I have removed my charcoal canister from my 82 malibu and me and a friend are arguing over whether or not i actually need it. I thought is was only an emissions filter of some sort and I didnt really need it but he thinks differently?? It is off my car now and it runs just fine, so if someone could help me clear this up id appreciate it. If i dont need it do i need the metal line running to the gas tank or can i cap that off too or does it work as a vent for the tank? Thanks in advance!
Do I ABSOLUTELY need the charcoal canister??
- Thread starter slownugly
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Is emissions stuff bad? Keep the canister, it isn't hurtin nothing being there. No horsepower gains removing it.
It hurts nothing being there. In fact it actually saves you gas and makes your car start easier. When you stop the car running and it is hot the canister purge sucks out the extra gas (or something) and makes the car start easier (This is what the service manual says). Also, any unused or excess fuel that your fuel pump sends to the carb or any that sits there after you turn off the car and would otherwise evaporate into the atmosphere is collected by the system and recycled (somehow. again, this is just what the service manual says). So these are TWO really good reasons to keep the system on there. OH, and your car wont smell like gas all the time because the fumes are being collected!
what if ive already trashed the canister??? 😳 i took out my inner fender wells and trashed the canister with the fender wells. Can the hose be capped off or replaced with a breather or pcv type valve to vent the tank??
I got rid of mine...kind of regretted it. You definitely need a vent line from gas tank. traditionally it goes to canister, I ran rubber hose to vent my tank and strapped it up by my fuel filler and works like a charm. Whatever you do, do not cap vent line otherwise gas will heat up and get pushed up fuel line into carb. Go ahead ask me how I know... 😢
no pics lol, but I had my motor all setup with vapor line capped (b/c I forgot to unplug it) fuel line installed with no return setup either. I came out to the garage one day and it reeked of gas. popped my hood and there was a puddle of fuel on my intake bc fuel had heated up and pushed its way all the way up to carb and out. Also found out fuel line @ carb was leaking. I still have no return but ran rubber hose around the driver side of gas tank and pretty much looped over the gas filler so that it points down. I can snap a pic or two tomorrow. No problems with my setup now
there's carbs out there that are from pre emissions era that are still running and they don't have the provision for canister. The guy who build my carb plugged the carb and said it doesn't matter. I ran it like that for a while but unplugged it and set up the tube just in case the pollution cops pull me over...there was no change with or with out, starting it or fuel milage...
Cars were built for decades without cannisters. BUT they had a vented gas cap as well as a vent tube up over the tank. Ever stand near a vented car on a hot summer day? Right, you smell gas because the vapors are vented to atmosphere. The idea was to keep the gas vapors in one place (cannister) until the car starts and burns them up. It is a simple system that works well with no affect on performance. If you do remove it, be sure to properly vent the tank, and if you just leave the end of the vapor line open, be aware that dangerous gasoline vapors are exiting from that line and can explode if ignited.
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