you use 20% more as you would any alchohol based fuel.

i run it in the van when gas gets expensive. i get 21mpg on 87 and 19mpg on e85, not much difference imho

[Calvin51]

I see the biggest problem being with fuel components, but since you are not running 1005 E85 you should be fine

Quote:

What happens if I accidentally fuel my gasoline-only powered vehicle with E85? (taken from the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition FAQ page.)

Although your vehicle was not manufactured to run on E85, no problems should occur if you mistakenly fuel once with the alternative fuel. The largest difference between an E85 powered vehicle and a gasoline powered vehicle is that their computer modules are meant to read different amounts of oxygen within the fuel. E85 contains a higher amount of oxygen than gasoline and E85 compatible vehicles are made to read that higher amount. When a higher amount of oxygen is read by a gasoline powered vehicle, your "check engine light" may appear. A number of other parts on the FFV's fuel delivery system are modified to be ethanol-compatible. The fuel tank, fuel lines, fuel injectors, computer system and anti-siphon device have been modified slightly. Alcohol fuels can be more corrosive than gasoline. Therefore; fuel system parts have been upgraded to be ethanol-compatible. Ultimately it is a drivers choice, but we do need to be firm in recommending that only FFVs use E85 and to state that we are not responsible for damages.

[Dr. Steve]

f-that shit

[joshuaT]

Gone 50 miles and no problems so far.

[CommanderKidUT]

long term damage i guess is the issue

[joshuaT]

Gonna run it for a little bit before I buy the kit.

[S15vortecpwr]

i have run it several time in 01 flex fuel s10. It had better get up and go, but did loose about 100 miles per tank. went from 400 to 300. As far as power I loved the E85, even tried mixing it 50/50, 70/30 and so on trying to find a happy medium, and found only running 10% which is standard in gas nowadays proved the best gas mileage.

I know a few people that use it in their drag cars.

aslso if you are not tuned to run it you ar erunning lean and can damage your eng. E85 takes more to burn than reg gas. that is why you are runnign hotter, my 01 actuatly run cooler when I ran it. According to my diablo programmer

[joshuaT]

Well on the way to work my fuel pump died. Could it have something to do with the fuel? I'm not sure but the mechanic that looked at the truck said nope. The check engine light came on Friday but went off. Wonder if the fuel could have loosened up crap in the system and blocked it. Gonna cost almost $800 to fix, good thing my tank was less than half full.

Not too shabby with 161,000 miles on the stock fuel pump and filter.

[jtcfanof3]

Not to mention all the seals in your engine now being eaten away by that E85. Flex fuel is not just some quick kit,you need to convert almost all your seals among other various parts. Just like the stated claims of "THE TORNADO" and that POS magnet you instal on your fuel lines,these are just snake oil salesmen trying to make a quick buck on your fearfulness of the oil problems. These problems need solved,dont get me wrong,but E85 is not the answer.
Take into consideration,20% less MPG! And now all your corn based products cost 10X as much because of the cost of corn because of the supply/demand. IMO other meens of better fuel economy is the answer,GM has the engines that cut out half the cylinders at highway speeds,other auto makers have engines that shut off at redlights etc. Technology is the answer,not a throwback to the 80's with Gasohol!!!
Granted,running E85 in drag cars does have its huge up side,thats because you can run higher compressions and they run cooler.

[t01blaze]

ethanol is corrosive, and your fuel system is not stainless steel. keep the word "corrosive" in mind.

thats good mileage for a stock fuel pump.

[joshuaT]

E85 won’t destroy your fuel pump. If you convert a high mileage vehicle to Flex Fuel, the E85 will cause the sediment in the gas tank to dissolve and then get sucked up by the fuel pump. It is believed that this sediment may shorten the life of the pump of your higher mileage vehicle (100,000+). We have had no reports from customers with damaged fuel pumps.

5. Ethanol will ruin gaskets, seals, rings and more.
Running 100% ethanol or alcohol in an engine can cause damage to cork products.
The rubber neoprene used in the last 20 + years is resistant to the drying effect that ethanol may have.
Today's vehicles are built to withstand the corrosive effects of water in ethanol and gasoline. Any vehicle built since 1985 will have no ethanol related issues. Older vehicles that used more steel in the fuel systems or cork gaskets may have issues from long term exposure to water.
Vehicles in Brazil have been using ethanol for 30 years and they are completely free from using any foreign oil.
6. E85 will eat my rubber fuel lines.
This is another myth from the old days. Rubber technology has significantly advanced so the concerns of a 20 year old car or newer having issues like this are extremely rare. Plus the 15% gas will help keep lines lubricated.


Found this on the website so I think I'll buy the kit within a year.

