I am thinking in converting my 5.4 engine in my 97 expedition to LP gas but I am afraid of hurting the engine. I need some feedback from you guys..
I can't stand high prices of gas!

 

I grew up as a farm boy in the Rocky Mountains where running your truck on Natural Gas (Methane) or Propane was fairly common due to its extremely low cost and regional availability of the fuel. I never heard of it ever hurting an engine. You can get a Propane powered F-150 right from the factory. There's more than 2.5 million vehicles convertered to Natural Gas and Propane on the roads already.

Propane requires the use of a large tank, normally stowed in the bed of the truck behind the cab. Range is limited and the vehicle will require more frequent refueling. Propane is a by-product of refining Gasoline, and the cost of Propane is often tied to the cost of Crude Oil.

Natural Gas is a better option, in my opinion. You can use Compressed Natural Gas or Liquified Natural Gas which is very similar to Gasoline in nature. Range is also limited, but there's no need for a large external tank. It's also safer than Gasoline or Propane in a crash. You can also modify your engine into a bi-fuel where you can use Natural Gas or Gasoline. It's not as efficient as a straight Natural Gas engine when using Natural gas, but is a smart option if the fuel is not readily available every where you travel.

 

I have a 2000 F-150 with a 5.4, my question is how do you convert a gasoline only engine to a bi fuel or a natural gas engine? Is there a company out there that makes conversion kits? are there any power differences between Natural Gas and regular gasoline? Could someone give a little insight as to the pros and cons of having a bi-fuel motor?

 

I don't think you can convert a engine that has allumiun heads to propane...combustion temp will melt the heads...

 

lonnie brown, that would make perfect sense to me.

 

97 Expedition

 

Propane burns cleaner than gas, less combustion deposits. If you build an engine to take advantage of it's high octane (110), you can make good power with it. But that will require internal mods.

 

Sorry mate, you'd be wrong there.
LPG conversions are hugely popular in Europe because it's half the price of regular gas.

Go here for relavant information.

 

guzman marcos,
Try http://wps.com/LPG/index.html There are a lot of links to other sources. There are trucks produced that are natural/propane gas powered; don't let the type of fuel bother you.

I would call a local propane/alternate fuel supplier in your area and check the price before doing the mod, though. I expect it will be "pricey."

Best of luck.

 

propane or LNG is a good alternative in anything...pricey but with nat gas or propane your oil is living large because its a GAS not gasoline...and it is around 110-115 octane and it will not hurt anything...some very succesful dragsters in the sportsman ranks use it...and make lunch on the roll cage with a grill plummed into the intake line ...zap!

 

I have looked at all of the different arguments as to the pros and cons of using natural gas and/or owning a bi-fuel vehicle. My question is does anyone know of a place that converts gasoline engines to NG or LP in the U.S. Everything I find is either Canada (Damned Canadians) or Europe (Damned Europeans). From what I can find NG is .35-.50/gallon cheaper than gasoline. If that's the case than in two years's time the conversion would pay for its self on heavier vehicles that aren't as fuel efficient re: "F" series vehicles so does anyone know where this could be done. I don't know that I will do it but I feel that with gas prices where they are and the forecast for them to continually rise that it is worth investigating. Any feed back would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cost and availability would be the two major down-falls. If you drive right by a propane refueling station daily, it might not be bad.

Cost-wise though, I doubt you'll ever recoup the cost of conversion in mileage. While it may be cheaper if bought in large enough quantities (that's debatable) the cost per mile is not necessarily less.

Cost-wise, Maybe it's a lot cheaper when buying in bulk, but I just filled a 20-lb propane tank the other day. 3.9 gallons was $14... that works out to around $5/gallon. I'll stick with gas, thanks.

-Joe

 

Propane has to be really cheap for this to make sense. This is because propane has less energy per volume (we buy fuel by volume), so you need to burn more propane to travel a given distance compared to gasoline.

In other words, you get fewer MPG with propane than gasoline.

Here's a good propane-cost-conversion calculator to help you decide:
http://www.mergetel.com/~fraso/RasoE...opane-Calc.htm

 

All of you keep referring to propane or LPG as it mostly referred to. BUT what about NG? Propane is a bi-product of gasoline so therefore the price of propane will not be that much cheaper however, NG is usually .50/gallon cheaper (or at least that is the research I have found) That being the case after using 8,000 gallons of NG you would have paid for a typical $4,000 installation fee. You can use 8000 gallons of fuel in approximatly three years on a higher mileage vehicle. So investigate NG and then give me some educated feedback. Thanks

 

My 88 F150 ran on propane. About 5 years ago propane was 1/2 the price of gas, but it has gone up and is now about 2/3 the price(Alberta, Canada). Typically, you will get about 2-3 mpg less than with gasoline. You will also notice a decrease in power - 10 to 20%. Propane is cleaner than gasoline - your engine will run cleaner(when you change the oil it will LOOK new still), but it tends to be harder on the valves because there is no lubrication.
Natural Gas is better than propane with milage/power but usually harder to find. It also needs to be compressed to a much higher pressure.
Usually fuel injected vehicles are converted to bi-fuel because it is very easy to do.
Mine had a 100 gallon tank in the back of the truck so I could go 700 miles between fills which was nice, but it took a lot of room in the box. You can get underslung tanks that go where your spare is, but they are more expensive and will hold less than your gas tank.

You need to check your area for fill stations for both propane and natural gas, comparing prices and availability. They should be able to tell you at the fill station where you could get a conversion done in your area.
If propane is 2/3 of gas near you and you drive lots of miles, it won't take long to pay for the conversion, but if it is only 10 or 20 cents/gal, it is of no advantage.