TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Jul 06, 2010 6:49 pm

So, here's a question:

I'm getting ready to finally get the emissions testing done here in Oregon and I'm thinking that cleaning out and replacing the carbon in the cannister might be a good idea.

Thoughts on this?

Thanks.

Sun Mar 04, 2012 10:32 pm

Great thread.

Sun Mar 04, 2012 10:37 pm

CookingRock wrote: So, here's a question:

I'm getting ready to finally get the emissions testing done here in Oregon and I'm thinking that cleaning out and replacing the carbon in the cannister might be a good idea.

Thoughts on this?

Thanks.
It won't effect the smog test if that's what you're asking, but saving those hydrocarbons for recombustion is a good idea. The closest a smog test gets to the canister is a visual and a gas cap seal test off the car.

Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:04 am

we rebuilt two of the plastic canisters for mid-70's. get activated carbon pellets from an aquarium shop. You may have to look a little. Activated means it has been specially treated with steam which opens it up to being porous. Inside the canister was a filter made of plastic like a sponge. It melts with age and becomes a slime. You have to clean it out and replace it. We cut a piece of 3-m sanding pad like scotchbrite but one that is designed to be chemically resistant. That seems to have worked. Late canisters were still available as of a year or so ago but they are round and you have to find a way to mount them on pre-1978 bays if you use one.

Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:21 am

There is a great writeup on doing the later model round canisters here

Sun Apr 08, 2012 12:43 pm

Just removed the old original canister from Ladybug, and the lower hose is "plugged"!!!! Have my new replacement from German AutoParts...went to Ratwell, that says that the lower hose goes into a hole in the tin behind the alternator...but cannot find any hole...any ideas? I would think that plugging the bottom hose would defeat the whole idea of the system, and could cause the fuel smell that I have.... cannot find any pictures anywhere of where it should go...your help is (once again) sincerely appreciated...and Happy Easter/Passover to all..Bob

Sun Apr 08, 2012 1:05 pm

BTW...when I say "plugged" I mean that someone left a short piece of the bottom hose, and put a bolt in it ..... Bob

Sun Apr 08, 2012 1:32 pm

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/907370.jpg Hope this helps. :wink: Just went through the same situation almost as you. Only PO had no hose on bottom. Bought replacements and now installed.

Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:32 pm

Boesen...thank you so much!! I had looked all over...as soon as I saw your pic...there it was! Did you have the same " fuel smell problem"? Did this finally fix it? Bob

Sun Apr 08, 2012 3:26 pm

<=1977 - see blue tape next to coil. Here is where hose goes.

>=1978 - see hose tube near cylinder #2

Sun Apr 08, 2012 3:55 pm

Merlin,

Our '78 has a "pipe" in the sheet metal in the exact location pictured by Boesen...on the passenger's side behind the alternator, and it looks like a hose was attached there (some time go...slight rust around the collar) and is the correct diameter for the lower hose...an entirely different configuration than the engine ( gorgeous!) pic that you sent me with the connection on the driver's side....different year? I believe that Boesen's bus is a '79...and our bus is also a CA emissions bus....

Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:51 pm

merlin, here is a pic of what I have[img]

[/img]

Sun Apr 08, 2012 6:55 pm

ashley1 wrote: Boesen...thank you so much!! I had looked all over...as soon as I saw your pic...there it was! Did you have the same " fuel smell problem"? Did this finally fix it? Bob

I was replacing my fuel vapor lines and fuel lines too at the time after noticing a smell. I ordered them at the time from German Supply. When I ordered them, I noticed he offered the canister lines too seperatly. http://www.germansupply.com/home/customer/product.php?productid=18157 So i ordered them also. When I went to install the canister lines, I was using his webpage and the directions he had on them. Noticed that ever since I've owned our 79, there was never a line on the bottom of the canister like his instructions said there should be. After doing some Samba searching I found this link http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=457793 and wallah... Installed.... and no smell after new lines, vapor lines, and the charcoal canister lines. :wink:

Sat Apr 14, 2012 11:15 am

My next door neighbor just dropped off a five gallon bucket of activated charcoal at my door. He said that it was from the fourth step in a series of air filters from a local factory where they use it to pull HCs out of the air. The charcoal is changed on a monthly basis. He thought I might want it to put on my garden? Sounds like good charcoal canister material to me.

Sat Apr 14, 2012 7:31 pm

reidcloud wrote: My next door neighbor just dropped off a five gallon bucket of activated charcoal at my door. He said that it was from the fourth step in a series of air filters from a local factory where they use it to pull HCs out of the air. The charcoal is changed on a monthly basis. He thought I might want it to put on my garden? Sounds like good charcoal canister material to me.

cool. He gave you a small fortune in activated charcoal.

Sat Apr 14, 2012 7:33 pm

I wonder what Hc's they are discharging that they need to swap the charcoal every month?, could be something horrifying, was he wearing a hazmat suit when he dropped it off?

Sat Apr 14, 2012 7:40 pm

busdaddy wrote: I wonder what Hc's they are discharging that they need to swap the charcoal every month?, could be something horrifying, was he wearing a hazmat suit when he dropped it off?

I did notice an unusual glow in the sky coming from that direction.

Sat Apr 14, 2012 8:00 pm

It's certainly not going on my garden.

Fri Jul 06, 2012 6:12 pm

I've got a 78 Westy wherein the tubing from the base of the charcoal canister (located on passenger side in rear) is connected to the engine (see SGKent's blue tape photo above). Mine currently looks pretty rube goldberg'ed by PO and runs right down by the fan (that can't be right). I'm hoping someone can help me identify the correct routing for this tubing. Thanks for any help/photos people can point me to.

Fri Jul 06, 2012 7:07 pm

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/VacuumHoses.html