Is Ethanol Ok For '87 Cart?

[Obee]

Hello all! Just bought me an '87 EZ GO GX444 Marathon cart. It is running fine and have deleted the auto oiler and using mixed gas. Our pumps sell gas with ethanol just under the 10% and we have it with 10%.

I was wondering if the ethanol is ok for use in 2 strokes? I did a search but the posts were somewhat dated so I thought I'd see if there was any new info on this.

Also I noticed the air cleaner gets pretty dirty in these being down low. I am thinking about rerouting the intake up out of the engine bay and have it drawing air from above and behind the seat. Anyone see any problems with this?

Thanks!

Regards, Jeff

[catsnw]

If possible avoid ethanol in any gas power device. Ethanol=gum ups/varnish or fuel system. I had to clean my atv carb hree because of ethanol. I switched from ethanol to gas without any ethanol. Some boat engines have this problem also. So AVOID EHTANOL AT ALL COST!

Also if you have to buy gas with ethanol get the highest octane level.

[oletop]

Check out this link. It has some very interesting info on ethanol and the effects on engines. Be sure to check out the last link. (Pete Landry Realgas.info). http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=2484

[Obee]

Thanks alot guys! Will read the link provided later today.

Regards, Jeff

[Obee]

Double post please remove.

Regards, Jeff

[Dave Box]

Don't sweat it 10% ethanol is not going to harm you. (Although some research suggests that Flexfuel 85 should not be used.) Ethanol can have a damaging action on natural rubber so if you suspect that your fuel lines are very old then this would be a good time to swap then out and replace the fuel filter, that should cost you less than $5. Another thing to bear in mind is that ethanol is hydroscopic, that is to say it attracts water. Athough is rather nitpicking it would be better to keep your tank fuller than emptier, thus reducing the amount of air (and water vapour) in the tank. Also if you stop using your cart for an extended period of time you should drain your fuel system, but most sensible folks will be doing that anyway. On the negative side ethanol has a lower calorific value than gasoline so you should expect about a 3% reduction in fuel economy but if it saves you 10% at the pump you are still a winner. Also ethanol is not recommended for fibreglass fuel tanks, so bad for boats but OK for carts.
Finally think about this. If 10% was such a OMG shock horror we're all going to die product you can bet half the country would be involved in a class action against Shell, Exxon, BP, the EPA et. al.
Just get out there and enjoy your cart

[gornoman]

10% ethanol in a gasoline mixture will not harm anything you run it in. And it hasn't for 30 years. Read all the horror stories you want, but it is a proven technology. E85 (85% ethanol 15% gasoline) is a different argument.

[COURTESYCART]

sta-bil or seafoam is a good additive to add to your tank if the carts sits alot. These additive also help in the ethanol gumming.

I run 87 octane in everything I own exceopt my 01 WS6 (its gets 93). My 05 arctic cat 500 even gets 87. now if it sits for more than 2/3 months it wont crank w/o me draining the fuel and using new. I am ok with that. Fuel nowadays go bad pretty quickly. keep that in mind.

[Obee]

Thanks again guys! I just wasn't sure about it on the 2 cycle stuff. Yes I plan on draining fuel system here shortly. I want to paint it and do some work on the seats. Not a bad cart just needs a lil' TLC.

Regards, Jeff

[Pocono Country Boy]

Give it a double-shot of sta-bil and that 10% gas can sit 6 months..the bottle says longer than a year if you do that but I don't know as I would trust it that long. I do however use the double-shot mix in my chain saws, snow blower and emergency generator which all sit for 3 to 6 months between uses and they all fire right up when the time comes to run them.