Ethanol Free Gas

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

George, your suggestions are ALWAYS useful. And that did seem to be the problem. I took a chance and installed genuine Bosch rebuilt injectors and they seem to be doing fine. Thanks again. I think the whole job was about $350. My local shop charged less than $200 to install them.

[gkhashem]

Fantastic!

I wish I could find the webpage that informed me of the issue. It is a problem with the first 4.9L engines. It was my issue. You should be running like a new car now with the low mileage you have.

[Art Director]

Tim,
Your car won't run ok on the 85 in CO?
Are you going to the Fall Festival?
Others, I tried the EO 87 in my 2005 LaCrosse and 2015 Silverado.  Neither one ran better and mileage was not improve so I went back to regular 87 in them.
Larry

Hi Larry, good to hear from you. I haven't even tried 85 on the DTS because I don't want to screw it up. You have Regular at 87 octane, but in this mountain state, Regular is 85. Yes, I plan to be at the Fall Festival.

[67_Eldo]

I wish I could find the webpage that informed me of the issue.

The first video clip on this page contains a pretty good explanation.

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/engineering-explained-high-vs-low-octane-petrol/

[TJ Hopland]

Isn't one of the Northstar's features is its supposed to be able to safely run lower octane gas if you have to?   You just won't get the performance or possibly efficiency but its not supposed to damage the engine?

[Big Fins]

It should have what's known as an 'octane sensor'. It dials back the timing to reduce knock and pinging with an inferior grade of gasoline.

[Scot Minesinger]

In my 1970 Cadillac with all stock factory settings and a rebuilt carb with new fuel lines (including metal), I just run pump gas and it works great - no issues.

Back in the day (1978 or so), I drove a 1965 Thunderbird with the 390 high compression engine and could buy both leaded and unleaded - no difference in the way it ran.

Not a big believer in these different fuels making a difference.  On this forum it is not uncommon to read that "bad" gasoline is causing mechanical issues.  In proper repair, which means all rubber and gaskets are replaced on an older car along with all fuel and brake lines (metal) replaced too, driven regularly, and purchasing pump gas premium you should be OK.

[hornetball]

driven regularly

This is key.  Fresh gas is fresh.

[chrisntam]

Luckily for us, it doesn't take many miles before the next fill up.

For me, it's about 100 to 125 miles in town.

[Jay Friedman]

I consult www.pure-gas.com before driving my '49 on long trips, and using the map feature so far have been able to plot a path of stations selling ethanol-free gas near interstates everywhere I've been.  I copy the station address into a word processing file and by consulting the pure-gas map then type the interstate exit number and simple directions to the station from the interstate.  I then print out the list and take it in the car along with maps, etc.  (I'm old fashioned and don't use a GPS.)

Specifically, I drove it to the Fall Festival 3 or 4 years ago from my home in Georgia and had no problem finding stations along the way.  I remember there are several such stations in and around Kalamazoo, near which the festival takes place. 

In my experience the pure-gas web site is kept fairly well up to date by volunteer contributors, so almost all stations listed are currently selling ethanol-free gasoline.  I would say, therefore, that there's no need to call ahead to see if stations are actually selling it.  I would suggest, however, that if, for example, you have half a tank left and you pass a station selling it that you take a break and fill up to be sure.

[Big Fins]

The date of the last confirmation is posted alongside the business position.