Was talking to my mechanic the other day and he was telling me that NY is about to get a few ethanol plants, or w/e. My question is, dose anyone make a conversion kit for the 4.0 SOHC motor or is only the 3.0 that has the flex fuel capability? If there is a kit is it worth it for the truck, cuz last I heard ethanol is going for around $1 a gallon?

 

find an 04 explorer flex fuel 4.0 and take the fuel pump, fuel lines, injectors all that good stuff and have your pcm reflashed or take the one off the explorer, and i think that will get you what you want.

 

and some of the 2003-2005 Sport Trac's came with the 4.0 Flex Fuel engines...

 

How about the kit offered here: http://flextek.com/

 

well the only difference between the ethanol and gasoline is that the ethanol is not as dense as the gasline, and the atomic makeup is only slightly different. So all you really need is new injectors, a pump, and you'll have to play with your timing.

But, be warned, ethanol will be more expensive and won't produce as much power either.

 

Talk To D. In my Opinion it's not worth it unless you do it like D. does. Unless you like horrible Gas mileage (My mom Gets 11 on E85 and 30 on Gasoline in here taurus) Also be aware that Ehtanol hasn't recieved the UL stamp of approval as it being safe for an internal combustion engine.

~HJ

 

you will indeed need the ffv fuel lines and such as they are more durable to withstand the more corrosive nature of E85.

 

i believe there's more to it than that. I'm pretty sure the ECU would need to be changed as well. There used to be sensors that determined the ethanol %, and the ECU would make adjustments to timing and injector pulse width appropriately. I think it is done differently now in that the ECU looks for a 'refill event', then proceeds to monitor A/F ratios from the oxygen sensors to determine ethanol content and adjust accordingly.

Assuming you had a flex fuel vehicle, you WOULD actually gain a few hp because youre cramming more air and fuel into the engine (ethanol has a higher oxygen content than gasoline, so more of it is required to achieve a correct A/F balance. The side-effect of this is a *very small* gain in power, at the cost of poorer fuel economy.) If you were to take 1 ounce of gasoline and 1 ounce of ethanol, there is more energy in the gasoline.

 

you're correct on the sensor thing; I believe in 01+ it is entirely ECU controlled.. my 2000 has the "flex fuel sensor" which I had to have replaced at around 40k miles for $500 at the dealer- ethanol has never been in my truck, so I was kinda pissed off about that.

 

also the moutaineer has flex fuel...

 

my 04 trac has flexfuel


someday ill try it out

 

Well... nevermind then...lol. Unfortnuately I don't think we'll ever see Ethanol in FL because we don't even have inspections or smog laws here.

 

I wish my 4.0 was E-85 ready. The price differnce is big. Even if my MPG went down some, I would still be money ahead.

Now I will tell you whats going on here in good 'old Iowa. We are a corn producing state. Also, there are ethanol plants going up in almost every county. Right now most pump stations offer a 10% blend of ethanol along with regular petro. On the other hand, 100% of Minnesota fuel contains ethanol or boi-diesel.

Due to the high demand and high expected demand of corn due to increased ethanol use, corn is around $3.50-$4.00 per bushel. Most of the time it's around $2.00. We need X million bushels of corn for next year . Many of my customers are going 100% corn for 2007. Due to high prices, we are selling crap loads of new tractors and combines because many farmers are getting rich. Farmers hate paying taxes, so they buy new stuff whenever they can as a write off. Wish I could do that.

This ethanol boom is creating lots of new jobs and the farmers love it. As long as corn doesn't go too much higher say $5.00, it will keep growing.

E-85 is great, but there are too few pumps that sell it right now. I tip my hat to Chevy for going all-out on flex-fuel, the rest have and will follow.

Did you guys like paying $3.00+ for a gallon of gas? I didn't. As a country we drive way to much with gas-sucking SUV's and trucks. I just got back from Germany. They have no trucks. Everyone drives little cars. After the conversion, their gas costs about $5.00 per gallon.

Everyone has their own opinion on stuff like this and thats OK. But beings how the big oil companies control the price of oil which drives our economy, we might as well start making are own fuel.

 

Yep, I found the full fuel system at a local yard. I knew the guy so he told me to take what I needed and we can settle up later. But right now, E85 is about the same price as 87.

 

Not here in NY, E85 is almost a buck cheaper. Lousy liberal state with high tax and gas prices.

