Ford F150 Forum - Community of Ford Truck Fans

Ford F150 Forum - Community of Ford Truck Fans (https://www.f150forum.com/)
-   1997 - 2003 Ford F150 (https://www.f150forum.com/f6/)
-   -   Fuel question (https://www.f150forum.com/f6/fuel-question-440446/)

texagoon 02-26-2019 09:23 AM

Fuel question
 
I was just bought a 2003 f150 from my dad. We've had it for over 10 years and they've always run e85 fuel in it. i know the recommended fuel is 87 and want to start running it but before i did wanted to see if i needed to do anything to it before hand or fill it up with 87 and be on my way. any help is appreciated

DarrinT04 02-26-2019 10:11 AM

what i would do is either run the truck till it runs out of the e85 or drain it out of the tank. it is not good to mix the two fuels

texagoon 02-26-2019 10:23 AM


Originally Posted by DarrinT04 (Post 6108266)
what i would do is either run the truck till it runs out of the e85 or drain it out of the tank. it is not good to mix the two fuels

i was going to run it till it’s almost empty then switch. At this point do you think it’s worth it or should I just carry on with 85.

DarrinT04 02-26-2019 11:21 AM

how many miles on the truck?

formerjeepguy 02-26-2019 01:58 PM

E85 is 51-83% ethanol vs the what, 10% or 15% in regular gas? So what is the issue in switching? It seems to me that the E85 is more corrosive on the rubber and plastics, but might gives a higher octane number rating. So regular gas would be less corrosive on the fuel system but might be more prone to the light pinging a lot of us get.

Wouldn't the real concern be in going from regular gas to E85? And since most pump gas already has 10-15% ethanol why wouldn't it blend ok with E85?

DarrinT04 02-26-2019 02:24 PM

the truck isn't a flex fuel and shouldn't have ran on e85 to begin with

Livernois Motorsports 02-26-2019 03:33 PM

To my knowledge Ford did not start producing the flex fuel capable F-150 models until late 2005. There are however aftermarket flex fuel systems that can be added to some models that didn't come from the factory FFV capable to add that capability. On vehicles that are truly flex fuel capable, they are usually able to adjust on the fly as needed for changes in ethanol content. So most all truly flex fuel setups can adjust on the fly as needed when you are switching over from one type of fuel to another. However some vehicles that have aftermarket calibrations for E85 are setup specific for only E85 in which case you would want to try to run all of the fuel out first before switching back / fourth to the other type of fuel. Do you know if the truck has an aftermarket flex fuel system that was added to the truck before you owned it possibly? I would definitely double check to see the specifics before changing to a different type of fuel just to be on the safe side.

texagoon 02-26-2019 05:35 PM

Don’t believe it’s got any aftermarket fuel system. We bought it with 70,xxx and now it’s got 150,xxx.

blupupher 02-26-2019 09:19 PM

Hopefully the e85 has not damaged the fuel system. ethanol is corrosive to rubber and certain metals.
As said, it was not designed for it, but if you have been using it for 10 years and no problems, maybe you got lucky.
Surprised you have not been having drivability issues, these trucks are not mapped to run on the e-85 so it would be running lean and get horrible fuel mileage.

texagoon 02-26-2019 09:45 PM

Yeah honestly have had zero issues. Truck wasn’t run hard till I got it. I just wanna switch it over as I love the truck and want it to last. If I get the tank on empty or as close as I can and fill it up with 87 will I be okay?


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 12:03 AM.


© 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands