I have searched, but I cannot find anyone that has had a similar issue. My car has been running this setup for about a year with no issues until this past month.

If the car sits for more than a week, I start it and it begins to leak alot of fuel around the charcoal canister area. Canister itself looks doused in fuel. I pressurize the system the next day and there are no leaks. Start the car, and it does not leak. Left it alone for 2 weeks and started it last night and it leaks again around the canister area. Start it today, and everything is dry.

Purge control and catch tank removed in the engine bay. Line from the charcoal canister is open at the engine bay.

Could this be an issue with the vent setup that looks like its connected to a separator on top of the tank? Maybe a problem with a check valve up there? I am racking my brain on this one!

 

This is just a guess, but since you say that the canister is vented to the engine compartment, I think that pressure building up in the gas tank over the time it is sitting is forcing fuel/vapor into the canister until it is saturated. When you start the engine, it forces some of that fuel out the vent.

That system is normally sealed so that pressure equalizes w/o forcing fuel/vapor into the canister from the tank.

 

That is my guess, its just very odd that it can siphon out so much fuel when it is supposed to be for vapors. I have read of others having the same setup as mine with no issues. I am going to experiment this weekend and remove the canister just to clean things up and pinpoint exactly where its coming from.

 

I had a simular issue and it actually split my tank. I had to drill a pin hole in my cap to stop the leak. I fixed the tank twice before deciding to drill the hole.

 

Probably should just replace the charcoal canister. They do become saturated over time and need to be replaced. Replaced mine a few years back when I was getting a fuel smell in that area.