I put an end to my Charcoal Canister problems for good! (4 Viewers)

[LandCruiserPhil]

Honestly, I dont know if the mod reduces mpg but keeping gas from coming out of the filler has to help.

One of my last check

 

[Rudster]

Did you consider "JB Weld"-ing it? Doesn't seem like it could have enough backpressure to pop a glue seam (maybe?)

I JB welded my about 6 years ago and the seal is fine.

 

[HIteq]

What did you replace the old activated charcoal with? Any links to the product used?

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

What did you replace the old activated charcoal with? Any links to the product used?

Fish tank filter charcoal available at any pet store

 

[bcomnes]

Just bought a new canister but keeping this in mind for down the road, especially now I have a donor canister I can work on with little remorse. As easy as refilling and getting rid of that stupid ball. Nice!

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

@80t0ylc

 

[80t0ylc]

@80t0ylc

Found my old canister after trying the Autozone VC120 for less than a year and having the explosive pressure return. Drilled out BB and sealed up canister with RTV silicone sealant. Tomorrow it'll be in my LC. Thanks for the fix!!!

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Almost 4 years and zero issues
MPG has dropped to 16.1MPG YMMV

 

[Corbet]

Reminds me I need to do this.

 

[Josey1972]

Found my old canister after trying the Autozone VC120 for less than a year and having the explosive pressure return. Drilled out BB and sealed up canister with RTV silicone sealant. Tomorrow it'll be in my LC. Thanks for the fix!!!

Funny I just found your comment. Ive been noticing a bit of a vapor smell on occasion on mine, like th days when I wasn’t using a canister at all. Looks like I need to rebuild the OEM one.

 

[91Elsie]

In the past I rebuilt my canister but recently the problem popped back up and once I experience a problem 3 times I change directions and look for a final fix.

The canister has 3 lines -
1 - comes straight from the tank with a one way valve at the canister < the problem
1 - goes to the VCV valve
1 - out the bottom and vent to the outside

After reviewing the FSM I see no reason for a check valve (the problem) so I ellimanated it. After 1000 miles with 100° - 35° temp and 1000' - to 7500' altitude I see no codes, gas smell, or problems down the road. Im done with this problem for GOOD.

If you think this mod will add to global warming keep it to yourself

NOTE: Pictures cheerfully stolen form internet and not mine

The process -

Grind the rim off the canister to grain inside access
Pop it open
Drill a ~1/4" hole on the tank side where you see the ball
Dump the ball out and make sure the passage is clear
Replace the active carbon inside
Reassemble the canister
Press the top in place and tack weld close
Paint the cut line to keep everything pretty
Never worry about your canister again.

If you dont have the skills PM me for help

View attachment 1348179 View attachment 1348180 View attachment 1348181 View attachment 1348182

So.....1991 FJ80, western Idaho to Eastern OR @ 97degF, 3k ft. elevation gain, consumed 1/2 tank, stopped to re-fuel, scared the crap out of the pump attendant when he removed my fuel cap (scared the s*** out of me too), vented violently for about 2min. Couple of things to note:

1.) Daughter lost the fuel cap after re-fueling several months prior to above incident. We all smelled the fuel on occasion after parking but were not immediately concerned about the cap since there seemed to be no problem.
2.) Upon learning this later, I temporarily borrowed my '95 4Runner fuel cap for the trip
3.) After venting ceased, I thought perhaps fuel cap was not compatible so, I left it off after re-fueling. Then proceeded to do some fairly aggressive crawling in the desert with some fairly aggressive %grades and more elevation gain(still 97+deg F).
4.) Without fuel cap, very minor gas spill from the fuel door(I could see the blood loss because of the dust accumulation on the fender(also, the fuel economy was not out of normal) however, intense petro smell.

