Ethanol blends (E10) in Holden 186 powered SIII

[pfillery]

My 186 has (supposedly) been converted to run on unleaded back in 2004 when it was fitted. I don't use an additive or anything. But what about ethanol blends like E10 or the premium fuels with ethanol in them (some of which are cheaper than normal 91 unleaded) - is it safe or suitable to run a 186 on these sorts of fuels? Car companies recommend not using it in certain cars and claim it will corrode fuel systems and damage engines but how does it go for an engine built in the 60's. There are certain servos now who only have ethanol or premium. An old SAAB I had used to hate E10 but my Barina loved it. Any advice?

[PhilipA]

From what I have read the main problem is rubber parts in the fuel system not being made of a material that is tolerant of ethanol.

This would include the fuel pump I guess and rubber bits in the carby (accelerator pump plunger?), and flexible rubber hoses.

IMHO these would be unlikely to give trouble in the short term and are pretty cheap to replace if they give trouble.
AFAIK E10 will not cause any trouble to metal engine components.
Regards Philip A

[Tusker]

And ethanol is hydroscopic, or whatever the big word is than means absorb water.

E10 is not recommended for boat engines that sit around for long periods between startups. The water accumulates & causes corrosion issues, fuel pump problems, & make it a pain to start. As well as rubber deterioration.

The same would apply to older cars not regularly used I would think.

Regards
Max P

[gromit]

Another problem is that Ethanol blends shouldn't be kept for more that a couple of weeks. The ethanol can absorb any moisture in the tank and then separates out.
Great in a high usage vehicle but if only used occasionally I wouldn't use it. One of the Government web sites recommended that it isn't used in small engines (lawnmowers, fire fighting pumps etc.) I guess this is because they are typically infrequently used.

Lots of info on the forum and the internet, much of it conflicting or just pushing the 'green' aspect of the fuel.
Long term for low use vehicles you may have to empty the tank if the vehicle is going to stand for a long time before you next run it.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical-chatter/65084-caution-e10-fuel.html
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/general-chat/109567-e-10-confusion.html
Ethanol-Blended Fuel Blamed for Boaters' Problems (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/04/ethanol_class.html)



Colin

[pfillery]

Leaving the fuel sitting isn't an issue for me, the Landy is my daily driver and in the process of doing 80-90km a day 5 days a week commuting to and from work, as could be imagined the fuel doesn't even get a chance to evaporate let alone go stale.

My concerns were with the obvious things like damage to the engine being a cast iron block and head, damage to any fuel rubbers and the carby, fuel pump etc. I'm not sure of the construction of the electric standard land rover fuel pump, but as it is the only fuel pump on the vehicle (I don't have the diaphragm type one on the engine just the electric one) so not sure if this is ethanol friendly - maybe this can be changed to a more modern ethanol friendly one? I would like to kit my carby so I can be sure all is good so not sure if the new rubbers in such a kit would be ethanol friendly too?

I had heard that one of the main problems with ethanol fuel is that it flushes all the gunk out of the fuel system back into your engine, so before you use it you need to put a new fuel filter in and flush the lines and drain your tank - not sure how relevant this is.

[bee utey]

From what I have read its the zinc alloy of the carby that corrodes. Possibly OK in daily use but definitely not to be left standing for any long time.

From this website:

Can my vehicle operate on Ethanol blend petrol? : FCAI (http://www.fcai.com.au/environment/can-my-vehicle-operate-on-ethanol-blend-petrol-)

Holden pre-1986 is not recommended. I assume this means all carby models in particular.

[PhilipA]

If I had to guess, I would guess that pre 86 are not recommended simply because the compression ratio is too high.

Australia went to 91 octane as the standard unleaded fuel in 86 and CRs dropped from mid/high 9s down to 8s.
Most before 86 needed 96? octane and 91 unleaded is no good and probably 94 isn't either.
Ya gotta read between the lines of "Officialspeak " like this.
Regards Philip A

[Jeff]

If I had to guess, I would guess that pre 86 are not recommended simply because the compression ratio is too high.

More likely the fuel companies aren't bothered to test it in every vehicle before 86, so they just say it isn't recommended because its easier on them. A lot of earlier engines had much lower compression ratios than 9.

Jeff

:rocket: