Then what does the gas have? Small traces of ethanol?

I know E10 gas pumps have special stickers on them here.

Figure that you would have to save 25% of the price of gasoline to purchase E85. So if your gas is $4.00 you don't want to pay more than $3.00 for your E85. Local TV station did a test on mileage on an Impala, and it got 22% better fuel mileage on "regular" gas than it did on E85. There is one E85 station in this area that knows how to price their fuel, and I hope they are selling a ton of it. Cause there are many stations that don't discount their E85 enough to make it cost effective.

D-Rod, you might just have straight gasoline there, no mtbe or ethanol. Or those ethanol stickers aren't mandated yet, so the stations can be using E10, but don't have to disclose it?

I would get all the E85 out of the truck, myself. And I would gladly take it off your hands! Just put it on a hazmat truck to Peoria!

SeaDog,

I think we still have MTBE in our fuel through the winter months still.

Here in NW illinois, E85 is currently $2.79 which is about $1.25 cheaper per gallon that regular. Of course my gas hog 8.1L in my Yukon XL is unable to burn this stuff.

The ban on MTBE is a state issue. I have not heard updates on this since 2007, but most states limit it to a level that is close to insignificant. A few states have gone to full bans, but the oil companies will fight those for very good reasons. If you have a total ban, what is to prevent them from getting sued for a accidental contamination from unknown sources. Plus the huge amounts they had stockpiles were better served by trickling it out into the system. MTBE will degrade, but slowly based on studies done by Kansas researchers.

The stickers are also a state issue. Oklahoma required them on pumps after June 30th.

Those stations know how to price their product to make it truly an alternative.

"Not thinking twice, I gave the greenlight. So Bob fills the 34 gallon tank up with 31 gallons of E85. A couple of hours later, he calls."

"Ethanol is a cleanser and you might have had some junk in the tank (although I was thinking 16k should NOT have that problem."

"Then I started thinking. "

"I think I might have him siphon what he can into the Tahoe and portable tanks."

"I think 20% should be within the system's buffer zone."

"Which means it's running a little lean now (thanks Ethanol) Which means this is a little urgent to get this fixed before the engine blows or the cat is clogged.

WHOOOOPPPPSSSSS"

Hmmmmmmmmmm, do I see a recurring theme here? I always kind figured ya had to be smarter than the stuff you were working on. Probably a good rule for most to follow. Of course, the following photo applies to me and anyone else who thinks it fits them.

That sure was a lot of brainpower expended to figure out what it should have had put in it and then what the wrong stuff did after the fact. Most people read the owner's manual to see what kind of fuel their vehicle can use before they put any in. That seems a lot more normal than checking the VIN code on a website that may not even be recogized or validated by the vehicle manufacturer.

don't they label them like unleaded only?

Or you look for the decal or nameplate on the side of the vehicle.

My Impala has a YELLOW E85 gas cap and an emblem on the trunk lid that tells the world of my cars amazing ability to burn corn juice!

First off,

Looking in the dam manual doesn't solve anything. Ford offered TWO 5.4's that year. One is E85 capable and the other isn't.

It is MY understanding from the quick research I did PRIOR to giving the green light, that the E85 capable was standard equipment. It was moreless an option that had to clicked to get a NON flex fuel engine. Troop, please correct if I am wrong.

At any rate, it was NOT popular to put emblems on E85 happy vehicles until it became the popular marketing thing to do. So, no, looking for an emblem is NOT going to help.

Secondly, someone correct me if I am wrong, but i'm about 99.999999% sure that E85 fuel is technically considered an "unleaded fuel" product. Don't think that's a quickie either.

In this case, your only option is to look at the VIN. In this case, the 8th letter of the Ford VIN is the engine code.

No update to report this evening. Left for work this morning when I posted the reply that poofed the Picken's Plan website. Here I am 18 hours later getting home. Point is, i've had no time to call and find out what the updated situation now is.

Hind sight is always 20/20, but, that said, before I would put that much money in fuel, in that expensive a truck, with even an outside chance of ruining the truck, I'd be 100% sure I was right. I had a boss, years ago, after I told him what I thought, who told me I wasn't paid to think, know it or learn it. I still live by that advise.

True, but Ford was the first to do so. They have had that silly little nameplate with the green stripes or whatever since at least 1999. And the truck you have is newer than that. So it would help to have looked.