Ethanol fuel may be harming your vehicle

Um... is 10% ethanol new to people in Houston?

I think this is blame-it-on-the-ethanol for things that happened that would have happened anyway.

Every vehicle sold in this country for the last 13 years at minimum should be able to deal with 10% ethanol.

Problem with ethanol is it makes gas a somewhat more polar solvent and can dissolve and push around gunk. That is why they cannot pipeline it and when a gas station firsts use it, their tanks must be cleaned beforehand.

It is not new at all in Houston...Been there for decades. I filled up the other day, however, and noticed that the pump stated "Contains No Ethanol". I think that was a Chevron station, but really dont remember for sure.

It's a convoluted mess. Original ethanol mandate was for use of oxygenates, e.g. ethanol, in gas for pollution control in high ozone areas. Oil companies largely satisfied with MTBE which fell into disfavor because of potential for water pollution. Ethanol mandate is now based on oil independence.

I believe ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline. However, there are some components in older cars- rubber seals and the like- that CAN be damaged by ethanol or especially methanol. But it does not damage the engine per se, only carburetor or fuel pump. Most fuel injection systems are new enough that it is not a problem.

Another valve problem with older cars is the lack of lead. However, this has LONG been a problem with these cars since we went to low-lead fuels. Again, any car made in the last 20 years or so has valves and seats made to use low lead fuels, including lead-free ethanol.

This is a GOOD thing. Change your fuel filter on the schedule required by the manufacturer.

--scott

Some alloys are directly attacked by methanol and, to a lesser degree, ethanol. I would think that these would have been phased out of modern engines if the use of alcohols as additives has been considered.

As you say, modern seal materials should be able to withstand alcohols.

I am not at all sure that I have much faith in the sources of this link...

Gomer and Goober may not be the ultimate authorities in this.

I was at an AC Delco seminar last night, the recommendations listed in the owners manual still apply and it probably says no more than 10% ethanol, 0% methanol unless specifically built as a flex fuel vehicle. The instructor touched on how they identify warranty fuel pumps that have been subjected to too much ethanol (the plastics change color) which is usually accompanied by excess armature wear and the fact that ethanol is electrically conductive and how they fuel injectors use different materials to deal with that...

Methanol is still sold, I guess, to "dry" moist fuel, but I wouldnt use it, nor is it very effective. There are better ways to do that job.

The action of the lower alcohols on plastics and metals is not simple. Some plastics and "rubber" (elastomers) tolerate these alcohols well. Others dont.

Either methanol or ethanol can react directly with some metals...Water does not have to be present if the metal is chemically "active". But add water, and you have a different situation again.

If you have a flex fuel vehicle, care has been taken to be sure the metals and elastomers are compatible with the fuels involved, but as has already been mentioned, if you own an older car, it may have very susceptible parts.

The alcohols are not bad fuels, if the engine is designed to use them. Alcohol, from corn, is a con job.

There

"HLS" wrote in news:wMS%j.1894$ snipped-for-privacy@nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com:

It may not be the most efficient way to make it but your the only dupe if you think it is a con job. only people with a adjenda still think it is a energy loss. KB

Adjenda??

I am hardly a dupe.

Corn is a pissy way to make ethanol, except for Jack Daniels.. It requires a lot of ammonia based fertilizer which comes from petroleum. Each stalk of corn produces no more than a couple of ears of grain- a handful of kernels.

There are better ways, using crops which yield more fermentable starch per acre and which do NOT require petroleum source fertilizers.

Ethanol itself can be a good fuel, but not produced from corn. That is foolishness.

I agree. Think of all the diesel fuel used for planting, harvesting and transporting the corn to the ethanol manufacturing facility.

My 64 T-bird seems to have no problem with it.