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I have a '04 Silverado Z71 with the 5.3 engine. I have read many conflicting reports on this engine being able to run anything from e85 to 100% gasoline.

 

Does anyone know if the 5.3 can handle e85? When 'building' a truck on GM's website, it lists both the 5.3 and 5.3 Flex Fuel engines as options but they are both priced exactly the same, so I'm not sure of what the difference is.

 

I would like to burn it when possible (ie: Close to a station) to pump money into the good 'ol USA of A :flag: . But like I said, I want to make sure I don't foul anything up.

 

Thanks!

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Look at the FAQ section on the www.e85fuel web site.

 

It says, in a nutshell, if you have an e-85 engine, you can run the occasional tank of "conventional" gasoline thru and vice versa.

 

From what I get on the web site, there is some computer adjustments, a different fuel tank and some very minor internal differences.

 

They do not recommend however, running e-85 constantly in a non-flex fuel engine.

 

 

If e-85 is available in your area, do your part to support American Farmers and to help decrease our dependancy on foreign oil and buy e-85! :flag:

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Look at the FAQ section on the www.e85fuel web site.

 

It says, in a nutshell, if you have an e-85 engine, you can run the occasional tank of "conventional" gasoline thru and vice versa.

I'm assuming that you meant that it is OK to occassionally run E-85 fuel in a conventional gas engine? We do not have any E-85 fuel available here in the DFW area (that I know about), so all we run in the Tahoe is regular old unleaded. The truck runs great on it, for 12,000 miles, so far, anyhow.

 

James.

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It is pretty simple actually. You can't run e85 unless you have the L59 engine which is VIN eighth digit Z. Any other digit here, means no E85. You could run up to a 10% ethanol mix in the non flex fuel with no problems. The L59 engine is a 5.3L that is made for flex fuel. Running E85 through an LM7 version of the engine will cause quite a bit of problems. Our Tahoe has the L59 engine. E85 is not readily available here so we just run conventional unleaded. No problems so far. The only drawback to E85 is that your fuel mileage will decrease.

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Will cause quite a bit of problems? Such as pinging or rod flying through the hood?

The problems associated with running e85 in a non flex fuel engine is just as bad as throwing a rod through the hood. In general, the issues with e85 are that there are material compatibility problems and engine control problems.

 

If not set up for e85, you could have rubber parts in the fuel system and engine that could swell and become brittle over short periods of time. This could lead to fuel system leaks, etc. Then there is the whole issue about corrosion in the metal parts of the fuel system. These could cause problems with leaks and blockage of the fuel system. These are just the tip of the iceberg.

 

There can be drivability issues. Cold start can be a problem. Since E85 is less combustible than standard gas, it is much harder to atomize the fuel at cold startup. In order to overcome this, flex fuel vehicles have a fuel sensor and higher flow injectors. Spark control has to adjust to the different combustibility levels of e85 also.

 

To top all of this off, e85 may cost slightly less (in some cases) than gasoline, but you make up for it in mileage. For example, our 2004 Tahoe is EPA rated at 14/18 with regular unleaded. Running it on E85 it is only rated at 10/14. Check out Fed fuel econ website. The jury is still out whether E85 use causes more or less smog. The automakers have embraced E85 use only because it gives them a break on CAFE. I like ours because we can possibly get a tax break for alternative fuel vehicle. :flag:

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  • 2 years later...

I went a surfing one day and found this site that talks about a conversion 'kit' for your car. From what it says, most cars built after 1989 can handle the fuel with no problem. (The government mandated a certain percentage of ethanol in all fuels.) The problem comes from the combustion. Long story short your engine runs lean and you start cooking stuff. I could spell it all out but you would be better off just reading the info on this site. I haven't tried the kit yet, but I would be willing WHEN the price of ethanol comes back down.

 

Near the center of the page you'll see "E85" in big green letters and soon after you'll see the "info" link. click on it.

 

http://xcelplus.com/about_xcelplus/index.htm

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carguru is correct. The main problem with running E85 in a non flex fuel vehicle is the component compatability. Ethanol is corrosive, and will eat up the rubber and metal fuel lines. In addition, E85 is not as efficient as gasoline (slightly less MPG). You could convert your car to E85 as stated above. Not sure if you would need to adjust the VCM programming. It stands to reason, that the computer would adjust for the different burn rates, and octane ratings.

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I have some friends who have 5.3 Flex fuel Avalanche's who reported significant drops in MPG (1 to 2mpg's less) after ruuning E85 for between 30 and 45 days.

A recent post said that E85 wasn't that much cheaper :cool:

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