So I want to run my 2002 2.3L ranger on corn juice (E85) but want to know the best way to do it. Can I just use the fuel system from a flex fuel 3.0 ranger and put it on mine or would an aftermarket pump lines and injectors be better? And yes I do know I will have to get a tune if I don’t change the ECU.
No, a 3.0l ECU won't work with 2.3l engine
You should be fine with current ECU.
Yes, you will have to increase injector size because of the different air/fuel ratio for E85 and you would have to stick to E85
Fuel injectors are rated in Pounds Per Hour, so a 12lb injector will pass 12 pounds of gasoline if left open for 1 hour
I think an increase of 2 pounds per hour will work, so if you have 14lb go to 16lb
I am not sure what your engine has now
You have a Mazda L 2.3l engine, Ford calls it 2.3l Duratec engine
Gasoline has a 14.7:1 air:fuel ratio
E85 has 9.8:1 ratio
So computer need to add more E85 to the air flow
You could run E85 now but you would get Lean Codes and could cause engine damage from pinging/knocking because it would be a Lean mix with current injector size
I think you could go up from E10(10% ethanol) to E40 now but would start to get Lean codes
Your current computer is programed for the current injector size so it "knows" if it opens the injector for 100milliseconds(ms) XX amount of gasoline will flow from the injector
If you change to larger injector then XXX fuel will flow in for that same 100ms
Computer uses the O2 sensor to adjust the Oxygen levels in the exhaust and computer has a limited range of acceptable open times for air:fuel ratio
With E85 to balance O2 Oxygen levels computer would need to open injectors longer to get a "good burn" and thats what sets Lean Code
By switching to larger injectors(without "telling" the computer) its injecting more fuel(E85) than it thinks, so open time for injectors can stay in its pre-set range, and avoid Lean codes and possible engine damage
Yes, Ethanol is much more corrosive than gasoline, not sure if all Rangers built in the Flex-fuel period had the same fuel system parts