Dad's 95 Windstar went for smog test and passed with flying colors.

[Rick]

It has over 120,000KM and he never adds any fuel system/injector cleaners. He just uses ethanol blended gas in it and the results were single digits. The tech sayed that it passed like the van just came off the assembly line.
So am I just wasting my money using fuel system cleaners. I also use only ethanol blended gas in my car.

 

[darkdan]

Ethenol cleans really well. They can't even put it down pipelines because it cleans them and stuff goes everywhere.

 

[hkkc]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rick:
It has over 120,000KM and he never adds any fuel system/injector cleaners. He just uses ethanol blended gas in it and the results were single digits. The tech sayed that it passed like the van just came off the assembly line.
So am I just wasting my money using fuel system cleaners. I also use only ethanol blended gas in my car.

---

Rick, your dad using Sunoco gasoline?

 

[JTK]

That's a clean burnin' engine

. Does it have the 3.0L or the 3.8L? Just curious. I've got the 3.8 in my 2001.
Thanks
Joel

 

[Rick]

It's the 3.8 I just had to change the timing cover gasket because it was leaking coolant. Luckily it was leaking to the outside of the engine. That was a job and a half.
He fills up at a small gas bar in the back of our house just a cheapy run place, nothing special.

 

[JTK]

Yeah if it wasn't for that aluminum timing cover & the pesky intake manifold gaskets, the Ford 3.8L would be a great engine!
Joel

 

[Rick]

Also don't forget the aluminum heads

Thought we haven't had a problem with them yet. Maby because it's not driven very hard.

 

[darkdan]

94/95 had headgasket problems. I guess you lucked out.

 

[digitaldrifter91]

what is ethonal blended gas? is it a mixture that one does himself? or can you buy it?

sounds interesting for my I4 2.2 1991 accord

 

[Rick]

It's acutally 10% blended in with regular gas. I beleave it is an extract from corn. Natualy it also increases the octain from the regular 87 to a 89.5 usualy it only goes up to 89 but at the gas bar that I go to they call it ethanol plus. The plus stands for the .5

So not only does it help keep the engine cleaner you also get a higher octain so I'm able to advance my spark timming further then stock.

 

[hannaco]

digitaldrifter91
Just stay tuned, ethanol blended gas will be the norm in Cali before long. The MTBE is on the way out, and Ethanol is on the way in. Most Union 76 stations in the Bay Area have it now.

 

[darkdan]

In the midwest it's popular since we grow corn and that's what it's made from.

Heck, in Iowa it's 15%. Which is nice because 89 octane is the same price or cheaper than 87. I've been using it in all my cars for 7 years and never had a problem. I can't even tell the difference in mileage and I keep track of that.

In MN I'm not sure if it has any in it. The pumps don't have the little stickers saying it does.

 

[digitaldrifter91]

finally i get more than water for gas!! hahah