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Car Forum / Chevrolet / Chevrolet Malibu / August 2006Ethanol OK in Malibu?
I have a 2004 Malibu. The gasoline pump I use has a sticker saying "10% Ethanol". I heard that ethanol can sometimes damage rubber seals in the fuel system. Am I safe using 10% ethanol? >I have a 2004 Malibu. The gasoline pump I use has a sticker saying "10% >Ethanol". I heard that ethanol can sometimes damage rubber seals in the >fuel system. Am I safe using 10% ethanol? It's safe. "Don_" <engguy58NOSPAM@hotmail.com> wrote in news:ToFFg.8096$Oh1.3061 @news01.roc.ny: > I have a 2004 Malibu. The gasoline pump I use has a sticker saying "10% > Ethanol". I heard that ethanol can sometimes damage rubber seals in the > fuel system. Am I safe using 10% ethanol? Just another solvent to clean the lube oil off the cylinder walls and wear it out just past the end of the warranty period....just like gasoline. Test the rubber. Pour rubbing alcohol in a condom, over the sink please, and see if it survives....(c; It's ethanol.  SignatureThere's amazing intelligence in the Universe. You can tell because none of them ever called Earth. >> I have a 2004 Malibu. The gasoline pump I use has a sticker saying "10% >> Ethanol". I heard that ethanol can sometimes damage rubber seals in the >> fuel system. Am I safe using 10% ethanol? >Test the rubber. Pour rubbing alcohol in a condom, over the sink please, >and see if it survives....(c; It's ethanol. Rubbing alcohol is Isopropyl alcohol, not Ethanol. Quite a different beast chemically. > I have a 2004 Malibu. The gasoline pump I use has a sticker saying "10% > Ethanol". I heard that ethanol can sometimes damage rubber seals in the > fuel system. Am I safe using 10% ethanol? Depends on who you ask, but most mechanics now say "yes." This is one of those great debates where you can get any "expert" advice you want to hear. Some---it used to be a majority, but not any more---say E-10 can be bad for your engine; all the major car manufacturers say it's safe; and farmers/corn industry advocates and a handful of mechanics (though none I've talked to personally) say it's actually better for your car than regular gas. Whatever. One thing I can tell you first-hand is that using E-10 WILL reduce your gas mileage/fuel economy. I found out the hard way; never paid attention to the sticker at the gas pumps at the station where I used to fill up. In search of an answer to why my '04 Malibu Classic did not get anywhere near EPA sticker fuel economy, I booked up on ethanol and started filling up at a station that sells non-E-10 regular gasoline. Immediately I noticed an increase of about 4.5% (or about 1.1 to 1.2 mpg) in gas mileage. Not a huge difference, but it's there---and it holds true for all vehicles, from what I've read online. It has to do with the chemical composition of ethanol vs. gasoline; I'll let someone with more scientific knowledge than I explain it. That's why I never buy E-10 or any form of ethanol if I can help it. The alleged increased air quality/reduced emissions are countered by the increased use of fuel, so I'm not sure how much "greener" it is in the long run. Also it costs more.... I like the idea of supporting the U.S. corn industry and other domestic suppliers of ethanol; I also like the idea of helping the environment. When the scientific geniuses find a way to mix ethanol into gasoline without reducing fuel economy and hitting me in the wallet I will sign on in support. Till then I am strictly a gasoline guy. Regards, Eric M > > I have a 2004 Malibu. The gasoline pump I use has a sticker saying "10% > > Ethanol". I heard that ethanol can sometimes damage rubber seals in the [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > Regards, > Eric M 2004 Malibu? Most likely - CHECK FOR STICKERS underhood and for info in owner's manual - your vehicle will run on E85. > 2004 Malibu? Most likely - CHECK FOR STICKERS underhood and for info in > owner's manual - your vehicle will run on E85. E85 means 85% ethanol, and unless the vehicles is specially designed as a flex-fuel vehicle you should NOT run E85. GM has a website which tells you which models offer E85 compatibility and the Malibu is not on the list. http://www.gm.com/company/onlygm/energy_flexfuel.html# If a vehicle is on that list it means that it was AVAILABLE in a flex-fuel E85 version, but not all of the vehicles manufactured of a given year/model are flex-fuel. You have to use a decoder linked at the bottom of that page to find out if your VIN shows your vehicle to be a flex-fuel version. John >> I have a 2004 Malibu. The gasoline pump I use has a sticker saying "10% >> Ethanol". I heard that ethanol can sometimes damage rubber seals in the >> fuel system. Am I safe using 10% ethanol? In many markets all of the fuel is 10% ethanol and often the pumps don't even mention it. All modern vehicles available in North America are designed to be compatible with such fuels. You have nothing to worry about and even if you did, there is little you can do about it. John If you have an older car, replace fuel lines with Heavy Duty Fuel Hose Rated at 250 psi this fabric covered high tech rubber line costs about $ 3 a foot, well worth it. 10 % Alcohol fuel is hard on neoprene type fuel lines. 3/8 = Gates 6LOC Hope this helps > If you have an older car, replace fuel lines with Heavy Duty Fuel > Hose Rated at 250 psi this fabric covered high tech rubber line > costs about $ 3 a foot, well worth it. 10 % Alcohol fuel is > hard on neoprene type fuel lines. 3/8 = Gates 6LOC Hope this helps Somewhere around the mid to late '80s the automakers setup their vehicles to run on a maximum of 10% ethanol blend, so I can't imagine fuel lines being a problem. I had a '76 AMC Hornet (bought used with 70K miles) that I ran for about 5 years/80,000 miles with ZERO problems and 24+ mpg highway. I own three vehicles now, two 90s and one 94, with over 500,000 total miles, much of it accumulated running an ethanol blend. However, I still don't believe ethanol is the answer to anything about the energy crisis, since it costs more to make it than just about any other liquefied fuel. It makes corn farmers happy and gets politicians re-elected, WHILE unnecessarily depleting the 6"-8" of topsoil left on the farms in this country. A history of ethanol: http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/history/timelines/ethanol.html > I like the idea of supporting the U.S. corn industry and other domestic > suppliers of ethanol; I also like the idea of helping the environment. > When the scientific geniuses find a way to mix ethanol into gasoline > without reducing fuel economy and hitting me in the wallet I will sign > on in support. Not going to happen. Ethanol has lower energy content per gallon than does petroleum derived gasoline. There is no way to change that simple fact. Less energy content means less power produced upon combustion which in turn means it takes more of the stuff to accomplish a given amount of work. Engineering, like all of life, is really about trade-offs and choices. Stomping your feet and demanding that scientific geniuses find a way does not make things happen. John |
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