Charcoal canister - replace or remove? (1 Viewer)

[Slow Poke]

I pulled the charcoal canister off and drained all the charcoal out to refresh and repaint the canister but I think all I did was screw it up. I can see a spring and a felt ring and a plastic plate rolling around in there but I think to put it back together I would have to cut it open. So here's the dilemma...

1) If I just ditch it, will it stink?

2) I assume I'll have to vent the tank somehow... ???

3) Better to go to the trouble of trying to rebuild my old filter or is there something out there I could buy to take it's place?

 

[miker]

Curious about how you "drained" the charcoal out?

Yes, the tank needs to vent. If it had a chacoal canister then its a closed system and vents fuel vapors back to the intake to be burnt. If you don't have a vent on the tank then it will build up a good amount of pressure. Ask me how I know....

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

How do you know? for MIKER

 

[Slow Poke]

To drain it I just shook it out into a plastic bag. It's just like aquarium charcoal. No biggy.

 

[Fast Eddy]

You definitely want to keep some charcoal can in there, vented into the air cleaner when switched on with an electric valve or when hot with a bvsv. The charcoal can stores fumes when the engine is not running, to be burned next time you start it. You probably want a check valve in there too, so fumes can't go in and out when it's not running.

 

[numby]

You shook out the charcoaql? Out which hole? The ones on top are all too small and have check valves (of sorts). If you removed the bottom hose and metal plate (2 small bolts) there should have been a piece of felt to prevent the charcoal from falling out. What else have you attempted to "fix"?

Okay, you must vent the gas tank to atmosphere or it will expand when hot and bust a seam. The gas cap lets air in. Attach a hose to the end of the original metal tubing from the tank that connected to the canister in the engine compartment and run it aft under the truck to the rear somewhere. It will smell like gas wherever the end of the hose is so chose your terminus carefully. Make certain that the original inline check valve just downstream from the fuel vapor separator is still present or get one from the dealer (about $25.00 iirc). Plug all the old lines that went to the carb. In theory the end of your new vent hose should be high enough to not allow siphoning of fuel from the tank but the separator should handle that aspect. You will not be smog legal with this set-up.

My theory is that the spring, plate, and felt ring were to there to keep downward pressure on the charcoal bits/dust so they wouldn't clog up the check valves on top. Turn the canister upside down and see if you can rig some sort of removable device (t-shaped piece of wire or like a bird's foot) to depress the other parts against the spring while you fill the canister from the bottom. Then remove the device and work another piece of felt into the bottom hole and reinstall the hose and metal plate. Post up whether you're successful or not.

Or you could get a used one from the junkyard and quit meddling.

 

[cmiller114]

Spector sells the canisters.....$45.

 

[Slow Poke]

What else have you attempted to "fix"?

Geeze Numby, lighten up. It's just a filter. There is a felt ring in there along with the spring and stuff. Not too worried, it's not like it's fixable. just gonna have to replace it. Rookie mistake. SOR doesn't have one for my year but I'm hoping to find a replacement from a fellow mudder.

 

[MtnTrucker]

I removed all of the VSV and other emissions stuff that didn't work any more from my 40. I did leave the charcoal canister and fuel separator in place. I installed a barb fitting into the side of the air cleaner housing and ran the hose from the charcoal canister (that used to go to the VSV valve) to that fitting. It doesn't have direct intake manifold vacuum like before but it does get some suction from the air cleaner itself. It seems to work fine, I get no fumes, no pressure build up in the tank and it's endured 2 rollovers.

 

[Downey]

There is no percentage of smog legal, other than zero or 100%. If I did not have an operating cannister, I'd gut out the emissions equipment in it's entirety. Heck, I'd gut it out anyway!!!

 

[numby]

Geeze Numby, lighten up.

Oh, c'mon. Just a little ribbin'. Hell, you didn't even say it was broken before you took it apart! Besides, if you managed to get it back together I might do the same thing to mine because one of the ports is clogged.

SOR doesn't have one for my year but I'm hoping to find a replacement from a fellow mudder.

I'm not that familiar with all the years and such but a lot of them look alike to me.

I installed a barb fitting into the side of the air cleaner housing and ran the hose from the charcoal canister (that used to go to the VSV valve) to that fitting. It doesn't have direct intake manifold vacuum like before but it does get some suction from the air cleaner itself.

I wonder if you could just run it to the original manifold port without it acting like a leak? Maybe use an old orifice restriction fitting from the original vacuum lines.

 

[tlc_4play]

Unless you need all the smog crap to be road legal - I would dump it all.
Which is exactly what Im going to do with all the smog crap on my present Ex Oz 1983 LX rebuild

 

[1973Guppie]

vent it to a small k&n breather filter in the engine compartment, or get the proper charcoal canister and hook it back up.

 

[joeyg1973]

I am by no means a greeny, but I would stick with the charcoal canister just because the gas fumes are nasty for the environment as well as bad for your health.

 

[numby]

vent it to a small k&n breather filter in the engine compartment...

I decided to pull the charcoal canister on my '73 Chevy PU (the ONLY smog equipment it has) because it was difficult to find the correct PCV valve with integrated "T" fitting and, well, I was too lazy to make one up. I put a small inline fuel filter on the end of the vent hose that originally connected the tank to the canister. I kept smelling a little fuel in the cab when driving so I ran the line from the tank to the rear of the vehicle. Worked great - no more fumes.

The extra space was quickly filled with a underhood shower pump