Problems with blended fuel?

[CLAYC]

Earlier I asked for a place to buy rebuild parts for a 200EFI.. The engine's #5 cylinder wall and piston were severly galled..

First thought water in the fuel. Now we speculate the cylinder wall was washed out by bad blended fuel.. I've heard this ethanol fuel is bad for 2 stroke engines. It causes the oil to separate from solution with the fuel causing lubrication problems as well as o-ring failure in fuel pumps and injectors. And many gas retailers are blending high amounts of ethanol without it being posted at the pumps.. Had a chain saw repair shop say he's seeing the exact problem with saws. His solution was a sythetic oil...

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Laddies]

Re: Problems with blended fuel?

This is kinda long read but everyone should read it I believe, it's Mercury Marines service bulletin on alcohol. The fun has just begun. http://www.ishopmarine.com/ishop-catalog/bcat/MM/001/03/2006/EN_10.PDF

 

[CLAYC]

Re: Problems with blended fuel?

Thanks.. very interesting

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: Problems with blended fuel?

A efi is fed by a fuel rail and it is impossible for bad fuel to affect 1 cylinder. 90% of the cylinder failures are due to a bad injector or ECU. A bad injector will lean the cylinder which increases piston temp. This can cause preignition but mostly the piston ring locating pin backs out and rings rotate(high piston crown temp). This causes cracked sleeves,chipped sleeves in exhaust area and piston failure. Synthetic oil will will not mix with ethanol either unless it is a caster base.

 

[CLAYC]

Re: Problems with blended fuel?

Going to take your advise and send the injectors and ECU to Tony.. If he finds a problem and corrects it, great. That's lots cheaper than a broken engine with a hole in the block.

Just a side note.. I spoke to a fuel buyer today, who said lots of the fuel may be blended and may quite possibly be at a higher allowable % than is advertised. He went on to say, if the distributor is needing to move ethanol they sometimes blend more than what is shown at the pump. And, there is a 3% allowable variation with the 10% allowed in Missouri.. He said to stay away from Wal-Mart fuel because of their mixture.. Lots of inerts.

 

[Yepblaze]

Re: Problems with blended fuel?

With the low price of crude these days, the gas in California smells a lot less like a martini, and more like a petroleum product anymore.

We've had blended fuels for years, and although I am in agreement with the possibilities, in actual operation of my multitude of small engine, 2 stroke, four stroke, and outboard motors I have yet to see any real increase in repairs or related issues above what might be considered normal. Some of which run nearly everyday while others may sit on the shelf for extended periods. (without fuel shelflife extender additives).

Perhaps many years back when the MTBE was phased out and when the gasoline producers first started with the alcohol, I did see it soften an Echo plastic gas cap gasket, but I have not seen anything like that since. And it's been years.