[jtcfanof3]

Ya,you got that from a site selling a kit:
http://www.change2e85.com/servlet/Page?template=Myths
OK,listen up,E85 is NOT the answer,E85 can not be stored for long periods of times,it can not be moved around like gasoline through pipelines,it has to be trucked everywhere. So that little extra foreign oil you saved just got eaten up by the process of dispursing the E85 via less fuel effecient meens.
I dont care,waste your money,feel better about yourself,do what ever just dont come whining to us about your burnt up engine or bad fuel pump etc...
Here ya go,spend some of your hard earned cash on this as well:
http://www.tornadofuel-saver.com/?gc...FRIeDQodABUoBw
Answer me this one question,what happens if we rely on E85 now as the only meens of fuel IE Brazil,they make gasoline all but nonexsistent and we have another dust bowl? Then what,no food,and now no fuel.......

The snake oil peddler became a stock character in Western movies: a travelling "doctor" with dubious credentials, selling some medicine (such as snake oil) with boisterous marketing hype, often supported by pseudo-scientific evidence, typically bogus. To enhance sales, an accomplice in the crowd (a "shill") would often "attest" the value of the product in an effort to provoke buying enthusiasm. The "doctor" would prudently leave town before his customers realized that they had been cheated.

[joshuaT]

What crawled up your butt and died? I'm not saying stop using normal fuel and to switch over, I am just testing out what happens to a stock engine and I see what happened. Yes I got that info from that site but show me a site that says fuel is better than a steam engine? Back when steam driven engines were popluar and fuel was just starting up, they did the same arguments that fuel is dangerous and not as good as the steam driven engine cars. I don't see you spending your money on my blazer so shut your mouth about what I do. It is your opinion against mine so it's a draw unless you've tried the switch and have come up with the same answer to my problem. Next you'll say I shouldn't use synthetic oil and to use conventional oil only.
The fact is that I'm trying something out to see the effects of the fuel. Where did you get your facts about the storing the fuel or trucking it only? Must have been a website saying so. I'm not just sitting back complaining about the price of fuel. Thanks for you input though, it does help everyone out when they read this.

[jtcfanof3]

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...anol_ov1_1.htm
E85 can not be pipelined because of its corrosive properties on the pipelines,and when moved via truck,it has to be moved in stainless steel trucks which are heavier and use more fuel to move 1 gallon of E85 over the lighter aluminum fuel trucks moving that same gallon of gasoline.

[orangesonoma]

**** e85...just because of this thread im gonna go fill up my honda crv with 95 and just sit in my driveway and floor it till it runs out..

[t01blaze]

Quote: Originally Posted by orangesonoma

**** e85...

theres too many things that have to be done to a vehicle to "properly" run e85, so unless your vehicle is designed for it you might as well forget it because its gonna cost too much to do it right and will not be worth any possible gains.

[jtcfanof3]

Ya,there is no overall gain,it cost more in greenhouse gases to make that 1 gallon of E85 Vs the standard 87. Overall its a net loss when it comes to E85.
I guess I seemed a bit ike an ass earlier,sorry about that,its just these BS feeling better about yourself helping the world quick fixes are beeing used to play on your feelings,not actual facts.

[joshuaT]

Wasn't trying to feel good, just save money and it failed lol. Towing home the truck today to see if it's just the fuel filter. Screw paying the mechanic $800, could just be the $12 filter. Wish me luck. Don't worry about it jtc, just learing stuff the hard way.

[jtcfanof3]

I don't meen you felling good,its all these dumb ass hippies buying hybrids so they can "feel good" about saving the environment!
Really truly the future is in electric cars and if you want to save $$ and do something different,something that really actually works,get ya an HHO setup.Theres a guy on this forum who has gotten 36mpg outta 2.2 with an HHO conversion. Thats not snake oil,that my friend is fact!
E85 is a government joke,its only cheaper because of all the subsidies,if it wasn't for that it would cost alot more then 87.
Nah guy,sometimes I come off a little harsh,I'm just passionate about things. Good luck on the filter change,its easy on your model of truck.

[JChapoton]

I would say it's just the fuel filter that is plugged. Put a half of tank in the 84 with a fill up on regular unleaded 87 oct so it was 50/50. Less than a month later the fuel filter went bad. The filter was new. Took it out and replaced it and the truck ran fine. If you use e85 make sure you get one of those clear high performance fuel filters from auto zone. Most cars that have e85 don't have fuel filters cause they clog up with that fuel.

[joshuaT]

Hmm do they have clear ones that fit in the stock fuel filter spot or do I have to cut into the fuel like at the top of the engine?

[joshuaT]

Filter changed but still not running. Crap!!

[jtcfanof3]

I have a pump sitting in my shed from an 01 Jimmy,pay for shipping and give it a try.........its from a 4 door as well.

