E85 eating main bearings???

bambinov8

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Well , word on the street down here according to some engine builders is that E85 can cause main bearings failures ..another story might be that e85 is thin enough to get pass the rings ..fact of the matter is that I'm in the process of building my motor with money I really didn't want to spend due to a main bearing #4 failure .. My car is a kb 2.2 on e85 by the way .any important info pls school me on this ..still planning on running E85 .:rockon:
 
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Ironhand

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That would be false. If you have fuel making it into your oil, you have tuning issues.

+1

They probably dont know enough about it to truely tune it to its sweet spot. So they are blaming it on the E-85 because they dont know what they are doing.

The only way to get fuel into the main bearings is if it ends up in the oil. So your engine builder either gapped the rings wrong or they are pouring fuel into the chamber.
 

bambinov8

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So why all the facts about E85 deteriorating oil (lubrication) ?? Hence to do a more often oil change like every 2-2500 miles?
 

bambinov8

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+1

They probably dont know enough about it to truely tune it to its sweet spot. So they are blaming it on the E-85 because they dont know what they are doing.

The only way to get fuel into the main bearings is if it ends up in the oil. So your engine builder either gapped the rings wrong or they are pouring fuel into the chamber.

The main bearing that went bad happened on the stock motor , never touched before by any builder
 

Ironhand

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What was the timing and mileage like?

It may have just been stress that caused it to spin a main bearing.
 

Jimmysidecarr

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Fuel dilution is a valid and legit reason to drain your oil. Fuel does get into the oil since the rings will always have oil on them and the top ones are exposed to combustion. If they were dry they would not seal very well at all.

The level of fuel dilution will be higher with E85 and Meth powered cars since the stoich is so different.

High levels of fuel dilution is common on blown meth engines, I would assume it would be higher on blown E85 engines as well but to a slightly lesser degree.

The RP XPR series race oils actually separate quite nicely from meth when drained and allowed to sit. The guys that race with meth love our XPR.(drags, dirt and asphalt mods and super mods and sprints)

You can pour off the meth that has risen to the top and actually reuse the oil.

E85 might not separate as easily or at all since it is blended with gas, I will find out tomorrow and post up.

Sorry to hear of your recent difficulty, hopefully you can get your fuel dilution issue under control without too much hassle.
 
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bambinov8

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Fuel dilution is a valid and legit reason to drain your oil. Fuel does get into the oil since the rings will always have oil on them and the top ones are exposed to combustion. If they were dry they would not seal very well at all.

The level of fuel dilution will be higher with E85 and Meth powered cars since the stoich is so different.

High levels of fuel dilution is common on blown meth engines, I would assume it would higher on blown E85 engines as well but to a slightly lesser degree.

The RP XPR series race oils actually separate quite nicely from meth when drained and allowed to sit. The guys that race with meth love our XPR.(drags, dirt and asphalt mods and super mods and sprints)

You can pour off the meth that has risen to the top and actually reuse the oil.

E85 might not separate as easily or at all since it is blended with gas, I will find out tomorrow and post up.

Sorry to hear of your recent difficulty, hopefully you can get your fuel dilution issue under control without too much hassle.
thanks for the good info jimmy ...BTW I also talked to Ronnie Crawford down here and he also said any ester based oil ain't good with E85 ..I'm just trying to gather correct info so I have a killer and safe set up and not killing a bearing again ..my oil changes were on point since the day I bought the car wit 13k miles .Mobil full synthetic 10w30
 

Jimmysidecarr

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thanks for the good info jimmy ...BTW I also talked to Ronnie Crawford down here and he also said any ester based oil ain't good with E85 ..I'm just trying to gather correct info so I have a killer and safe set up and not killing a bearing again ..my oil changes were on point since the day I bought the car wit 13k miles .Mobil full synthetic 10w30

Most reputable oil companies that make automotive synthetic oils will not be using just esters(even the one's that claim they are ester oils :rollseyes) for automotive use since most of today's fuels contain 10% ethanol in most locations and alcohol attracts moisture. Even without the Eth gas, combustion produces moisture anyway and an ester only oil plus water would eventually be a problem.

I can't speak for other oil companies but we use a proprietary blend of Group IV and Group V base oils. There are advantages and disadvantages to both types so a special combination of both actually works best. If you are lubing turbines esters rock.
 

bambinov8

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Finding out abt e85 breaking down the oil fast because of the acids it produces is really a concern now for me since I run that fuel and my car made good power with it.Talked to an amsoil rep and he said I need a high TBN oil of 12.1 and is good at neutralizing acids from fuels that produces high amounts of acids .He also mentioned that I make sure I use at least a TBN of 10 and change oil every 1500miles ????? For those that want to know what TBN means , is 'total base number' which is a measure of lubricants reserve alkalinity , and determines how effective the controls of the acids formed will be during combustion process ..The higher the TBN , the more effective it is in suspending wear - causing contaminants and reducing the corrosive effect of acids ..Sorry for not doing paragraphs guys , typing from my celphone ..
 

Carbd86GT

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Having been around E85 cars for a while, and our experiences, we have never used special oils or done anything different from a regular gas powered vehicle. I have yet to see an engine failure due to just making the switch to E85. Just make sure you have enough fuel volume and that you're tuner knows what he's doing.

Using diesel oils is a good idea for performance cars anyways as they carry more zinc and lubricants.
 

TRBO VNM

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The higher acid content in e85 probably explains why a lot of parts look brand new after running e85. I am almost glad we don't have e85 close enough to me.
 

bambinov8

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Subn for more info guys !!! Would like 04 sleeper to chime in on this since he has a lot of knowledge on this related topic
 

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