Ethanol killing your car's engine?

Ethanol killing your car's engine? Well is it, I'm guess none of us would know.

Mark Cox, at Edison Auto, says he is noticing an increase in the number customer's cars with bad fuel pumps. He says many of them have been going bad around 60,000 - much sooner than they should.

But then you could add expensive stuff...

While mechanics say there isn't much you can do to stop ethanol corrosion, they do recommend adding a treatment to your tank because it could save you hundreds. "Basic ethanol treatment only $15 to $20 is not much when it compares to replacing a fuel pump, which can run anywhere from $700 to $1,000," said Kevin Offerman, owner of Offerman Auto.

Might as well not use it then!!!


Ethanol killing your car's engine

I've heard it's not good for your engine, but here in the U.S. I think it's in all gasoline. It's required by the EPA to my understanding.

reply to post by majestictwo


Yeah i agree ethanol in old cars is not good! The engines were never designed for it! lol! The engine pinging as well as fuel pumps! My Commodore with the Chev HFV6 handles it well but my older cars Grrrrrr!

All engines deteriorate regardless of the fuel.

And if you buy an expensive car, expect to pay for expensive parts. The price quoted in the OP is rediculous.

A fuel pump for my old Austin Mini costs about 25 euros.

It actually has more to do with the water attracted by the ethanol and water's corrosive properties. Alcohol naturally attracts and absorbs water.

This is also why Drygas, is actually made from Alcohol.

Water is a corrosive due to it's alkalinity and it's oxygenating properties which form scales as in deposits which later lead to corrosion

Once corrosion occurs on a fuel pump's internals, it changes it's tolerances leading to heat buildup and later failure.

My question would be...how much of this water already in the gasoline sold at the pump, absorbed from the underground tanks ?

Seeing as this article comes from Florida, known for it's humidity, and high water table it also conveys quite a bit of evidence pointing to water.

People do tend to allow their tanks to run low or near empty. Unfortunately doing this only allows more surface area for condensation to accumulate in the tank resulting in more water to occur in the fuel system.

The best preventative is to keep your tank topped off, especially in the winter time, providing less surface area for condensation to accumulate due to temperature fluctuations and humidity from the atmosphere.

Today's gas works great for me.

98 Camaro 93 pump gas + methanol

www.youtube.com.../u/13/Vm_1gpkM2Ek