Charcoal Canister Modification- need help

[NLXTACY]

Dam, this is just some plane bad luck, here you were all worried about grinding on your charcoal canister, worried that it might catch fire, and then this happens, SMH. On a different note, what happened to you with this engine fire is the very reason i carry a Halon extinguisher, instead of a dry chemical. When you discharge a Halon extinguisher, you don't have all that dam dust to clean up.

Bingo. I need to replace my hood liner anyway so good time to look into alternatives.

 

[Woofythewolf]

Dam, this is just some plane bad luck, here you were all worried about grinding on your charcoal canister, worried that it might catch fire, and then this happens, SMH. On a different note, what happened to you with this engine fire is the very reason i carry a Halon extinguisher, instead of a dry chemical. When you discharge a Halon extinguisher, you don't have all that dam dust to clean up.

Actually, I was just looking those up this afternoon after reading about the corrosiveness of the powder.
An automatic one would be nice too- probably wouldn't have burned that wire. (would probably mount one of the horizontal ones in the DS area where all the wiring and vacuum stuff is).

At the same time, in a relatively enclosed area like the engine bay, a simple CO2 system would likely be very effective (and a whole lot cheaper).

 

[DARKNESS]

WARNING: PLUG THE TANK VENT LINES IF YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE IT OFF FOR A FEW DAYS.

I lit my engine bay on fire: I was waiting for the paint around the rim to harden (just used rustoleum enamel to make sure it didn't rust) and since nothing seemed to be coming from the lines I didn't plug them.

When I went to start it today after reinstalling the canister, all the fuel vapors that vented from the line ignited and blew up in a flash fire. It started at the ignition coil and went all over that side of the engine and underneath.

Ignition source: I took off the wire from the coil to the cap and rotor (just finished putting on a new cylinder head and wanted to turn it over enough to get oil pressure before I started it), and I believe it arced to the nearest ground (intake manifold or ground wire of the coil plug). I should've unplugged the 12v side of the coil.


Thankfully I was able to put it out within about 15 seconds, so the only damage is the oil level sensor wiring got burned-it was the last area to get put out. (and fire extinguisher dust EVERYWHERE, even inside the cap/rotor, fuse boxes, etc).
Also note that the fireproof hood lining covering (the black fabric) will ignite and melt, leaving little pieces of burning melted plastic stuck to a lot of stuff in the engine bay. leaves a nasty black residue even when you pick off the cooled/hardened plastic.


This was in a shop that never exceeded 75 degrees over the several days. I did not think the fuel would be vaporizing that much in those temperatures. Not to mention it was 3 month old fuel so a lot of the volatile compounds should've evaporated already.

Yikes! Glad you're ok. I wouldn't have thought to plug the lines.

 

[Wompom]

Welp. Got pressure. Went to test the can. Tried to blow into the tank port, per the FSM and couldnt get a single bit of air in. Guess that means it's time to give this a go.

With the car off, per the FSM, you should be able to blow positive air into the tank port of the canister, correct?

 

[Rifleman]

Wompom, you might want to PM Landcruiser Phil about the problem your having with that check valve before you toss your factory CC in the trash. If i remember right he removed one, or both of the check balls from that check valve on top of his factory CC. He then reinstalled it without the check balls, and it now works great.

 

[alltel05]

Really need to do this soon. I have an original installed in my 92. Then again I only have 179K on the vehicle. Still needs to be replaced.

 

[Wompom]

Really need to do this soon. I have an original installed in my 92. Then again I only have 179K on the vehicle. Still needs to be replaced.

I only have 88k on mine and its completely blocked.

 

[madisonr34]

Cut the canister in half. Dump the charcoal. Drill the ball bearings in the valves out and put it back together with self sealing tape. Problem solved.

 

[cbpeck]

Several of us had CC symptoms while traveling the WABDR at elevation. Increased fuel tank pressure, fuel vapor smells, etc. I need to figure this out too.

 

[jmphilion]

Hi, i've been looking at this thread for a while and finally did the charcoal replacement two days ago. So i though should contribute a little.

I wanted to keep it simple as much as possible, so i used everybody's experience on it, thanks to the contributors.

