Thread: Using E10 Ethanol Unleaded in my P38

Personally, I stick to the proper stuff.

The fuel cycle still has Wednesday as the cheap day out my way. Took 280 litres last night at 106.9 cpl . That should see me out for a couple of weeks .

Couple of points: ethanol molecules do not pack near as much combustion energy as their "equivalent" in hydrocarbons. so engines running on ethanol mixes need to burn more fuel to obtain the same energy output.... further, it does not burn as smoothly as does a more homogenous mix of hydrocarbons.
Ethanol is not recommended for Rangies of the 90's because it can lead to the formation of deposits on the fuel gauge sender which change the resistance readings and ultimately you may find the gauge readfing only 50% when the tank is indeed full... there's a LR TSB on this... usual fix is to fit a new sender ($$$). Others (self included) who have suffered from dodgy fuel have reported success by dosing the tank with EFI cleaner and doing a long run...(500km +)

I have been driving Bris<->Toowoomba fairly regularly over the past year or so and did some "experiments".

The 4.6 engine has a relatively low 8.37:1 compression. When I fill up with 98 Octane /same servo/same pump the return 270 km journey averaged out at 12.2 litres/100km...according to pumped volume and GPS distance for 5 trips

Ran the tank down twice -required 85L fill - using the 91 octane unleaded from same bowser (of course it was a different hose )
I then undertook several more trips on 91 octane: result was 13.5 l/100km
for all cases, the GVM was about the same and travel time was "off-peak" and elapsed time each way was 1 hr 35 mins +/- 5 mins.

what I did notice was that on cruise control at 100kmh approach speed on certain grades, the AT held 4th gear on 98 octane... whereas on 91 octane it kicked down and roared away at 3000+ rpm to maintain the 100kmh!

With a price differential of up to 14 cents/L it's still a shade under $3 more expensive to use the 98 octane irrespective of the improved fuel economy... but the engine does run more smoothly esp. under load.

Originally Posted by lorkers

my poor Rangie is running a bit "rough"

Curses.

The other half has taken the Rangie to get her hair done, and has just called me to say that there was a loud bang, and it now sounds like farm machinery. On the phone it sounds like, well, not sure but a diesel on steroids is the best answer. Doesn't really sound like an exhaust problem, more like on the head, but I'm trying to diagnose it over the phone...

So, may not get a chance to try it on proper fuel... Are there any good garages that know P38s in the Castle Hill direction?

That sounds expensive - ouch!! Good luck.

Originally Posted by lorkers

Are there any good garages that know P38s in the Castle Hill direction?

Davis Performance Landys
Amaroo Park Complex
233 Annangrove Rd
Annangrove, NSW 2156
(02) 9679-1978

or

Peter Davis (different bloke),
Roving Mechanical Services (mobile mechanic)
0410 503 500

Originally Posted by Hoges

The 4.6 engine has a relatively low 8.37:1 compression. When I fill up with 98 Octane /same servo/same pump the return 270 km journey averaged out at 12.2 litres/100km...according to pumped volume and GPS distance for 5 trips

Hmm, filled up my '99 4.0 with 98 octane before doing an approx 600Km round trip to Sydney today. Averaged about 15L/100Km with 4 adults and average speed of 110-115Kph (or thereabouts), corrected for 33" tyres and 4.1 diff ratios. Still seems a bit high to me.

Maybe some injector cleaner would help?... or perhaps the top of the motor isn't quite run-in yet?... I'm pretty sure that playing with Sport mode and manual shifting in the hills and bends out the back of Douglas Park would not have had much to do with it

The shame of it all - I even let a Hyundai Excel overtake me on the motorway coming home

Lorkers - hope your Rangie is ok... there is also a bloke named Sam who is a mate of Andrew E on this forum. He is over Hurstville way, but I think he has a mobile mechanic business and knows his way around P38A's.


Cheers, Paul.

Originally Posted by PaulP38a

there is also a bloke named Sam who is a mate of Andrew E on this forum. He is over Hurstville way, but I think he has a mobile mechanic business and knows his way around P38A's.

Sam
Rangeland Automotive
Mobile Motor Mechanic
Bexley Sth
Mob: 0410 664 194

Originally Posted by Grumbles

That sounds expensive - ouch!! Good luck.

Thanks for your support guys... and the contacts for garages that I'll need shortly... not today thankfully, as I've at least got it back on the road, although it's not exactly puring... more sort of clunking.

Fault was obvious when I got there... the big hose with cooling water going into the top of the engine had come off (or, from the look of the dent in the bonnet, exploded off) and the jubilee clip & dangly hose was clattering against the fan. Now if the other half had mentioned the poor Rangie was spewing coolant all over the car park (or, should I say, leaking & marking its teritory), I'd have told her to switch it off RIGHT NOW.

Once things had cooled down I got the hose back on, and filled back up with water... lots of water, the rad was drained. Goodness knows what damage driving it along with no coolant has caused, but its sounding sickly, and the alternator (which had gallons of water sloshing over it) is making a nasty squeel too.

Original fault seems to come from the coolant system, which even now has hoses that are rock hard, so I guess pressure related, and a blockage?

Sigh... going to take it to bits over Christmas... That'll be fun...