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Anyone remove their charcoal canister and use a vented gas cap instead? About a year ago I picked up a modified FD that has new AN lines run all the way from the gas tank to the engine bay. I would get a pretty bad fuel smell inside the cabin if the gas tank was full and I cornered hard. I got under the car and found that the line going to the charcoal canister is cut.
To get rid of the fuel smell, I was thinking of just plugging the lines at the two check valves and using a vented gas cap instead. Anyone do this or any thoughts?
P.S. I no longer have the factory steel fuel lines that run to the engine bay, so no vent steel vent line either.
I've not seen (but I haven't actively looked) a vented gas cap for the FD. Seems like you'd have gas smells from that as well, part of the deal with the charcoal canister is to absorb some of the smells.
The charcoal canister in the FD is up out of the way, doesn't weigh much, and is pretty simple and foolproof. I'd just hook it back up and maybe let it vent from the canister.
If you're missing the stock evaporative system, a vented cap is your alternative. And it's not just for smell. It also releases pressure in the tank
And i agree with Dale, there is no reason to remove the stock system. Don't understand why people do it.
The OE cap also releases tank pressure, but at 5-6 PSI, IIRC. And it lets air in to avoid creating a vacuum in the tank as fuel is used. A fully-vented one will let pressure in and out at zero psi and is not good if the car sits for extended periods. That is because the "light-ends" of the fuel will vaporize away when it's warm, and more humid air will enter every time the ambient temperature drops and cause water to accumulate in the tank.
A fully-vented cap also gives the possibility of spilling fuel out the cap in high-G RH turns.
I've not seen (but I haven't actively looked) a vented gas cap for the FD. Seems like you'd have gas smells from that as well, part of the deal with the charcoal canister is to absorb some of the smells.
The charcoal canister in the FD is up out of the way, doesn't weigh much, and is pretty simple and foolproof. I'd just hook it back up and maybe let it vent from the canister.
Dale
I'll give that a try. Use a 5/16" hose union to connect the cut hose. No way to replace it without dropping the tank it seems. I still have no idea why the previous owner cut the hose.
If you're missing the stock evaporative system, a vented cap is your alternative. And it's not just for smell. It also releases pressure in the tank
And i agree with Dale, there is no reason to remove the stock system. Don't understand why people do it.
Agreed. Except I have no idea why someone would cut the hose to the charcoal canister in the first place. With dropping the fuel tank, I can't really examine if there was some sort of issue that he decided cutting the hose was needed. Except, this isn't the first mickey mouse thing I've had to fix on this car :/
Because they're probably an idiot. Race car mentality
DaveW had good points on cons with a vented cap. If it were me, i'd try to fabricate some sort of simplified evap system.
Right, DaveW did have great points. I was just thinking of ways to fix this issue. It honestly smells like raw fuel is being dumped into the cabin when tank is full and I corner hard. Rolling down windows is a MUST. I figured the vent gas cap would at least keep that outside vs seeping into the cabin. Anyways, the plan is to reconnect the hose to the charcoal canister and see how that goes.
Right, DaveW did have great points. I was just thinking of ways to fix this issue. It honestly smells like raw fuel is being dumped into the cabin when tank is full and I corner hard. Rolling down windows is a MUST. I figured the vent gas cap would at least keep that outside vs seeping into the cabin. Anyways, the plan is to reconnect the hose to the charcoal canister and see how that goes.
I would be more worried about where the raw gas is leaking from and onto from a safety point of view (fire concerns) than the smell. You've got to fix that before you incinerate your car and maybe yourself.
I would be more worried about where the raw gas is leaking from and onto from a safety point of view (fire concerns) than the smell. You've got to fix that before you incinerate your car and maybe yourself.
That is 100% true, Dave. I didn't state all my concerns in the post.
Exactly the reason I brought up the vented gas cap. Close off any "leaks" and just have it went outside.