I tryied to grind it a little differently just to see if i could get better results, ends out i dammaged the container a bit but i think it leaves more edge on which to seal the canister. with a proper installation, better results could be obtained. I also found a filter material that might do an as good job as the original, thus not using coffee papers.

So here it is..

I grinded the side of the top lip, the two metal sheets were then seperated from half way underneith the lip, unfolding it upwords.
It offered a better refolding when reassembling. grinding picture is without the top, to show the grinding angle

Looking at the filter material, it seemed familiar, my girlfriend nailed it tho.. She pointed that it felt like a maple sirup filter material (we make maple sirup for fun everyear).
So the next day i went to a supplier and chose the right thickness filter (photo shows the original and new). Paid 6$ CAD for that big round filter. Its a vaccum pumped maple sirup filter. Its a polyester fabric.

I wanted to compare how it handled gasoline and heat, so i tested them out. Gasoline didnt do anything, soaked a piece in it and nothing happened. then i took a heat gun and heated another piece. While the original fabric (probably natural) darkened and became easy to tear, the polyester handled the heat for a little while and started melting slowly. I used the heat gun at max temp. Both never caught fire. So i went with it and used it in my canister.

Closed it, rewarping the top lip as much as i could and jb welded the thing.

Now, i'm pretty confident it will be doing fine, time will tell, stay tuned for the next time it needs new charcoal

Thanks again to everyone who shared their experience !

J

 

[pnwcruiser]

Duralast Vapor Canister VC120 quick to swap out. Remove bottom band bracket, zip tie tight the top as the canister is wider than OE. $55 shipped to my house, been working like a champ for a few weeks now for me. on how to swap it out

 

[DARKNESS]

I switched to the VC120 canister. My refurb OEM canister went back to being sticky.

 

[deltapine1]

So West of Stockton, TX we ran across a guy with and 80 with charcoal cannister issues. Our 14th and Plum fix was to pull the factory cannister, hack the top off (hacksaw was used and loaned to us by a some local that was able to drive a 7.3 powerstroke flat bed Ford within 30 ft of us and manage to step in between two of us and ask if we needed help before we noticed him), gut the cannister and then reassemble the internals less charcoal into a left over Glory Foods 1LB 11 OZ Seasoned Turnip Greens can with the metal charcoal cannister top wedged into the top of the turnip green can. We put the plastic cover over the top and hooked it up. The turnip green can actually fit in the factory spot and was hidden by the plastic cover. It started and ran 700 miles without issue. Prior to that it was pressurizing the tank, losing power slowly and then dying and would not restart for about 30 minutes.

I think a 1 quart metal paint can is about the same size or you can try a Glory Foods Seasoned Southern Style Turnip Green can.

 

[jmphilion]

Just did a 1200 miles trip with my refurbed can. Seems ok, but i still get lots of pressure on the gaz filler.
Not sure, how it should behave, what its like when it's new, if i have another problem.

 

[ZackR]

Just did a 1200 miles trip with my refurbed can. Seems ok, but i still get lots of pressure on the gaz filler.
Not sure, how it should behave, what its like when it's new, if i have another problem.

There shouldn't be any pressure at the filler. I used to have a lot of pressure and finally replaced the canister with a VC120, problem solved.

I kept the OEM unit in case I want to remove the check valve and replace the charcoal someday. With how well the VC120 works its pretty low on the priority list.

 

[Moog]

Just did a 1200 miles trip with my refurbed can. Seems ok, but i still get lots of pressure on the gaz filler.
Not sure, how it should behave, what its like when it's new, if i have another problem.

Can confirm that after I replaced my canister with an AC Delco unit, the pressure issue completely went away. Had a lot before every time I'd unscrew the cap.

It seems something is still clogged with yours.

 

[DARKNESS]

Yeah just did mine. No pressure at all anymore.

 

[jmphilion]

All right, i'll try it then. i will order one.
Washed the valve throughout when i did the canister, but maybe its defective.
thanks @ZackR @Moog @DARKNESS

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

All right, i'll try it then. i will order one.
Washed the valve throughout when i did the canister, but maybe its defective.
thanks @ZackR @Moog @DARKNESS

Your canister valve is clogged. That is the only part of the system that can keep pressure in your tank and keep it from venting.

 

[bwakeling]

Is the charcoal canister something that can be deleted from the system if emissions are not an issue or is it essential?