Charcoal canister for '63 Beetle?

[lojoma]

My old gal has the gas tank vent hose that circles around and then down under the front of the car. I frequently can smell gas as the tank vents.

I'm wondering about adding a charcoal canister into that line to have less gas smell as the tank expands and vents. Would that actually help with the gas smell? Would it harm anything?

Thanks

[DeathRay64]

I also have a ‘63 beetle and I think that is a good idea. I would want to stealth mount it if I could. I can think of no reason it wouldn’t work.
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[KTPhil]

There is much more than a tank: modified air cleaner, fan shroud, steel lines, hoses galore, expansion tank....

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=713211

I expect you have a source of fumes other than the vent line, such as a leaky gas cap or gauge sending unit.

[DeathRay64]

I did have a little paint damage around the sender seal... so that might have been my gas smell problem. ...or the fact that I stupidly removed the pillows out of the rear quarters.
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[67rustavenger]

Can you smell the fuel through the dash vents while driving?
Or just when walking around the car after a drive?

Through the dash, would be from a fuel tank, or ventilation leak, under the hood.
On early cars these are simple things to fix.

New gas cap gasket. Replace the tank vet hose. and route it correctly. So you don't smell fuel in the cabin of the car while driving.

If you smell fuel on a walk around the car. Maybe the fuel line under the tank is leaking.
A crumbly fuel line would let some fumes escape!
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[lojoma]

Yes, I can smell it in the car through the dash. And that part is a recent change.

I checked this morning and the hose is wet with gas. I'm sure that's what I'm smelling. I'm going to replace that line tonight...maybe the rubber has deteriorated and the braiding is getting soaked.

Gas cap seal is fairly new.

Back to the original question, though: I do realize the canister systems are more elaborate than what I was suggesting. Even if it helped a little, I thought it might be worth a shot. The gas smell OUTSIDE the car is something I have always noticed.

[KTPhil]

Unless you overfill or have a hose/seal failure, there shouldn't be gas smell. The evap system really won't help you. Keep looking for leaks!

[61SNRF]

In response to your original question, adding a carbon canister to the vent line would only be effective for a short time.
The canister is only a storage device and unless it's vent is plumbed back into the intake system to purge it will ultimately fill up and vent back to atmosphere leaving you right where you started.
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[lojoma]

The little rubber gasket at the top of the sending unit is suspect. I think that is at least part of it. I don't think it's leaking around the seal under the sending unit. I don't see any leaks under the tank.

I replaced the vent hose. I have a piece of carpet in the trunk, and I took that outside to let it air out in case it was holding any gas (it didn't really smell like it).

I'll look in to a new sending unit. I'm reading over this thread:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...96c23ed285

and I'm a little uncertain where to get the best one, so I would appreciate opinions there.

[DeathRay64]

I currently have my sending unit out and I believe that there is a replaceable o-ring seal on that. I would attempt to replace this prior to buying a new sender. I am planning to do the same but have not researched it yet. It seemed like not too big of a deal so I cleaned the sender and put it into the box for later. At least I would take it out and look it over before you try to buy something aftermarket.

Edit: My sender gasket was cork (somehow I thought 20 years ago that this was a good idea and like stock). I went with rubber this time.
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[lojoma]

[DeathRay64]

My sender is different. That sender I haven’t seen. I have never seen parts to rebuild one of those. The seal looks to be peened in place and likely not replaceable.
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[lojoma]

Here's my sender. It's wet on top with gas. The part that "hugs" the shaft seems a little less "huggy" than it should, maybe?

And the carpet this morning reeked of gas, now that my nose is fresh in the morning. Wasn't wet, just stinks.

I think I will try to clean off the gas residue and drive her around and see if it is more obvious where it's seeping from.

[lojoma]

'

I took a close look at the little "boot". I can't detect any place where it is torn or leaking, but the part that runs up the shaft is definitely loose, so I think that is part of where the fumes are coming from.

I put a zip tie around it, hoping to seal it off better. I'll see if that makes any difference. It doesn't impede the travel of the shaft.

I also snugged up the screws a bit.

[DeathRay64]

Looks good to me. It looks like you removed actual leak points with the zip-tie and the tightening. I think it's good to try to keep the parts you currently have. Especially today... I'm trying to keep as much old stuff as I can.

RTV might be a good stealth repair on the seal but the zip tie would probably work better long term.
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[lojoma]

The car has been sitting in the garage with the hood open since I last posted. I added a second zip tie just for extra security there.

I had a non-vw gas cap on the aftermarket gas tank installed by the PO. The cap area in this aftermarket tank is the same as the Bus, so I ordered a Bus gas cap and that fits perfectly. It had a much thicker gasket than the old cap.

Gas smell is faint whiff at this point, but I'll see what it's like next time I drive her.

[AlteWagen]

Make sure to change your under take hose as well. I once had a similar issue with my 60 even though there is no vent tube. I used new german hose that didnt like the new ethanol fuel and started seeping down the metal tube. Because the original grommet was gone it allowed the fuel to travel down and fill the pan tunnel with gas. It filled so much it began to seep out of the pedal hole and soak the tar mat. So glad i didnt smoke!!

Bonus as once cleaned out it no longer smelled of rat!
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[zerotofifty]

Simply adding a canister will not help for long. once the charcoal is full of fumes, it will stink again. the canister needs to be emptied of fumes via hooking it to the aircleaner, to suck out the fumes.
Now it is very likely that hose you have is leaky, ancient old style rubber with half a century of exposure to gasoline fumes may be no longer impervious tto gasoline fumes. It may have cracks in the rubber.

[lojoma]

Last post but thought it pertinent to the gas smell.

The PO used this gas cap:

https://www.jbugs.com/product/3538.html?utm_conten...RLEALw_wcB

This is a vented gas cap, I think for tanks that don't have a vent tube.

So my gas cap has been venting into the trunk the whole time. I don't think it was the cause of this immediate big gas smell that prompted my original post, but I'm sure it hasn't helped!

I replaced this cap within last week or so to a standard Bus cap.