I have a 2001 supercrew with a 4.6 engine. I have been running ethanol blend in my truck and was wondering if it is considered safe for the engine or are there long term effects by using ethenol blend. I always seem to hear good and bad depending on the persons attitude toward the subject.

I have had no problems and I have been getting 18-19 mpg on the highway. would that figure change if I used one or the other.

Your view on the subject would be appreciated

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Ethanol is perfectly safe for all vehicles. You're getting good fuel mileage and you would be hard pressed to find any difference between the two...its only about a 3% difference under identical conditions. This is due to the SLIGHTLY lower energy content of the ethanol blend. What octane are you running? Remember that you dont need anything more than 87 on a stock engine.

 

That is right! 76 uses ethanol in their gas. Slightly less BTU, but it is safe. If you are running a chip, it *might* cause more of a problem...I use Chevron just for that reason.


Stay away from METHANOL, though!

 

I am currently running 89 octane ethanol blend.
I don't seem to be having problems. I'll keep using it

I am just confused about the bad talk of ethanol blend. Whats up with the bad talk?

Just curious

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Ethanol blends burn really clean with less harmful emissions. They are good for the environment in that sense.

They won't hurt your engine either if you use a blend with an octane rating that works for your engine.

But, the down side is they have a lot less energy (less BTU's per gallon) than normal fuel. You don't want to run this at the drag strip because you will be seriously lacking in power.

If your truck is superchipped you won't be able to use ethanol because of the low energy. But if all you do is regular driving around town, ethanol blends work fine and help the environment too.

 

I was told by a friend of mine that runs an auto repair garage that he had been given information in training classes that the 10% blend we have here is causing aluminum fuel components to break down. He has seen it several times in the shop he says where mostly fuel injectors are having the aluminum bodies eaten away at their seams. Trainers at the classes he and his mechanics go to say it's due to the ethynol blend. I know if I store my 1956 ****** with blended fuel left in the carb I will have to rebuild it in the spring. The last 2 years I've used non-blended fuel which is available here in Premium fuel at select stations and have not had a carb problem in the spring. You'll probably get an equal number of responses for and against ethynol. The local ATV/snowmobile dealerships here warn against blended fuel. It was the lobby of small engine manufacturers and dealers that got the Premium/non-blended fuel to be allowed here by the lawmakers as I know it.

 

The 10% Blend in any fuel system made after the mid 1980's will not be harmful to anything. All should have been designed to handle the ethanol blended fuels. Ethanol does not cause damage to aluminum fuel system components. It does however eat old seals, o-rings, and other rubber materials used in older fuel systems, which is why it shouldn't be used in your 1956 ******. Methanol (when not in the form of MTBE) on the other hand, does have corrosive properties that you are describing.

As others have stated, the ethanol blend does clean up vehicle emissions (especially when cold starting), specifically carbon monoxide pollution. The drawback is decreased energy content, resulting in a 2-5% decrease in fuel economy, depending on the vehicle. Power levels may also be lower. Ethanol does however function as a nice octane booster, which is why in some areas regular is non-oxy, while midgrade and up are oxy blends.

In addition, ethanol tends to cost more to refine, which is offset somewhat by federal and state tax breaks. The other wildcard here is whether or not ethanol production offsets the net vehicle pollution reductions we get. There is a lot of conflicting data on energy inputs as well as stack outputs of ethanol refining.

Short story: Ethanol is fine in late model vehicles so long as a slight reduction of fuel economy is acceptable.

 

Just to chime in. I just ran a simple test for mileage sake the past couple of weeks on my SD, and comparatively I get 1-1.3mpg less with ethanol blend than with unblended 87. The 1-5 cent difference I see up here doesn’t offset the cost. It’s only about a buck or two, but it adds up. Plus I can notice a slight difference in performance.