running e85

[mustangrfast88]

well guys i am going to be heading north for the holidays and i was woundering if i can run e85 in my 2000 expedition with the 5.4 and if not what has to be change to run it and what it will hurt it i do run it or should i just run regular gas

 

[green03]

unless you tweak some of the parameters in the computer you will get a check engine light and a rough/lean running engine.... I did it in my 03 but only after some changes to the calibration and careful monitoring of the air/fuel ratio.

 

[mustangrfast88]

i see i guess i will just stick to the regular gas intell i get everything eles done to it

 

[JUST4FUN]

IS IT POSSIBLE TO CONVERT A VEHICLE THAT WAS DESIGNED FOR GASOLINE TO OPERATE ON E85?

Yes. However, there are no conversions or after-market parts that have been certified by the EPA as meeting the standards to maintain clean exhaust emissions. Technically speaking, converting a vehicle that was designed to operate on unleaded gasoline only to operate on another form of fuel is a violation of the federal law and the offender may be subject to significant penalties. No after-market conversion company has successfully certified an E85 kit that would allow a gasoline vehicle to operate on 85 percent ethanol.

The differences in fuel injector size, air-fuel ratio, PCM calibrations, material composition of the fuel lines, pumps and tanks are just a few of the components that contribute to making an E85 conversion extremely complex. It is our understanding that at least one company is working to obtain EPA certification. We will monitor the situation closely, understanding the certification process can be time consuming, difficult and expensive.

 

[pronstar]

Some people run it (with no modifications, in vehicles not designed for it) and report no problems.

IMHO, they haven't had any problems...yet.

 

[mustangrfast88]

well thanks for the info guys i will just stick with good old 87 -94 octane stuff

 

[green03]

You can mix it 50/50 and not have any problems, but any stronger than that then the fuel system starts getting into too much of a fuel correction. Mine threw the check engine light when I got to 70% E85. Also without adding ignition timing the truck will run like a turd on e85.
If you want I could build you a tune that would be perfect for E85 or Premium unleaded and you reflash the truck. If your truck is 02 or older I can do 6 position chips that you can switch on the fly.
I can also fix some of the shifting that makes these trucks not very fun to drive......
Matt

 

[mustangrfast88]

my truck is a 2000 with the 5.4 how much would it cost for the 6 position chip and a way to fix some of the shifting problems


for future referance if you have a 2000 dont put e85 in it inless you have reburn your pcm it was the wifes idea to put e85 in our truck last night since it was 1.99 a gallon and gas was 2.29. well last night no problems but after sitting over night today we got a check engine light. the truck was running to lean

 

[green03]

drop me an email to emailaddress removed

 

[mustangrfast88]

email sent

what will it hurt with the engine running lean

 

[green03]

just add some gasoline to the tank when it starts getting low and it should turn the check engine light off when the fuel correction gets below 20 percent.

 

[mustangrfast88]

thats what i am doing every time it gets down to about 3/4 to a half a tank i fill it up with 87 octane

 

[JUST4FUN]

i'm really suprised the the gas station let you put it in
around here you have to go in so they can turn the pump on
you have to tell them what kind of car you have so you don't
use the wrong stuff

 

[green03]

LOL.... yeah when I was filling mine up with e85 in the Chicago area, E85 was kind of a novelty then.... They would always say "I didn't know ford made a flex fuel expedition yet" and I would always reply "they don't"...... I always got a funny look since I already filled the truck up by then.
Matt

 

[mustangrfast88]

yeah it wasnt hard putting it in the truck just pulled up to the pump swiped the card and started pumping it

got a question on the chip you want to talk on here or emails

i was woundering about maybe a tow postion on the chip

 

[green03]

We'll just keep the forums short since I don't know the rules about directly selling here. I'm not a vender just an engineer and fellow gearhead with an excellent understanding of ford fuel injection systems. Anyone interested in custom tuning just contact me on the email address I gave below. And also know that nobody in the industry does transmission tuning like I do accept Lidio at Alternative Auto. If you don't trust me with your baby (after the half-shaft incident that is.....LOL) then send Lidio some business he is an awesome guy and is an awesome tuner.
Matt

 

[mustangrfast88]

sounds good i will email with you any more questions