E85 conversion (I did it) Flex-Tek

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Michelle Widell

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Location
Machesney Park, IL
Well, I bought this "Flex-tek" thingie to allow my ST to run E85. Ordered it a week and a half ago, received it within a week from Brazil. I installed it last night, and we went on a 140 mile trip today.



Observations:

-Easy to install - intercepts the electrical connectors to the injectors. You plug the original lead to the injector into the lead from the Flex-Tek, and then plug the other lead from the Flex-Tek into the injector. It has a harness that is a perfect fit to each side of the engine. An additional wire connects to the ground on the battery. There's a switch on the device that allows you to select between A (alcohol) and G (gasoline). The trouble spots were the two rearward cylinder on the drivers side - you need to unbolt the distributor to get at the injectors.



-The idle seems soooo smooth - my idle before running E85 was a little "rough" (the needle moved around - now it's dead solid). A little odd, but that's my observation.



-Good power - hey, at 105 octane, it better have a little more power...



-Mileage - definitely worse, but I've only used a little over a half tank, so I'll know for sure when I fill it up next.



-E85 was 1.99, regular fuel was 2.69



-Cost savings neglible - will determine ROI after I determine fuel mileage drop



Picture shows how the system intercepts the factory wiring...[Broken External Image]:
 
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My understanding is you need a specially designed fuel line and system to handle the corrosive alcohol in E85. What about that?
 
Also any aluminum that is in direct contact with the liquid e85 is at risk. Not the heads or pistons..Other than that all the thing does is adjust the fuel mixture for proper a/f ratio. My only question is how can it give the proper a/f fuel ratio without changing the 02 sensors.. Unless they are all able to read properly...

Looks good, For 269 bucks, I wounder if a simple program from wayne for a xcal2 will do the trick??...hmmmmmm Well i hope it was worth the money...

Todd Z
 
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Michelle - Any vehicle will run on E85 - If your ST is not E85 Compatible, your gonna ruin your fuel lines and all rubber gaskets the E85 comes in contact with. Like others said, the Flex-Tex device is probabaly telling the computer not to turn on the "Check Engine" light, but not making the ST fully E85 compatible.



Currently the 2004 and 2005 Sport Tracs are E85 compatible.



Check out this website for more info - www.e85fuel.com



Good Luck,



Ron
 
Actually, the converter is probably enriching the fuel mixture because it takes more E85 fuel. Most Flex-Fuel vehicles will also have a special fuel pump that puts out more volume and a little more pressure. It may also be alterning the timing slightly to compensate for the higher octane E85.



I'm puzzles when you said you had to move the distributor? Since the Sport Trac does not have a distributor. I'm guessing you may have meant to say you had to remove the coil-packs.



I am also concerned about the othe components of your fuel system. Alcohol in higher concentrations are very corrosive and will severely damage fuel system components subject to long term exposure to E85.



Keep us informed as to how this system works and if you have any problems in the future.



...Rich

 
It adjusts the amount of fuel that the injectors are "injecting" - not fooling the computer... That's why you get worse gas mileage on E85.



And I've read the websites - don't need to give me links.



This has been argued over and over, so I thought I'd give it a try.
 
Richard - yes, coil pack. (I just changed the distributor cap in my Jeep, so the word is on my mind.) Anyhow, "it" blocks access to the 2nd and 3rd cylinder on the driver's side.
 
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There's not much I would do in life before researching it to death.. This is just one of those things that I've read so many conflicting things about, and I thought I'd give it a go. I wasn't just going to pour E85 into my gas tank without having something that would "set the engine up" mechanically to run it. If it goes well - then great. Even my boyfriend commented on how "smooth" my truck was idling (which I noted in the first post).
 
Michelle, Good luck with the new system. It is good to see people pioneering these new mods. You continue a tradition started by others like Ron Brezina. We'll need new pioneers with the redesigned Trac.



