I've been running E85 regularly this past month on every fill up. I've noticed a few things and am wondering if others have encountered the same things.

1. In the morning my truck takes longer to start. It cranks, but takes maybe a 0.5-1 second longer to turn over and fire up. I notice this is correlated strongly with the temperature in the morning as well.

2. At the end of the day when I leave work, I drive through the parking lot in 1st gear. When I turn onto the street from the lot and hit the accelerator there is some hesitation. This happens when I shift into 2nd gear as well, but not as bad as in 1st. There is an even smaller hesitation in 3rd. After that first climb through the gears, it is fine.

I've also been told (by a non-Ranger owner and a non-E85 user) that after the first 3 tankfulls I'll have to replace my fuel filter because the alcohol content of the E85 will wear away the coating that the gasoline has left on the fuel lines. Is this an indication that my fuel filter is going?

Anyone else encounter the same problems?

Chris

[edited: Quote button abuse]

Alcohol doesn't vaporize well below 50~60F. That's one of the reasons why E85 is blended with 15% gasoline.

See if you can find E70 instead for winter use. It has a higher gasoline content (30%) so it vaporizes better in colder weather. This would probably help your cold cranking and hesitation problems.

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

Witout looking at your location it would be tough to diagnose your problem. It helps if you throw in temperatures and conditions when asking for help with issues. rwenzing hit the nail right on the head, good call.

If E70 isn't available, do some math on your next fill up and "blend your own" in the tank. E85 can be mixed with 87 octane to any level you like best. Your '99 reads the conductivity of the fuel to determine the percentage of Ethanol suspended in the fuel. It's worth a shot....

Your non-ranger owning, non-E85 using "friend" may be gargling with bong water. The only "coating" left by gas that I'm aware of is the waxy residue in the injectors. Once the engine is turned off, the injectors get heat soaked, and normally have the fuel boiled out of them, leaving a waxy gum. Since it's after the fuel filter, there are no worries there.

If anything the E85 could make it better since it can easlily absorb water in your fuel system...

I imagine you're getting close to the same weather that I'm getting in Pittsburgh, a small bit of condensation could also be to blame, with the radical temperature swings that have been happening lately. The ethanol in E85 is anhydrous (water-free), so it absorbs moisture easily.

It's more of a temperature problem, like what rwenzing posted, although condensation can be contributing to your ills.

Nothing to worry about, unless it doesn't start...

The problem seems to have solved itself now that the overnight temperatures are around/above freezing now.

Gargles with bong water. I love that one. Yea, he probably does, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to check on the ol' forum.

Thanks fellas.

C

well i'm kinda confused about the temperature problem you seem to be experiencing. i don't know a whole lot about gasoline, but from what i do know, is alcohol takes a much lower temperature to freeze than gasoline does. If you put some jack daniels in a freezer, it won't freeze. when you have a big winter storm, gas pumps tend to freeze up. Also, ethanol has a lower flash point than gasoline so it burns at lower temperatures, which can lead to longer engine life in the long run. So i'm confused about what your experiencing. i'm open to any other explanations though.

The problem that I was having, was that when I fill up with E85 and the temperature is in the 20s, my truck takes a bit longer to start.

Reread the reply by rwenzing carefully.
"Alcohol doesn't vaporize well below 50~60F"

Flash point is different than vaporization. If E85 doesn't easily become a vapor, then it won't combust as readily as gasoline.

C

I work in Cincity but didnt know there was an E85 station...i live in Florence...email me please,
throttlenotch8@fuse.net ..thanks