General Category > Quadrajet Carb Talk and Tips

Ethanol, it's here!

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Cliff Ruggles:
Ethanol is alive and well and has found it's way into most of the fuel that we use.  Some states are NOT required to label the pumps, but rest assured the fuel you are using probably contains up to 10 percent.

So far, the only big concern with using it is that it will attach any black accellerator pump seals.  They will swell up and come off of the pump.

It tends to make fuel slightly more difficult to burn, and contains less energy that older fuel blends.

We have had several inquiries about setting up q-jets for E-85, but currently we have no plans to start building/testing q-jets to run on E-85, and it is not currently available in our area......Cliff

comp:
what color is the good seals ?

17058263:
the good seals are blue and ethanol resistance

comp:

--- Quote from: 17058263 on September 21, 2008, 10:38:34 AM ---the good seals are blue and ethanol resistance

--- End quote ---

 thanks

Schurkey:
I see an awful lot of "fear and loathing" about the "new" alcohol-blended gasoline on various internet forums.

I've been using 10% ethanol-blended gasoline (now called "E-10", but sold for years around here as "Gasohol") as my fuel of choice since about 1981 or so.  For a very short time (I'm thinking about six months) the fuel was blended with (5%, I think) methanol; the ethanol blend replaced methanol.

I have had Z-E-R-O problems that I could attribute to the ethanol/methanol.  I've used this fuel in everything from lawn mowers, Rochester Q-Jets, Holley Tri-Powers and 4-barrels, Mikuni carbs, Kehin carbs, TBI, Port FI,--you name it.

Install fresh rubber hoses; a "blue" accelerator pump cup and maybe a touch of additional richness (jetting) and you're pretty much good-to-go.    I did have some problems with Holley needle 'n' seat assemblies--the O-ring around the outside went bad a couple of times.  Replacing those O-rings with Viton 'rings instead of the cheap Chinese bulk "parts store" O-rings absolutely solved that problem--which may not have been alcohol-related in the first place.

There were a lot of problems in the early years, the alcohol content would "clean out" all the crap and water in the underground tanks at the service station.  Of course, it cleaned out the underground tank by transferring that crap to the VEHICLE gas tank, the vehicle then (repeatedly) plugged the fuel filter and ran terrible because of all the water in the gasoline.  The EPA has required that those old, rusty, leaky underground tanks be replaced--that is now a very rare problem.  (I've seen ONE case in the last ~ten years--and that happened to a relative of mine in Colorado.)

Ethanol isn't the AntiChrist like some folks make it out to be.

It's terrible Farm, Food, and Energy POLICY, (I hate Corporate Subsidies) but it's fine fuel.

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