Ethanol and Fuel Injection

[Clem Z.]

Re: Ethanol and Fuel Injection

Commercial gasoline does not contain methanol, but nearly all blends contain some ethanol. The EPA limit for ethanol is 10 percent by volume, but not all areas are at the limit.

Duke

i stand corrected,that is what i get posting late at night BUT what i posted should still work ethanol or methanol

[John D.]

Re: Ethanol and Fuel Injection

"I personally have ALWAYS thought that the guy that bought a new '59 Corvette got rooked as there are certainly a lot better 59 FI's than the primitive 7300 unit." Quote from John D.

Maybe we didn't get rooked after all?

Thanks for the great article John!

Bill, My statement was rather crude. It's not that a 59 owner got hooked he just didn't get the best unit that was available at the time. Meanwhile a 7300 has most of the same issues as any of the other units as far as ethanol goes. The 7300 just has two less o'rings to worry about. You still have the spill valve cover o'ring to worry about. Still have the hi-pressure pump seal and the buna rubber grommet around the axle link that needs to be changed. What you don't have is an o'ring on the spill valve cause your 57 style unit doesn't have one. A plus factor with your '57 style unit is that your fuel bowl is much sturdier. Meanwhile ethanol is not as bad on the fuel bowls as the methanol is. That stuff is wicked. JD

[Tim S.]

Re: Ethanol and Fuel Injection

John,
Am I to understand that leaded race fuel is just as corrosive as the ethanol blend? That is all I have run in my L84.
Thanks,
Tim

[John H.]

Re: Ethanol and Fuel Injection

I Ran Into The Same Powder In My Fuel Filter And Carb Bowl. A Friend In Fla. Has The Same Issue In His Car. The Other Issue I Ran Into Was That The Fuel Lines That Were Not Made For Ethanol Would Degrade From The Inside And Start To Flake Off Into The Fuel Stream.

[John D.]

Re: Ethanol and Fuel Injection

John,
Am I to understand that leaded race fuel is just as corrosive as the ethanol blend? That is all I have run in my L84.
Thanks,
Tim

Tim, I am more qualified to give praise to 100LL aviation fuel. There are a lot of old time racers here that I would rather we hear from.
But on the other hand let me tell you all a story and you take it from there.
Story: About 15-20 years ago or so (can't remember) I restored a 63 fuel injection for a customer. He installed the FI and it ran fine. Then about 2-1/2-3 years later a restoration shop called and said they had a serious problem with the unit I restored. So I asked him what the problem was and he said the fuel bowl was really leaking gas. So I had him send it back to me and when I removed the fuel meter cover I was shocked to see a big build up of hard white/yellow powder. When I cleaned the bowl the bottom of the bowl was eaten up big time. I mean all kind of holes. Seems the owner left some sort of racing fuel (probably had methanol in it) in the bowl.
Back me up here guys please or correct me. The term racing fuel is a loosely used term. There are all sorts of racing fuel. Some of it has big time corrosives in it. And some of it doesn't. I don't use the stuff.
Meanwhile don't forget the engine fuel pump, fuel filter o'rings, rubber hoses, etc. John

[Duke W.]

Re: Ethanol and Fuel Injection

Most racing organizations don't allow "oxygenates" in gasoline, which includes any form of alcohol, which is why "race gas" has no alcohol, but nearly all current commercial gasoline has some ethanol - up to 10 percent by volume, which is the EPA limit. Also, avgas has no alcohol of any kind and never has.

That said I can't say that some blends of "race gas" may have had methanol in decades past, but I doubt it because methanol is corrosive to conventional gasoline fuel system components.

Then there are home made blends, and it's quite possible that this corrosion was a result of a homemade gasoline blend with methanol. It could also have been caused by water contamination that sat in the bottom of the bowl for a long time.

Duke