[wolfman01]

jtcfanof3, I have been using E85 in my Impala pretty much from the get go. My real world drop in mileage is only 15%. As for the use of corn, nobody who is a proponent of E85 is touting that corn is going to be our final answer. They are very well aware of the fact that it is not viable. As for energy out vs. energy in. Corn ethanol IS slightly energy positive, just not enough so to be a long term viable solution. As such, there are other technologies in the pilot stage that use the cellulose contained in organic waste products, switchgrass, and algae that is slated to bring the cost of production down to around a dollar per gallon. Pay particular attention to algae. That gunk has the capacity to yield extremely high volumes of fuel per "crop", and has a rotation in the manner of weeks. Algae is also viable as an oil crop for the manufacture of biodiesel.

Consumer retorts wouldn't know how to present a factual article if it bit them in the ass. Ethanol HAS been successfully test run through existing gasoline/diesel pipelines. The lines were fine. However, as ethanol is a solvent that has very good cleaning properties, it came out the other side black from all of the crud left behind from the gasoline and diesel. There is a dedicated ethanol pipeline being installed between Indiana and somehwere in the New England area.

As infrastructure gets put into place, and technology brings us higher yields of fuel from garbage, E85 will stand on it's own as a fuel. Like any other "new" technology, up front costs drive the price for fuel up. That is simple reality. If everyone took the "nope can't do it, too expensive" attitude displayed in this thread on every technological advance, we would still be clubbing our dinners and living in caves.

Personally, I don't care about the environazi crowd. I'm personally in this for the energy independence.

Finally, as for the subsidies, if you want to bring that up as an issue, you also must admit the back door subsidy that oil enjoys, and that is in the form of money spent in millitary conflicts to ensure the continued availability of "cheap" oil. If war funding were to be added to the price of fuel in the form of fuel taxes, you would be furious as to what gas would cost.

As for those who use E85 in vehicles not designed for it, you use it at your own risk. As Joshua T found out, things that aren't meant to be ethanol tolerant do not live long.

[joshuaT]

Found this though
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-F...Q5fAccessories


But as for turning my truck into an E85 machine, do you think the $200 kit will allow the beast to continue to drive or will it only last a few years? I have my thoughts about that.

[wolfman01]

Quote: Originally Posted by joshuaT

Found this though
http://rover.ebay.com/ar/1/711-53200...4&toolid=10001 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-FUEL-PUMP-1997-1998-CHEVROLET-BLAZER-MU112-E3953M_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ65Q3a12Q7c66Q3a 2Q7c39Q3a1Q7c72Q3a1171Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a0Q7c29 3Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZi tem27a7f7347cQQitemZ170321720444QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ 5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories


But as for turning my truck into an E85 machine, do you think the $200 kit will allow the beast to continue to drive or will it only last a few years? I have my thoughts about that.

I cannot say what the pump will do. I must assume that you haven't dropped the tank and pulled the pump. Most in tank fuel pumps have a sock filter on the intake. If that clogged and burned up your pump, then you would need to thoroughly clean the tank before trying this again. You will most likely find yourself chasing down all of the old seals in the fuel system as they give in to the combination of age, and then a highly corrosive fuel.

If I were you, I would snag a 2.2L S-10 that is already flex fuel capable. Since these had to be ordered, you would need to make sure that the one you are looking at is a FFV.

I briefly considered converting mine, as it already has the proper fuel injectors, fuel pump, and filter. It would still be a process for the conversion.

[joshuaT]

Hmm might have to do a lot more research now. I guess I did a great job of cleaning out my fuel tank hehe. I wonder how much crap I had built up just sitting in the tank waiting for a moment like this.

[wolfman01]

With 161k on your truck, you probably had plenty, and more still waiting for you, when you drop a new pump in.

[jtcfanof3]

Wolfman,Ive made my points above,so I'm not going to go number by number on your points. Energy independence is not a viable option if we don't start doing things in other areas as well,IE energy and other things we count on from other countries. You do make valid points about switch grass and etc,but sadly corn is what has been the main driving force behind E85 because of the government subsidies too the farmers.
IMO other meens of future energy need to be pursued like electric technology and solar,not still relying on the internal combustion engine to get us around,but I don't want to be forced into giving up my "clunker" if I don't want to. Again,check into the HHO equipped vehicles,I think hydrogen may be the next way the car goes.
My main point was not to fall pry to these quick sales on a quick fix to make your car E85,its more then that. I just dont want points given to me for this via a website that sells that crap!

[joshuaT]

I'm going to remove my tank and clean it out the best I can. Going to do it right. A mechanic told me if I turn on my truck and you hear the pump start up then it is good and justs needs a rebuild kit, cross your fingers!!!

[joshuaT]

Anyone try the rebuild kits from ebay? I can hear my pump.

[jtcfanof3]

Maybe i could send ya the actual pump from the one we talked about,instead of the whole assembly?
Find out the part #s,the one I have is from an 01 Jimmy.