Upon my return home without any further problems(still without fuel cap), I signed up on IH8MUD and read over 40 pages related to this problem. Fascinating. I have ordered that piece of s*** Pontiac charcoal canister but, until it arrives, I am going to Listen to @LandCruiserPhil (since his solution seems to be logical) and cut that pile apart, replace filter media, delete check valve, tack weld back together. I will fill tank with 89 octane ethanol-free fuel here in Boise ID, take a run up to the ski mountain with new fuel cap from @Delta VS (here in town) and get back to this thread. Give me through the weekend. I am curious to see what happens. Should be near 100 degF here in Boise.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

So.....1991 FJ80, western Idaho to Eastern OR @ 97degF, 3k ft. elevation gain, consumed 1/2 tank, stopped to re-fuel, scared the crap out of the pump attendant when he removed my fuel cap (scared the s*** out of me too), vented violently for about 2min. Couple of things to note:

1.) Daughter lost the fuel cap after re-fueling several months prior to above incident. We all smelled the fuel on occasion after parking but were not immediately concerned about the cap since there seemed to be no problem.
2.) Upon learning this later, I temporarily borrowed my '95 4Runner fuel cap for the trip
3.) After venting ceased, I thought perhaps fuel cap was not compatible so, I left it off after re-fueling. Then proceeded to do some fairly aggressive crawling in the desert with some fairly aggressive %grades and more elevation gain(still 97+deg F).
4.) Without fuel cap, very minor gas spill from the fuel door(I could see the blood loss because of the dust accumulation on the fender(also, the fuel economy was not out of normal) however, intense petro smell.

Upon my return home without any further problems(still without fuel cap), I signed up on IH8MUD and read over 40 pages related to this problem. Fascinating. I have ordered that piece of s*** Pontiac charcoal canister but, until it arrives, I am going to Listen to @LandCruiserPhil (since his solution seems to be logical) and cut that pile apart, replace filter media, delete check valve, tack weld back together. I will fill tank with 89 octane ethanol-free fuel here in Boise ID, take a run up to the ski mountain with new fuel cap from @Delta VS (here in town) and get back to this thread. Give me through the weekend. I am curious to see what happens. Should be near 100 degF here in Boise.

Should be fine its a 100° at midnight this time of year and never a problem.

 

[80t0ylc]

So.....1991 FJ80, western Idaho to Eastern OR @ 97degF, 3k ft. elevation gain, consumed 1/2 tank, stopped to re-fuel, scared the crap out of the pump attendant when he removed my fuel cap (scared the s*** out of me too), vented violently for about 2min. Couple of things to note:

1.) Daughter lost the fuel cap after re-fueling several months prior to above incident. We all smelled the fuel on occasion after parking but were not immediately concerned about the cap since there seemed to be no problem.
2.) Upon learning this later, I temporarily borrowed my '95 4Runner fuel cap for the trip
3.) After venting ceased, I thought perhaps fuel cap was not compatible so, I left it off after re-fueling. Then proceeded to do some fairly aggressive crawling in the desert with some fairly aggressive %grades and more elevation gain(still 97+deg F).
4.) Without fuel cap, very minor gas spill from the fuel door(I could see the blood loss because of the dust accumulation on the fender(also, the fuel economy was not out of normal) however, intense petro smell.

Upon my return home without any further problems(still without fuel cap), I signed up on IH8MUD and read over 40 pages related to this problem. Fascinating. I have ordered that piece of s*** Pontiac charcoal canister but, until it arrives, I am going to Listen to @LandCruiserPhil (since his solution seems to be logical) and cut that pile apart, replace filter media, delete check valve, tack weld back together. I will fill tank with 89 octane ethanol-free fuel here in Boise ID, take a run up to the ski mountain with new fuel cap from @Delta VS (here in town) and get back to this thread. Give me through the weekend. I am curious to see what happens. Should be near 100 degF here in Boise.

I'm pretty sure ethanol gas is making our venting problems worse than they need to be. I had the same scare as you did. I thought that Phil's fix was the answer to my venting issue, but the pressure still builds seriously when I'm on the road and pumping fuel from my aux tank. Setting in the driveway in the sun at 100*F temps - it's fine - no pressure buildup. I've had problems with my aux tank's fuel pump and I'm thinking it might be related, if not the cause of the excessive pressure buildup. LRA has warrantied me with a new fuel pump and I've replaced it. Just haven't had time or opportunity to test it yet.

