Has anyone had any experience with converting their 1999 or newer Durango to run on E85 / straight Ethanol ?

Based on preliminary research it should be possible. But am wondering if anyone has done the tests to
determine which, if any, fuel line components need to be replaced ?

http://www.beutilityfree.com/still_h...tek_homep.html - found this device which handles the ignition timing part.

http://www.thefuelman.com/flexfaq.html - this article seems to indicate that conversion is very simple.

I think the only other issue that may have to be addressed is any incompatible materials in fuel system.

If I can find good answer to that , than...

Brew your own gas in the backyard... http://www.ethanolstill.com/making-your-own-E-85.html

Thanks for any info any can provide , and if someone has done this upgrade , would you be able to post a comprehensive set of
steps/ instructions that you performed ?

Thanks

 

I am worried what effects will have on our Durangos in the long run as ethanol is very corrosive. Long term, would we have to eventually change out our gas tanks, fuel lines, etc that can be proned to corrosion from ethanol?

 

A list of DC vehicles that are flex fuel: http://www.e85fuel.com/information/daimler_chrysler.php
Aluminum seems to be the most reactive metal to ethonal and ethonal also has poor cold start characteristics from what I read.

 

I guess all Durangos prior to 2006 aren't flexible!

 

My new Suburban is...big deal...we don't have it here in Pa and I wouldn't trust it anyway!

 

You can make your own ethanol, so you don't necessarily need it to be at the gas stations near you.

 

If I were driving a 1980 Chevy Citation I'd give 'er a whirl, but the 'burban is just a little TOO pricey to be experimenting with...LOL

 

Running ethanol in a vehicle that isnt flex fuel capable is not recommended. There are some modifications that will need to take place before running e85 or e100. Ethanol requires ~30% more fuel at any given time compared to gasoline. As you can imagine this would require the computer to compensate for the lean condition maxing out the injector duty cycle. This reduces the life of your fuel injectors. Buying a kit that adds voltage to the injector to increase pulse width will supplement the engine with more fuel.This is good and bad because it adds much needed fuel to allow the air/fuel ratio to get closer to stoichiometry .Key word CLOSE. this will max out your injectors, shortening life and also adding fuel while unneeded, reducing gas mileage . Adding this to the inherent reduction in BTU ethanol contains equates to ~50% reduction in mpg. Now to remedy the situation completely:

1. Make sure Engine is in sufficient working order.

2. Install Increased size injectors

3.
(Optional) Dyno tune Car to adjust air/fuel ratio.This step is vital and will yield a huge mpg increase that will pay for the tune.

or.

leave engine alone and allow computer to adjust automatically. Note:installing increased size injectors is required,also computer will still not be able to adjust optimally

 

The only benefit I see of using E85 fuel is to keep the money in the U.S instead of going overseas. Otherwise, the use of E85 fuel is expensive in your pocketbook vs using regular fuel and you don't save any money. Problaby end up spending more money.

Ethanol have a lower energy content vs regular fuel. So you need to burn much more ethanol to get the same power output of regular fuel. So if you are using a hybrid fuel engine such as E85 engines, your fuel mileage will drop considerably. So the lower price of ethanol is offet by the lesser gas mileage you get vs regular fuel.

I wonder if they built an engine to run strictly 100% ethanol fuel, what type of mpg it would get. At least it will be a super clean burning engine! Possibly we can start brewing our own ethanol fuel at home too! haha

 

+1 all of the above.

Don't buy the hype on E85... AND... don't attempt to convert a standard fuel auto to an E85 one. The conversion is a waste of $, E85 is a waste of $ and the entire process will cost you way more in headaches, time, trouble and actual cash than you will ever save.

Take your $ and buy a few trees somewhere. That may help and make you feel better. With the cold winter and cold summer the USA had, Global Warming discussions (and with them Carbon Offset discussions) have gone the way of the DoDo bird. That is until the next DoDo gets elected and brings all the GW falsehoods back up to the conscienceness.

Do not waste money on a cenversion and on a fuel that burns MORE than gas in the first place and priced at nearly the same rates. Not to mention the costs to actually produce it.

IndyD