Clan:

Does anyone know of a posting or website that addresses converting the 3.9L Magnum V-6 (or any of the Dodge petro engines) to E85 use? My Ram 1500 is a 2001 and the manual warns of using high levels of ethanol. I would like to convert the vehicle so I can use higher levels of ethanol than the standard 10 percent. The fuel tank is polypropolene, so it should withstand the alcohol based fuel; however, the rest of the fuel delivery system--including the computer--would need some form of upgrade. Can anyone help?
Thanks.

dd

 

im prety sure high amounts of ethonal will eat through plastics instead of metals... cant remember but i read somewhere someone adding SMALL amounts of eth to there 87octane to boost mileage and it worked really well...it just cat come into direct contact to materials in/on your truck that arnt prepped or desighned to handle eth.. E85 is pretty much 87 octane but reversed... 87 octane contains 10 to 20% ethanol along with tons of other garbage like toluene etc etc... E85 is like 80% eth and 10 to 20 % regular gas...

couldnt even begin to imagine what would be necassary to prep a non E85 compliant vehicle to run off of it...would be an awesome writeup though!

 

Shott8283:

Thanks for the response. I'll be more than happy to accomplish the write-up on the conversion once we get things rolling.

My guess, is the polypropolene tank can handle a multitude of fuels. It appears the same tank is used for diesel, biodiesel and those Dodge vehicles cleared for E85 use. The rubber fuel lines, fuel pump and TBI unit will need to be "hardened" for ethanol use. As for the computer system; ethanol contains an extra oxygen atom which makes it look lean to the exhaust gas sensor. This fact should result in the computer system automatically enrichening the fuel mixture to compensate for ethanol's lower BTU heat output. What I don't know is how much lattitude the computer and/or fuel system has to compenstate. I hope those in the know who are part of this forum can shed some light on the topic. More to come. Regardless, don't forget to...

...keep 'em driving.

dd

 

You will have to do some research on fuel injectors. Stock injectors on a non duel fuel truck are not capable of delivering enough fuel.
Chevy made some duel fuel camero's That have become popular for supercharging and nitrous projects because you don't need to swap out
the injectors . Just upgrade the computer and go.

 

Kroffty:

Thanks. I thought the injectors or the TBI would not be able to adapt to the fuel demands of E-85. I'll look into the injector issue this week. Appreicate the response.


dd

 

what the heck is E85? ive never herd of it before... is it like i high test fuel or just some enviromental thing (is it for preformance or the enviroment)...were are you from anyways Dennis DAngelo

 

Ryans580:

E-85 is a blending of 85 percent ethanol alcohol and 15 percent unleaded regular gasoline. Specially prepared vehicles--many of which come configured direct from the major car manufacturers--can run on this mixture. For example, Ford builds quite a few Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFV) that can run on any mixture from 100 percent unleaded gasoline to E-85. Ford displays their FFVs with a small leaf emblem on the front fender of the vehicle and on the tailgate of pickups. For we Dodge lovers, you have to check in the Owner's Manual to determine if you have a FFV.

If you would like more information on E85 and how to brew your own ethanol check the following website:

http://running_on_alcohol.tripod.com

As for me, I am an US service member living in Stuttgart Germany.

dd

 

hmm intresting stuff.... i dont think we have tha yet here in canada or north western canada anyways lol like i sed i havent herd of it lol sounds like a good idea thow

 

http://www.thefuelman.com/listofcars.html

contact these guys, they are all about converting vehicles to run on E85 or even 100% ethanol.

I have not converted my Durango ( yet ) but am in the process of doing all the research to make sure it is a viable propositon.

If it all works out, will be getting it done in the next few months.

Screw the oil companies and their record profits.

 

If you go thru with it let us know how it went and what your results are like. E85 here is like $1.69/gal compared to $2.79/gal for the regular gasoline. id save like $30 filling up my tank every time.