E85 OK in an old Dodge Caravan?

Providencia Jalbert: 1

Brittanie Zakutney: As long as the engine was designed to work with E85, it should be fine. That said, I would BET that you find the 35¢ difference in price won't actually make up for the decreased MPG. If you break even, consider yourself lucky. I would also check with a mechanic to be sure your Caravan actually is a flexfuel vehicle. For all I know, the fuel door is a replacement from a salvage yard. A dealer can verify from the VIN if you actually have a flexfuel vehicle.

Rosalyn Olivera: Odds are, it should work fine despite having been run on regular gas all these years. There is no more danger of the mechanisms (sensors and computer adjustability) that allow the use of E85 to malfunction from not using it, than if it had used E85 all along, or if your grandpa had switched back and forth depending on availability. It's not like a switch that turns on and off depending on which you're using. Flex-Fuel vehicles are designed to h! andle regular gas, E85, or any mixture in between.If you want to be on the safe side, what you may want to do is run the tank down to about half full, and then add a gallon or two of E85 every day or two or three, as needed to keep your tank around half full. Then, if you notice any strange symptoms, you can top off the tank with regular gas. If you were to add a lot of E85 at one time while filling it up, and there is a malfunction, then you might have to get it fixed right away. The way I suggested, if there's a problem, you could have it diagnosed/fixed at your leisure, or just keep using regular gas.Good point about checking the VIN code to be sure it's a flex-fuel vehicle. But here are the 8th character of the codes (visible by looking through the windshield, on the drivers front corner of the dash) to look for;If it's a regular Caravan or 2wd Grand Caravan, the only flex-fuel engine available in 1998 was the 3.3L 6 Cylinder with a "G" code. There was also a gas-only 3! .3L 6 Cylinder "R" code engine available in both of these mode! ls.If it's an AWD Grand Caravan, no flex-fuel engine was offered in that model for 1998.Also, it's true that E85 is quite corrosive. Because of that, flex-fuel vehicles use special fuel lines and other parts to deal with this, besides the electronics to compensate for the lower energy quotient. And though you may not save any money, you can have the satisfaction of knowing you are burning a cleaner fuel that contributes less to air pollution. :)...Show more

Elmo Tervo: Using E85 in a flex fuel compatible vehicle shouldn't ruin the engine. However, GM service documents suggest putting more than 3 gallons of E85 in the tank and driving for 7 miles after switching from gasoline for the car to calculate the new blend of fuel in the tank. There could be different suggestions from Dodge, so check with your manufacturer. Besides the fuel door, the eighth digit of the VIN shows whether or not your car is E85 compatible, but the letter or number varies with make and model. Ac! cording to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, your Dodge Caravan is compatible if the eighth VIN character is a "P" thru "V". BTW, some people who switch complain of corrosion to the fuel pump, injectors, and lines. Let's hope grandpa never replaced the motor :o)...Show more