Okay, i was under the hood of my truck today and i honestly cannot remember what made me smell this, but i took a sniff near the charcoal canister and could faintly smell gas.

Now this scares the out of me because i have actually had a fire once upon a time caused from a fuel leak. I searched and found people replaced their charcol cannister and the smell went away.

My question is, do they go bad? Should i replace it? I have found no visible leaks anywhere.

Please give some info, i don't feel comfortable driving it, but its my only transportation. What is the price range on a new unit?

Thanks MIKE

 

They don't "go bad" unless contaminated by overfilling the tank, or are damaged. There shouldn't be any fuel smell around it (should be a sealed system), but being a '90 you may have cracks in the vent lines.

Have a look around the top of the can. Dry, cracked or rotted vacuum lines should be replaced. 1990 does not have an Evap monitor on board, so you won't get a CEL light like the '99+ vehicles.

 

Well, i had a fire in my truck when i first got it. BUt a different charcol canister got put in(pick n'pull deal) Um as far as overfilling, it may have been done before, not recently though. The rubber lines have also been replaced.

No visible cracks or leaks around/on the charcol cannister though.

 

I saw one go bad once... but that was only because he was hanging out with the wrong group of friends.

I am wondering if you might be able to find one in the local salvage yard to at least see if that resolves your problem... just an idea.

I think unless it's actually getting full of fuel you current one is probably fine.

 

If you want to check the charcoal canister...

http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...17evaporat.pdf

 

Thanks a bunch guys.

I will test it tomorrow after i get home from school.
Basically, anytime i smell fuel near my engine, i get kind of nervous/cautious. Just paranoia since there was once a fuel fire.

If i have the function correctly, there should only be vapors involved?
So if i unbolt the cannister tomorrow i could probably shake it around and listen for any fluid in it? or just do the test where i blow air into it. Just use an air compressor or can of compressed air?

 

Sould it be okay to drive, with a faint smell?, its not super strong, the only time i could smell it is when i pop the hood, and smell right above it.

Will/should the smell go away if i continue to drive it, i wonder if i overfilled it?

 

no you wont be able to hear liquid in it. its basically a brick of charcoal that absorbs evaporating gas. yes you should be fine with a slight gas smell. just figure out where its coming from

 

Check that the drain hose isn't clogged up, it runs down the interfender to the frame and is stuck in a hole in the frame. I think the Toyota engineers placed the drain into the frame to reduce the chance of a fire if fuel ever comes out of it (but that's just a guess).

 

Hey, i have that! I think mine is just hanging there, not in the frame thought. I will check, maybe it is clogged since i have been in mud before! Thanks!