E85 2.3?

[02flatbeddrop]

So I want to run my 2002 2.3L ranger on corn juice (E85) but want to know the best way to do it. Can I just use the fuel system from a flex fuel 3.0 ranger and put it on mine or would an aftermarket pump lines and injectors be better? And yes I do know I will have to get a tune if I don’t change the ECU.

 

[adsm08]

Well the best way would be to leave the corn on the table and run it on straight dino juice because corn is a terrible automotive fuel. Sugar cane alcohol would be much better.

If you insist on using the wrong type of carbon molecule though, the fuel lines, pump, rail, and injectors will likely all need changed out. Ethanol is very corrosive, and very hard on rubber seal, it dries them out. So any metal parts of the fuel system need to be stainless, and all the injectors need to be able to handle the exposure. Since that stuff ain't cheap Ford didn't much go out of their way to use those materials on vehicles not intended to use E85.

 

[Dirtman]

Just out of curiosity.... Good god why do you want to run e-85? The huge cost to convert aside, you'll also loose 15-20% fuel efficiency.

 

[91stranger]

Well if someone can spend $1500 to set up their truck to run e85 they will save 50 cents a gallon and fill up twice as much. This makes sense to anyone living in la la land.

 

[Dirtman]

Around here its only about 25 cents cheaper...

 

[RonD]

So I want to run my 2002 2.3L ranger on corn juice (E85) but want to know the best way to do it. Can I just use the fuel system from a flex fuel 3.0 ranger and put it on mine or would an aftermarket pump lines and injectors be better? And yes I do know I will have to get a tune if I don’t change the ECU.

No, a 3.0l ECU won't work with 2.3l engine

You should be fine with current ECU.
Yes, you will have to increase injector size because of the different air/fuel ratio for E85 and you would have to stick to E85
Fuel injectors are rated in Pounds Per Hour, so a 12lb injector will pass 12 pounds of gasoline if left open for 1 hour
I think an increase of 2 pounds per hour will work, so if you have 14lb go to 16lb
I am not sure what your engine has now
You have a Mazda L 2.3l engine, Ford calls it 2.3l Duratec engine

Gasoline has a 14.7:1 air:fuel ratio
E85 has 9.8:1 ratio

So computer need to add more E85 to the air flow

You could run E85 now but you would get Lean Codes and could cause engine damage from pinging/knocking because it would be a Lean mix with current injector size
I think you could go up from E10(10% ethanol) to E40 now but would start to get Lean codes

Your current computer is programed for the current injector size so it "knows" if it opens the injector for 100milliseconds(ms) XX amount of gasoline will flow from the injector
If you change to larger injector then XXX fuel will flow in for that same 100ms

Computer uses the O2 sensor to adjust the Oxygen levels in the exhaust and computer has a limited range of acceptable open times for air:fuel ratio
With E85 to balance O2 Oxygen levels computer would need to open injectors longer to get a "good burn" and thats what sets Lean Code
By switching to larger injectors(without "telling" the computer) its injecting more fuel(E85) than it thinks, so open time for injectors can stay in its pre-set range, and avoid Lean codes and possible engine damage



Yes, Ethanol is much more corrosive than gasoline, not sure if all Rangers built in the Flex-fuel period had the same fuel system parts

 

[stmitch]

You should be fine running e85 with just bigger injectors and a tune. But you'll have to run dedicated e85. Fuel systems in pretty much all vehicles in North America have been ethanol safe for decades now. You just need to be able to flow more fuel and have the PCM tuned to control the larger injectors.

If you want flex fuel capability like the 3.0 rangers, where you can run anything from regular unleaded to e85 or any combination on the fly, then it becomes much more complex. You'd need a flex fuel sensor or a PCM from a flex fuel vehicle that would be heavily modified(tuned) for your setup.