 

^^Amen :)

 

sucks for the marine industry
%15 ethanol in the gas here in New Jersey has given the death knell to my 1984 Bertram
the 23 year old motors will blow up soon enough and don't get me started on the 135 fiberglass fuel tank that is also doomed
my options are
1. use it till the engines blow or the fuel tank fails - free
2. install new gas engines and replace the fuel tank - $22K
3. install new diesel engines and leave the fuel tank alone (they say %15 ethanol in diesel within 2 years though....) - $52K
4. drive to Vermont or Maine where they sell good old fuel with no ethanol - time and money....

I wonder how much fuel I can carry in the back of the Ranger and what is the cheapest container I can safely transport it in back to New Jersey.......

 

Me and D. Will disagree on this but Oh well, Here it is. Ethanol is not the answer! Non of the benefits you are looking for as a consumer and as an amercian Exist. UL (Underwriters labs) will not certify it as safe for and internal conbustion engine, Pipe line, or even a Gas pump. It cost as much if not more in energy output than it creates. It actually will hurt farmers if the demand for Corn goes up to the point that Feed will be out of Reach. It costs more per gallon (Unsubsidized) than a gallon of gasoline and it does next to nothing to end the dependance on foreign oil. Right now in MN E85 is about 1.80 a Gallon with a Subsidized per gallon of 60Cents (Roughly) that puts it at 2.40 a gallon unsubsidized, now add the 39 cent Gas tax (one of the few taxes I support, it goes to roads, think user fee) and it is 2.79 a gallon when regular gas is 1.98 this morning. E85 is a myth, it is like car alarms, it just makes you feel good, it does nothing to solve the problem. If E85 is really the answer take away the subsidies and let it compete on the market and see how many plants open up.

http://www.alumni.umn.edu/Corn_Wont_...he_Planet.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...063001480.html

~HJ

 

John....I agree with some of the stuff you said, but not all. What should we do, just lie down and let BIG OIL continue to rule the world until we someday run out of oil and be $hit out of luck?

BTW....ethanol can and will be made out of other products besides corn. I have a few customers who grow switch grass and millet that work great for making ethanol.

I guess my point is why not support it? Do you have any better idea on making fuel that can grow it self back? It took millions of years to make the oil thats in the ground right now, and it will never come back once gone. Until someone makes an engine that runs on BULL $HIT, we better keep looking for an alternitive.

 

D. I think you miss the point, Their is absolutley no way that Ethanol can possibly take away from the oil industry without wrecking our way of life. If 100% of our farmable land was levelled and we grew cron we wouldn't make a dent in it. It pollutes more, It costs more to manufacture and it does nothing to stop you from supplying the terrorists. If we all switched to E85 tomorrow, ten years, or half a century, We would have gas lines and shortages. Farm prices would go through the roof, their woul dbe no habitiat for our animals, Farmers wouldn't be able to buy feed for their cattle. It is unsafe for an internal combustion engine according the the UL.and the economy will tank. For what? Nothing. You NEED to look elsewhere. This is a Big waste of time and resources that could be better spent elsewhere. Now D. I think you would know better, but the oil industry hasa enoough sources of oil off the gulf, ANWR and various other places to Give us fifty years of oil even adjusted for the growth of this country. You are blind on this subject D. You are loooking at this from the wrong light. We are trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Ehtanol Takes more energy to make it than it produces therefore while you are feeling alll happy about your "not taking a drop of foreign oil you are just plain wrong. You are using more oil than I am buy using E85 and contributing more to pollution terrorism and all the things you are pissing away your money on to prevent.

Also since the oil industy is something that no politician wants to be in bed on explain to me how they are getting price controlling subsidies? You know the kind that Ethanol gets to the tune of Billio5ns of dollars a year? Like I said you take away the subsidy in this state and E85 is a Ripp off, you add the highway taxes and No one will buy it as it will be approaching $3.00 a gallon at a time when Gas is hovering around $2.00. Your sugar cane theory doesn't hold water either, because our and every other country in the worlds Sugar cane output used solely for Ethanol will not support our needs.

I think Renewable energy is a great thing, When it makes sense, but here, it doesn't nort does it in wind power, or solar power. not sure you know how they make Biodiesel but you add that to the mix and ehtanol will be even more scrrewed than it is now.

~HJ