You have more projects submitted than all of us guys in this thread, and I respect that.



As Ryan Eylander states in his signature, "The one who says it can't be done should never interrupt the one doing it." :)
 
I just (Tuesday) got a brand new '05 Sport Trac and I could have sworn that I read it was E85 compatible. I live in Fla and have never seen E85 fuel though. Is my Trac ready for it as is, or do I need to do something to it to make it E85? That is provided I can even find the stuff!



Thx! Glad you all are here!



Jim
 
You should look at the emmission sticker placed under the hood, just above the radiator. If it says "Flex-Fuel" then you are good to go.



Here is a link to find out if there is a station near you. :)
 
Here's some interesting information I dug up on the web, right from the National Highway Transportation Safety Association web site:



"Ethanol is corrosive to some metals, although less so than methanol. Metals recommended for use with ethanol include carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum (if suitably protected from corrosion). Ethanol is less prone to attack elastomeric materials, so many common elastomers can be used with ethanol without risk of deterioration. No special manufacturing techniques are needed for ethanol fuel systems for flexible-fuel vehicles."



They go on about other fuels, including Methanol.



"Methanol will attack and corrode certain metals, such as magnesium and aluminum. Additionally, the corrosion products of aluminum and methanol will precipitate out of the liquid fuel and clog filters and fuel injectors. For this reason, it is recommended that metals such as stainless steel and carbon steel be used in methanol fuel systems and fuel delivery systems. Methanol will also attack many common elastomeric materials, like rubber, polyurethane, and most plastics. "
 
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I know you said there was no need to give you links, but, since you gave one.....



This is from a July 2005 article.



"E85 is a much more corrosive and much more aggressive product than ethanol," he said. "You need to make sure your entire system is compatible with E85."



"Ethanol will eat through aluminum, and that's just 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent petroleum," he said. "Rubber gaskets and seals are also a problem."
Click to expand...





http://www.agweekly.com/articles/2005/08/26/commodities/crop/crop05.txt



I guess there are articles that support both sides of the argument.



Ron
 
I found another article, which for the life of me I can't fine again (result of a google search), that gave a list of different materials and the corrosive factor that ethanol and methanol had on them. It was interestig - I'll have to find it again.



What I'd like to know is what this means:

E85 is a much more corrosive and much more aggressive product than ethanol
Click to expand...



I mean.. E85 -IS- ethanol, with 15% gasoline.
 
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Heck no I didn't read all that. But, for those who want to express unfounded opinion as some here do [not you], they ought to read it first. Although I did notice the part about hard starting in cold weather.
 
There was an interesting page I came across where groups of university students got together and built E85 compatible vehicles. The one highlighted at the web site was a Chevy pickup. They had a refrigerated trailer for cold-start testing.
 
Michelle,



First off, good for you. If there were E85 stations in my area and the price is right, I would consider getting looking into a conversion, especially on my Escort GT. I do plan on installing that Turbo engine and 105 Octane fuel is a good start.



Here is a recomendation.



Try contacting a company like Farley Chemical regarding ethanol in a 55 gallon drums. Before the first Gulf war, back in 1991, my brother and I were thinking about converting my Maverick to ethanol. IIRC, he could have gotten Ethanol for something like 50 cents a gallon. Gas at the stations was like $1.25/gallon.



So, I think a nice alternative would be, granted if you can find ethanol, fill the tank with like 6 gallons or so of gas, then go home and top it off with ethanol.



If you get the ethanol for $1.00/gallon and Gasoline is $2.50/gallon, a full tank could cost about (6*2.50)+(14*1.00)=15+14=$29.00 or roughly $1.45/gallon.



If my Trac was E85, I would be looking into it for sure. Since my Trac isn't, I just doesn't pay for me to even look into it because there are no stations to compare it to.





Tom
 
Another good tech article. Gives insight into regional gas differences and time of year difference. You get best mpg with volatility class 1 gas.
 

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