Direct Injection Failures

[RoyalCrimsonGT]

Ok in December 2020 my E85 tuned 2018 GT with 37k miles at the time started misfiring and throwing misfire codes until it eventually got worst and started leaking raw fuel out of the exhaust pipes.

Took it to local Ford dealer and they didn’t want to touch it since it was tuned so to a local speed shop it went for repairs. The culprit, #2 direct injector replaced for being stuck open.

this week @40k miles I started getting misfire codes again, rough idle and power loss. Looks like cylinder 8 and 6 now are failing this time around.

anyone else had or having same issues? I have a feeling the direct injectors aren’t ethanol compliant.

this time around since labor is so expensive I’m thinking of getting all 8 DI’s changed instead of just 1 or 2 bad ones. Probably my bad for not religiously rotating gasoline every 3 E85 fill ups :(

What are you guys thoughts? Just go back to straight gasoline?

Thanks

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[Qcman17]

Hopefully the codes are the DI injectors again I'd be worried that all that raw fuel you had been dumping washed the cylinder walls and really diluted the engine oil before it was fixed. I hope that is not the case.

 

[Strokerswild]

I wonder if the Mustang DI injectors are the same as those in the F-150s, as those can run E85....

 

[Nickel]

Hopefully you changed the oil immediately and with E85, probably should change it every 2500. I'd go with injectors designed for E85.

It's ironic that E85 comes with a ton of issues but people still run it anyway.

 

[Elp_jc]

Sounds like E85 is your problem. Never heard of a failed DI injector until now, so it's almost obvious it's the E85. So yes, you should change them all, since diluting the oil could blow your engine. And if not specifically made for E85, I'd discontinue its use. Good luck.

 

[RoyalCrimsonGT]

The oil was changed right away as soon as the bad direct injector was fixed the first time and compression wasn’t compromised, matter of fact the car ran even stronger than ever after that.

I haven’t been driving the car at all until I can get it repaired once again.

 

[codereddew]

Curious if other ppl with 2018+ cars who have daily driven their cars on E85 for >1 year have had any injector issues/failures?

 

[NGOT8R]

I’m very new to E85. I’ve been running it for about 2K miles now (currently at 2400 miles). Has the general consensus been to run a tank of 93 octane after every three tanks of E85? Pump gas burns dirty and E85 burns super clean. I’m just curious; how does this help the fuel system?

 

[ice445]

I’m very new to E85. I’ve been running it for about 2K miles now (currently at 2400 miles). Has the general consensus been to run a tank of 93 octane after every three tanks of E85? Pump gas burns dirty and E85 burns super clean. I’m just curious; how does this help the fuel system?

I don't see what that would help personally. You're still running e85 the majority of the time.

 

[RoyalCrimsonGT]

I’m very new to E85. I’ve been running it for about 2K miles now (currently at 2400 miles). Has the general consensus been to run a tank of 93 octane after every three tanks of E85? Pump gas burns dirty and E85 burns super clean. I’m just curious; how does this help the fuel system?

apparently top tier gasoline has cleaning agents needed to condition and keep injectors, etc lubricated and clean, properties E85 is missing plus alcohol absorbs water etc.

 

[Performance nut]

I've been running a flex and E85R tune for 15 months now. I ran the E85R tune exclusively for awhile but found the flex tune better because of the ability to use 93 octane in a pinch (has happened twice so far). Thousands of miles... highway, city, spirited driving, cruising.

No codes, no failures. Other than crappy mileage (last checked it averaged around 14mpg) and somewhat scarce to find when traveling, I have yet to see a bad thing.

 

[RoyalCrimsonGT]

Just wanted to update this post a year later… anyways I did get all 8 dIrect injectors replaced and been running E85 for a straight year now with no more issues.

However, I’ve been using Stabil 360 Protection Ethanol Treatment & Stabilizer, adding 2 ounces every tank full. So far no issues for a year now of daily driving.

 

[CORNYOTE]

Been full time E85 my whole cars life (the last 3 years) and car sits for months at a time. Finally just found my #2 DI injector stuck open.

I think it comes with the territory. For us full time users, perhaps turning off the DI system would be beneficial.

 

[NGOT8R]

Been full time E85 my whole cars life (the last 3 years) and car sits for months at a time. Finally just found my #2 DI injector stuck open.

I think it comes with the territory. For us full time users, perhaps turning off the DI system would be beneficial.

Is there a maintenance routine for the DI injectors? I have my intake manifold and rails off of my car right now and was wondering if I need to clean anything myself or send out all regular injectors and DI injectors for cleaning? Is there anything else that should be done? I only have 6K miles on my fuel system btw. Been running on the flex tune the majority of those miles.

 

[CORNYOTE]

I add Lucas E85 fuel treatment to mine every time it’s going to sit. I plan to have all the injectors cleaned every 12-18 months to hopefully prevent this in the future.

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