Charcoal Fuel Vapor Canister Lifespan?

[Vic Roma]

How long should a charcoal fuel vapor canister last?

Reading online, it could be changed whenever it's required eg if it's filled with dirt/debris, but otherwise, it should last the life of the vehicle.

Would like to read about your experiences.

[Vic Roma]

Has anyone ever changed it because they just wanted to, or because they needed to?

[Gary Lewis]

Has anyone ever changed it because they just wanted to, or because they needed to?

I've never changed one. I have removed some as I was stripping vehicles, but saved them 'cause I think they'll still work.

[MarkThomas]

I've never changed one. I have removed some as I was stripping vehicles, but saved them 'cause I think they'll still work.

Glad this came up. I'm having difficulty getting gas into my tank, keeps wanting to belch out...have to fill it very slowly. According to my google-fu this can be because the vapor canister is backed up or plugged not allowing the vapors to escape therefore coming back up the fill tube. If the vapors can't escape fast enough you get a shut off or gas back up the fill tube.

So, before I spend the $50 or so I was wondering if there's a way to test my vapor canister to see if it's working. The book says mine is a CP2000 Vapor Canister (assuming that's a standard motor products part number)

Guess: If I follow the vapor hose from the gas tank along the frame and up to the canister, then pull that hose off the canister, I should be able to blow (with an air hose at low pressure) air back into the gas tank (probably should pull the gas cap off the filler tube). That would ensure the line is clear to the canister.

Maybe I should leave that hose off and go fill the tank and see if I still have the problem?

Assuming that fixes the problem, then obviously the vapor canister isn't working. But, for debate sake, how does one test this canister?

[Gary Lewis]

Glad this came up. I'm having difficulty getting gas into my tank, keeps wanting to belch out...have to fill it very slowly. According to my google-fu this can be because the vapor canister is backed up or plugged not allowing the vapors to escape therefore coming back up the fill tube. If the vapors can't escape fast enough you get a shut off or gas back up the fill tube.

So, before I spend the $50 or so I was wondering if there's a way to test my vapor canister to see if it's working. The book says mine is a CP2000 Vapor Canister (assuming that's a standard motor products part number)

Guess: If I follow the vapor hose from the gas tank along the frame and up to the canister, then pull that hose off the canister, I should be able to blow (with an air hose at low pressure) air back into the gas tank (probably should pull the gas cap off the filler tube). That would ensure the line is clear to the canister.

Maybe I should leave that hose off and go fill the tank and see if I still have the problem?

Assuming that fixes the problem, then obviously the vapor canister isn't working. But, for debate sake, how does one test this canister?

Your plan to test is a good one, but do take the cap off the tank.

However, I am sure you are going to find that with the hose off the tank still has to be filled slowly. I say that because Big Blue didn't have a vapor cannister and it was painfully slow to fill.

The issue usually has to do with the way that Ford ran the vent hose inside the fill hose. In the Bullnose years the gas went down the center and the air vented up around the central hose. But in the Bricknose and later trucks the gas goes down around the central hose and air vents up the middle. That works much better.

You can use the $50 to buy the later filler neck and hoses and that should solve the problem. But don't take my word for it, see what others say.

[MarkThomas]

Your plan to test is a good one, but do take the cap off the tank.

However, I am sure you are going to find that with the hose off the tank still has to be filled slowly. I say that because Big Blue didn't have a vapor cannister and it was painfully slow to fill.

The issue usually has to do with the way that Ford ran the vent hose inside the fill hose. In the Bullnose years the gas went down the center and the air vented up around the central hose. But in the Bricknose and later trucks the gas goes down around the central hose and air vents up the middle. That works much better.

You can use the $50 to buy the later filler neck and hoses and that should solve the problem. But don't take my word for it, see what others say.

I thought the whole idea of a vapor canister was to vent the escaping vapor from the tank elsewhere to be burned? Hmmm.

So, if I purchase a filler tube for an 87+ for the front 19gal tank that'll work? Cool.

[Gary Lewis]

I thought the whole idea of a vapor canister was to vent the escaping vapor from the tank elsewhere to be burned? Hmmm.

So, if I purchase a filler tube for an 87+ for the front 19gal tank that'll work? Cool.

The vapors the cannister is to catch are the ones from evaporating fuel over the time between fillups. But when you fill the tank the air in the tank that is pushed out by the incoming gas just goes into the atmosphere in most places, although some places have a recovery hood on the nozzle to capture it.

See if this post helps: http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/Big-Blue-s-Transformation-tp28014p69427.html. Big Blue had the later style hose going into a Bullnose tank and it didn't work well at all. So I'm not sure it'll work with you just changing out the filler hose.

[MarkThomas]

The vapors the cannister is to catch are the ones from evaporating fuel over the time between fillups. But when you fill the tank the air in the tank that is pushed out by the incoming gas just goes into the atmosphere in most places, although some places have a recovery hood on the nozzle to capture it.

See if this post helps: http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/Big-Blue-s-Transformation-tp28014p69427.html. Big Blue had the later style hose going into a Bullnose tank and it didn't work well at all. So I'm not sure it'll work with you just changing out the filler hose.

I read you. I need to pull that filler neck and hose to see if it's the right one. There wouldn't happen to be a part number marking for the correct filler neck would there? Maybe I could verify if I have the wrong filler neck without pulling it?

[MarkThomas]

I read you. I need to pull that filler neck and hose to see if it's the right one. There wouldn't happen to be a part number marking for the correct filler neck would there? Maybe I could verify if I have the wrong filler neck without pulling it?

Doesn't appear LMC or NPD carry the fuel filler tube for a bullnose.

[Gary Lewis]

I read you. I need to pull that filler neck and hose to see if it's the right one. There wouldn't happen to be a part number marking for the correct filler neck would there? Maybe I could verify if I have the wrong filler neck without pulling it?

You could look for a number on the hose. BUT, there's something you need to understand about Ford parts - any number you find on a part is not the part number. Yep. In the mid-1960's Ford had a "Better Idea" and quit placing part numbers on parts. Instead the number is an ID or "engineering" number. And I have a cross reference with hundreds of thousands of numbers that supposedly lets me connect the two.

So if you can find a number on your hose or filler neck maybe I can cross-ref it.