Also wanted to mention that with my '94, the fuel cap takes several turns to remove. It's not like the 1/4 turn caps that are so common. Wondering if your '91 is similar? If so, I've found that just starting the cap in the threads and closing the fuel door helps stop the losing fuel when it's full problem. The fuel door locks shut, so there's minimum chance of losing cap. Only problem doing that is that it's necessary to align the cap handle horizontal and it will miss the fuel door mechanism and shut tight.

 

[bcomnes]

So.....1991 FJ80, western Idaho to Eastern OR @ 97degF, 3k ft. elevation gain, consumed 1/2 tank, stopped to re-fuel, scared the crap out of the pump attendant when he removed my fuel cap (scared the s*** out of me too), vented violently for about 2min. Couple of things to note:

1.) Daughter lost the fuel cap after re-fueling several months prior to above incident. We all smelled the fuel on occasion after parking but were not immediately concerned about the cap since there seemed to be no problem.
2.) Upon learning this later, I temporarily borrowed my '95 4Runner fuel cap for the trip
3.) After venting ceased, I thought perhaps fuel cap was not compatible so, I left it off after re-fueling. Then proceeded to do some fairly aggressive crawling in the desert with some fairly aggressive %grades and more elevation gain(still 97+deg F).
4.) Without fuel cap, very minor gas spill from the fuel door(I could see the blood loss because of the dust accumulation on the fender(also, the fuel economy was not out of normal) however, intense petro smell.

Upon my return home without any further problems(still without fuel cap), I signed up on IH8MUD and read over 40 pages related to this problem. Fascinating. I have ordered that piece of s*** Pontiac charcoal canister but, until it arrives, I am going to Listen to @LandCruiserPhil (since his solution seems to be logical) and cut that pile apart, replace filter media, delete check valve, tack weld back together. I will fill tank with 89 octane ethanol-free fuel here in Boise ID, take a run up to the ski mountain with new fuel cap from @Delta VS (here in town) and get back to this thread. Give me through the weekend. I am curious to see what happens. Should be near 100 degF here in Boise.

I have a 91, and when I bought it, I had pressure build up every time I went to fill up. Venting only took a couple of seconds though.

I replaced the fuel cap with a fresh OEM (came with some non OEM cap), which didn't do much.

I replaced the filter with the VC120 and some new hoses:

Builds - bcomnes' 1991 3FE FJ80 Build

Any more info on that? Any failure warnings?

forum.ih8mud.com

(vid of some other guy)



Thats what fixed the short venting during fill up, and did cut down on some fuel smell after shut off. Car definitely still gives off fuel smell in the garage when I shut it off.

From what I could find regarding the 'long' 2min+ venting problem, is its your fuel in the tank boiling due to pressure and heat conditions. I've not personally encountered this yet.

EDIT:

Posted the wrong video, here is a replacement vid on the 91:

 

[91Elsie]

Yes, thanks. I’ve watched them all concerning the VC-120. Im going to try to make that my last option since to me, it reminds me too much of using duct tape or electrical tape to “fix” something. The OEM unit worked at one time. If it is now indeed the problem, I believe it can be repaired/upgraded. Also, as a note, I applied compressed air to the “to tank” input hose barb. No air will pass. Think about that, folks. The pickup line at the bottom of the CC feeding air from inside the frame rail supplies air to the tank as fuel is depleted. But, if pressure builds inside the tank from heated fuel or a rise in elevation(ever bought a bag of potato chips and taken them 3000+ ft in elevation and watched the bag look like a birthaday helium balloon) it has no air supply(not gonna lie, like some of their songs) to supplement. Hence, delete the check valve. Maybe the VC-120 has no check valve?

 

[LandLocked93]

I had the boiling fuel episode once. It was extremely alarming, and lasted a good 5-6 minutes. About a 3kft change in elevation, like yours. (6k to 8.5kft) 91oct @ 70*ambient.