Timely thread. I’m in the same position. Dual fed external pumps from a rear sump with steel braided AN lines. And, I just confirmed no canister either and they’ve capped off at least one of the vent lines out of the fuel pump assembly. Can’t see the second one and there doesn’t seem to be a cut hose from the second vent line. I’m assuming it was capped and failed or it’s venting openly. No check valves either. I get fuel smell when parked in garage over an hour or more.
I’ll have to drop the tank to see what was done. SMH.
One other point to make here is the selection of fuel hose itself can be a factor if you're having issues with fuel fumes. When I did my FC build, and upgraded the fuel system, all of the under hood fuel line plumbing was replaced with Fragola "Push-Lite" AN fittings and 8000 series Push-Lite hose. Here's the exact stuff I used:
When complete, the fuel system was leak free, and I retained the factory evap emissions system & gas cap. But the car always stunk of fuel fumes! Did a bit of research and found out that some of these race hoses will permeate fumes thru them. Fortunately because of my smart choice in AN fittings, it was easy enough to switch back to an OEM type hose. This is the hose I replaced all the 8000 series hose with that made my car fuel stink free:
Drop the tank and see what’s missing. I borrowed a boroscope from
auto-zone Only to find that at least one of the evaporative lines was vented to atmosphere. I also saw I was missing my charcoal canister.
dropped my tank to find this (see attachment)... no evaporative system. All removed and vented via both lines to atmosphere. Garage smelled like crap within an hour of parking. Gas smells on hard cornering etc.
Got lucky and found a full Evap system from eBay for $50. Tested it and connected to charcoal canister. Vented from there.
3 hours in,.. garage smells great. Drop the tank... take a peak.
good luck and thanks for suggestions from the folks in this thread.
AA
Drop the tank and see what’s missing. I borrowed a boroscope from
auto-zone Only to find that at least one of the evaporative lines was vented to atmosphere. I also saw I was missing my charcoal canister.
dropped my tank to find this (see attachment)... no evaporative system. All removed and vented via both lines to atmosphere. Garage smelled like crap within an hour of parking. Gas smells on hard cornering etc.
Got lucky and found a full Evap system from eBay for $50. Tested it and connected to charcoal canister. Vented from there.
3 hours in,.. garage smells great. Drop the tank... take a peak.
good luck and thanks for suggestions from the folks in this thread.
AA
Before After
Thanks man. I was thinking I'll have to drop the tank after trying to connect the 2 cut hoses but the angles don't work to connect them.
With the tank dropped, you were able to get to the full evap system it seems? I was looking at it and the canister is by the diff and wasn't sure if it's reachable with the diff installed. Sounds like you had no issues. Cool
Thanks man. I was thinking I'll have to drop the tank after trying to connect the 2 cut hoses but the angles don't work to connect them.
With the tank dropped, you were able to get to the full evap system it seems? I was looking at it and the canister is by the diff and wasn't sure if it's reachable with the diff installed. Sounds like you had no issues. Cool
Oh I had issues for sure. Lol. I did it the hard way. As I was missing the canister I had to sneak it in there first and bolt it down. I had the clip on the connector hose already. Assembled the Evap lines and valves on the Tank and reattached the tank. Then I had to slide the hard line through the diff area from the separator to the canister. Then twist it so the nipple is oriented upwards towards the charcoal canister hose. Once you get near the canister hose (apply some lube to the outside of the hard line portion - It helps), sneak a pair of needle nose pliers in there to grab and push the canister hose onto the hardline. More the clips over the fitting and you should be good.
First time dropping a tank for me. Just be careful. Drain the fuel. Cover all holes. disconnect all lines to the fuel pump assembly - Do not open it. Disconnect the fuel cap area. (Two screws and a bolt for the release mechanism). disconnect ground wire connected behind driver side rear tire. (Access behind wheel well)
On second thoughts, If you can see the other evap hard lines lines then there’s a good chance they only cut that line. If that’s the case you don’t need to drop the tank. You can just drop the charcoal canister and put a new line back in and reconnect with a set of pliers I think. Let us know how you get on.
04-16-20, 02:00 PM
