Fuel Smell Back AFTER New Charcoal Canister

[Matmal]

Hey all,

I have been searching the forum but thought I'd post, as smelling fuel is not something I am OK with and want to fix this ASAP.

I have always had the pressure release issue when taking gas cap off, and lately they 80 stunk for hours after driving it.

So, I replaced the charcoal canister with the Autozone VC120 which fixed the tank pressure when removing the cap, and initially fixed the fuel odor.

Now, a month later I have the fuel smell back. It is present with engine running, but I noticed it last night after the 80 had sat for 3 days as well.....

I replaced both hoses with rubber fuel hose (the originals were a little short for the new canisters orientation) and are both on and sealed well.

All I can think is I need a new VCV, as the engine isn't sucking out the fumes when its running? so the canister is just getting overwhelmed? If that is the case, do I need to get a new canister once I fix the missing vacuum?

Do any of you know if a bad VCV can cause this fuel smell? What else can I check?

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Could be possible the tank is just doing its job and venting?

 

[Matmal]

Well, I guess that leads me to another question I had.

Should I smell fuel vapor? It was a hot weekend, parked in the sun.. But the thing is I never smell fuel vapor from other cars so I feel its not normal?

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Well, I guess that leads me to another question I had.

Should I smell fuel vapor? It was a hot weekend, parked in the sun.. But the thing is I never smell fuel vapor from other cars so I feel its not normal?

Your canister vents to the outside atmosphere when there is nowhere for the vapor to go.

 

[Matmal]

Right, and I realize the charcoal can only do so much, but it seems it should be doing much more. The odor is quite strong. As in, I couldn't work under the hood safely which doesn't seem normal...

I suppose I should take the vacuum line off the canister and run the engine to see if it is sucking air...

 

[artech]

Is the tank cracked on top? Does it leak down the side when it's full?

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Is the tank cracked on top? Does it leak down the side when it's full?

Full? There should only be vapor in the canister never any kind of liquid especially fuel.

Good question

 

[inkpot]

Full? There should only be vapor in the canister never any kind of liquid especially fuel.

I think Artech is referring to the infamous crack/leak on the main fuel tank.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I think Artech is referring to the infamous crack/leak on the main fuel tank.

Nevermind

 

[nukegoat]

Head gasket.

 

[Matmal]

I have never seen gas on the tank, and given how much pressure it was holding before the new canister when I would remove the cap I would assume it is not leaking..

And I moved the canister a bit last night, didn't want to take it out completely, but it did not feel like there was gas inside of it.

 

[artech]

My fuel tank had rusted through on top and had a definite gas smell to it. Never had the gas cap pressure issue with my truck with either the old or the new(expensive) gas tank, so I don't think the rust holes were preventing any kind of pressure buildup.

These tanks are prone to cracking, but if I recall right those cracked ones don't build up pressure at the cap. Might be worth checking though...

 

[BILT4ME]

My fuel tank had rusted through on top and had a definite gas smell to it. Never had the gas cap pressure issue with my truck with either the old or the new(expensive) gas tank, so I don't think the rust holes were preventing any kind of pressure buildup.

These tanks are prone to cracking, but if I recall right those cracked ones don't build up pressure at the cap. Might be worth checking though...

My cracked tank still built pressure. It wasn't until it was leaking at anything above 3/4 tank that I decided to change it. It still built pressure even with the crack. It wasn't until I changed my canister to the VC120 that my pressure abated.

 

[ppc]

Ditto... Still had pressure with the leaky tank. Doesn't seem possible but my theory is that when the fuel level drops below the level of the crack there is less weight in the tank and the crack closed enough where pressure would build.

 

[vegasfj40]

Wanted to share my experience with this issue. I had the same problem after I replaced the canister with the VC120. I was getting strong fuel odor from the canister after a long hot drive. I checked the VCV controlling the purging of vapors from the canister to the intake and found that port S would not hold vacuum. As a consequence the valve was not purging vapors from the canister. Just replaced the valve part number 90925-03192 and problem solved! If youve replaced your canister and are still getting fuel smell I suggest checking and replacing the VCV.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

If you look under your cruiser at the fuel tank shield and see it looks wet and oily you likely have the crack...go register on my list of people with cracked tanks. I'm hoping that if we get a large enough list toyota will do something. By the way, the tanks still hold pressure with the infamous crack. Vapor pressure constanty builds so it's easy to hold some in with a hairline crack, but fuel is very slippery and comes right out. Heck, water has a hard time getting through the cracks that I've had, but fuel just bled out.

 

[Qball]

This might be a dumb question but did you hook up the lines correctly?

 

[madisonr34]

Use this if you are going to replace the VCV.

 

[madisonr34]

Just connect the 2 hoses together and bypass the charcoal canister. See if the smell goes away.

Use the VCV I posted above from Amazon if you think the VCV is the problem. It works.

 

[vegasfj40]

Just connect the 2 hoses together and bypass the charcoal canister. See if the smell goes away.

Use the VCV I posted above from Amazon if you think the VCV is the problem. It works.

That's not the correct valve for the Evap canister. That one is for the EGR. There is no power to the VCV for the canister.