I used a few drops of Oil Eater in each port and let it soak for 5 mins at first Then took a few q-tips and ran them in and out of the ports. Then repeated 3 or 4 times extending the soak time each time, trying to listen for or feel thru the q-tip the ball bearing. I'd intended to keep the liquid out of the can by orienting the ports to the ground for the soaking bit. This worked mostly, except once i got too exhuberant with the dropper and ran some oil eater through it. It wasn't much...but it flowed straight through and out the bottom port IIRC. Let the can sit with ports open to the air overnight and put it all back together. Haven't had the issue since, over a year ago (OEM can, guessing vintage '93 but don't know for sure, 285kmi).
edit:'Smitty' is not a DD, so YMMV. And this certainly isn't an alternative to drilling method. Prob just a band-aid at most.

 

[leonard_nemoy]

Open the oem can, remove and replace charcoal, clean check valves. Simple, and it solved my problem of gas fume smells, hissing at fill up, and most importantly the spewing forth of multiple gallons of gasoline from the filler neck during the summer after large elevation gains....

 

[bcomnes]

Yes, thanks. I’ve watched them all concerning the VC-120. Im going to try to make that my last option since to me, it reminds me too much of using duct tape or electrical tape to “fix” something. The OEM unit worked at one time. If it is now indeed the problem, I believe it can be repaired/upgraded. Also, as a note, I applied compressed air to the “to tank” input hose barb. No air will pass. Think about that, folks. The pickup line at the bottom of the CC feeding air from inside the frame rail supplies air to the tank as fuel is depleted. But, if pressure builds inside the tank from heated fuel or a rise in elevation(ever bought a bag of potato chips and taken them 3000+ ft in elevation and watched the bag look like a birthaday helium balloon) it has no air supply(not gonna lie, like some of their songs) to supplement. Hence, delete the check valve. Maybe the VC-120 has no check valve?

I don't believe the VC-120 has a check valve. Pressure from the tank or engine will be pushed into the canister, suction from the engine will pull in whatever fumes are in the canister, and pressure is relived by a big vent hole in the bottom.

 

[91Elsie]

I don't believe the VC-120 has a check valve. Pressure from the tank or engine will be pushed into the canister, suction from the engine will pull in whatever fumes are in the canister, and pressure is relived by a big vent hole in the bottom.

There ya go. I do believe @LandCruiserPhil is on to something.

 

[Eyedaho]

So.....1991 FJ80, western Idaho to Eastern OR @ 97degF, 3k ft. elevation gain, consumed 1/2 tank, stopped to re-fuel, scared the crap out of the pump attendant when he removed my fuel cap (scared the s*** out of me too), vented violently for about 2min. Couple of things to note:

1.) Daughter lost the fuel cap after re-fueling several months prior to above incident. We all smelled the fuel on occasion after parking but were not immediately concerned about the cap since there seemed to be no problem.
2.) Upon learning this later, I temporarily borrowed my '95 4Runner fuel cap for the trip
3.) After venting ceased, I thought perhaps fuel cap was not compatible so, I left it off after re-fueling. Then proceeded to do some fairly aggressive crawling in the desert with some fairly aggressive %grades and more elevation gain(still 97+deg F).
4.) Without fuel cap, very minor gas spill from the fuel door(I could see the blood loss because of the dust accumulation on the fender(also, the fuel economy was not out of normal) however, intense petro smell.

Upon my return home without any further problems(still without fuel cap), I signed up on IH8MUD and read over 40 pages related to this problem. Fascinating. I have ordered that piece of s*** Pontiac charcoal canister but, until it arrives, I am going to Listen to @LandCruiserPhil (since his solution seems to be logical) and cut that pile apart, replace filter media, delete check valve, tack weld back together. I will fill tank with 89 octane ethanol-free fuel here in Boise ID, take a run up to the ski mountain with new fuel cap from @Delta VS (here in town) and get back to this thread. Give me through the weekend. I am curious to see what happens. Should be near 100 degF here in Boise.

Your weekend plan sounds kinda Bogus.