Quote:
Originally Posted by dataway
My truck is a "flex-fuel" GMC which will run on up to 85% ethanol. If what the woman said about fuel lines and gaskets is true, it would mean that my truck must have special fuel lines, tank, gaskets, seals, pumps etc. And I seriously doubt it does, as it was standard on a 2011 GMC 1500 with a 5.3.
When you order any of these parts for this truck, none of them are E85 or flex-fuel specific. So why is that ethanol will not destroy my truck? The major difference is that the computer and injection system is designed to handle the E85, but that wouldn't help the fuel lines or anything ...I don't think the truck has an entirely SS fuel system or special gaskets that are any different than gaskets designed to handle E10.
|
Actually they are definitely designed to run E85, but it is a standard of those 5.3s. We had a 2007 Tahoe that was flex-fuel, and if you read the owners manual it tells you that the engine will detect it and remap itself, so you have a specific engine computer designed for it that not all modern vehicles will have. Also, modern fuel systems have to be designed with ethanol blends in mind, but we all know that if 10% is the norm, car companies will design it with 10% in mind, not 11% if it costs more. GM markets the flex-fuel as a benefit, but it's not because it is a free thing to implement.
I have watched ethanol eat up rubber and cork parts very quickly; I hate putting E10 in my cars, especially the old ones, and I don't know what I would I would do if it kept creeping in more and more. Rebuilding carbs is a PITA. I think the point of this message was, if your car hasn't been designed for higher than 10% ethanol (or at all, in the case of old cars) then running higher and higher blends is opening you up to more and more issues. It is not about whether or not ethanol is bad, or if you have an E85 vehicle that E15 will blow it up. It's just a PSA about watching what you stick in your tank because you may be opening yourself up to a screwed up fuel system and no recourse from your warranty.