Why will nobody help me?! (1 Viewer)

[dominic]

The petrol smell in my LC is driving me mad and nobody will help me!
Changed the cap and the charcoal canister. No good.
Very noticeable when tank running low, when weather is hot, cornering and high altitudes.
I have taken it to two Toyota dealerships and they couldn't help me.
I emailed Toyota, asking them for advice and told them it had been to two Toyota dealerships and they told me to take it to a Toyota dealership!
Now, if somebody doesn't help me soon, I am going to get very angry!
( and you wouldn't want that )

 

[wareagle]

OK, you replaced the two most common failure points. Now you need to test the other components. Here's a link that may help explain things a bit:

http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/h62.pdf

 

[ShottsUZJ100]

All three of my Cruisers do this in 4-low. I've come accustomed to it.

 

[Just4Fun]

We all got together and decided we didn't like you but Wareagle missed the meeting that day!!

 

[Just4Fun]

I guess Shotts missed it too!! What I would advise to you my friend is to not run the tank low.. It's like the guy that went to the Dr. and said, Doc, ya gotta help me... It's hurts when I do this.... The Doctor looked at him and said while, don't do that!

 

[Just4Fun]

By the way Shotts, I kinda like your style... I'm in Tucson too, nice to see somebody else suffer through the heat with me...

 

[mobi-arc]

Perhaps a leaky fuel pump gasket???? Pain to check.

 

[dclee]

Exhaust leak coming into the cab?

 

[dominic]

Thank you all, for your replies.
I'm not angry anymore!
Yes, I always try to keep the tank full but even when it was full, I went to a high altitude and the smell started.
What I can't understand is; Is this a problem with all LCs or is there a way to cure it? I just love the vehicle but I couldn't buy another one if it was going to be the same.

 

[cruiser99]

What model year is your Cruiser and where is the canister?

Mine is a 99 and on hot days high altitude or when bouncing around a lot I have the same symptoms.

To my understanding it's a vapor pressure/mass flow thing. There is a valve on top of the C Canister that lets go when the vapor pressure goes above a certain value. Now, if the fuel surface area is large (i.e. empty tank or aux fuel tank -- my case) the rate of fuel vapor production is large. It all goes through this valve and it's noticeable.

The 99 has the canister in the engine compartment and I id the valve and can actual hear the leak.

IMHO there are very few people out there that understand the emission control system, Toyota’s or otherwise.

Please don’t be mad…

 

[cruiser99]

What model year is your Cruiser and where is the canister?

Mine is a 99 and on hot days high altitude or when bouncing around a lot I have the same symptoms.

To my understanding it's a vapor pressure/mass flow thing. There is a valve on top of the C Canister that lets go when the vapor pressure goes above a certain value. Now, if the fuel surface area is large (i.e. empty tank or aux fuel tank -- my case) the rate of fuel vapor production is large. It all goes through this valve and it's noticeable.

The 99 has the canister in the engine compartment and I id the valve and can actual hear the leak.

IMHO there are very few people out there that understand the emission control system, Toyota’s or otherwise.

Please don’t be mad…

 

[dominic]

Hi, Thanks for the reply!
My LC is 1998. The charcoal canister is in the engine compartment but I can't see a valve. Two pipes go in (or out) at the top and one at the bottom. Funny, when I get the smell inside the cabin I check the cc and there is absolutely no smell from it. Even if I pull the pipes off!
I'm just thinking, maybe there is a problem somewhere before this which is preventing the vapour from reaching the canister.
Cheers,
Dominic.

 

[NMuzj100]

I have a 98, live at 7,000 ft with hot temps and have never experienced a gas smell. I think there is a problem with your system not the design so don't give up on the trouble shooting.

 

[dominic]

That's good to hear NMuzj100!
I can't see Toyota getting it so wrong.
I'll keep trying! (The problem is getting someone who knows anything about it!)Many thanks.

 

[cruiser99]

at high altitude/temp do you hear a faint buzzing sound coming from the top of the CC?

 

[dominic]

I haven't tried that.
The next time the smell is obvious, I will check that out.

 

[dclee]

Ahh, vaporization of petrol gas, gotta love it! I assume there is no issue with vapor lock on these modern trucks and the fuel pump is in or near the tank, though I am not yet that familiar with the 100's fuel system...

Could this be why Toyota moved the cannister to the rear of the truck around the 03-04 timeframe? I can see how those gas vapors could rise up to the top of the hood and be sucked in by the cab air vents under the windshield.

New cannister location: sucks for putting in a subtank, but maybe not such a bad thing afterall?

 

[dominic]

That may well be the reason!
However, even with the canister being in the engine bay, the smell is definitely towards the left hand rear of the LC and incidently, also very strong in the pocket where the filler cap is.

 

[i4c4lo]

I have had the same problem, like cruiser99 I have a 160l aux tank. At Death Valley last March, I had so much vapor that I actually got stuck, the truck wouldn't start and CEL was on, the code was misfire - when I opened the gas cap gas was spewing out of there. I had to stay over night at the same spot and in the morning it was like nothing happened. I was helped by FirstToy which I will always be grateful for.

I took it to the dealer 70 miles away and they couldn't replicate the problem. Which I knew would happen.

About 3 weeks ago, doing Deer Valley Trail with the NorCal80 group, I was afraid this would happen again, high altitude, hot, lots of gas and you can hear the gas sloshing around in there so I always made sure to open the gas cap to vent it often. I didn't have a problem this time bit there was a lot of vapor escaping. I felt bad for Alvaro, he was the tail gunner on this trip and I was in front of him, he can smell the gas the whole time. Sorry Dood!

Anyway, I am going to try to replace the gas cap and see if that helps with the venting. (gas cap is suppose to release pressure when it hits a certain pressure) - Two years ago, at Death Valley we had 4 100 Series in the trip and we all had the same issue, so we just had to make sure to open the gas cap often.

Not sure what to do about this but my issue seems to get worse when it is really steep - that is when the truck will cut out and I am screwed. So I just vent often and always make sure the primary tank has a lot of gas in it.
__________________
I4C4LO
somewhere in CA

 

[dclee]

Geez, guess it's more common on the 100 than I thought. I figured that fuel injection and fuel pump placement would have eliminated this.

I know in the MOG world, petrol trucks outfitted for tropical conditions or high altitude would have a second in-line fuel pump to help overcome vapor lock (though pulling off the aux. fuel tank, and therefore placed very close to the tank itself). Not an issue for the diesel MOGs, of course. Anyway, that would be an easy fix and a good experiment to try.