charcoal canister removal?

Hizzle · Jul 31, 2007

Alright, I relocated my alternator down low due to installing an electric waterpump and needing to reroute again. The problem is, it wants to occupy the same space as the charcoal canister. The alternator pretty much needs to sit right there for belt clearance issues with other things. One hose goes to the fuel tank (I think) and where the heck does this other one go? It looks like it has a solenoid attatched to the line with a couple of wires coming out of it. Is this something I can disconnect? I have the emissions equipment pulled except for EGR so if it's part of this, can I just cap the line? Also, is there an alternative for hooking up the fuel vent line?

gtcobra302 · Jul 31, 2007

If you already have all the emmissions pulled off it isn't doing anything anyway. Pull off the canister and vacuum lines and plug them, pull the solenoid ( I assume you mean the one with the vacuum line that goes under the front of the intake) and plug the line. Leave the EGR plugged in. And your all set.

Hizzle · Jul 31, 2007

it's this guy here, the vacuum line does run under the intake. If these wires are disconnected, is it gonna give me any codes or do nothing? Thanks

Daggar · Jul 31, 2007

What exactly activates that solenoid? Is it part of the EGR system or what?

Mine looks beat to hell and probably doesn't work. I'm "guessing" that it's why I get pressure relief when I pull the gas cap off.

Fett · Jul 31, 2007

If you remove it, your gas tank will vent into the air and the car (and surrounding area) will smell like gas. Basically it uses vacuum to vent the tank vapors into the intake.

There is obviously no performance gain to be had by removing it, you would be better off just moving the cannister out of the way and relocate it.

Hizzle · Jul 31, 2007

Fett said:
If you remove it, your gas tank will vent into the air and the car (and surrounding area) will smell like gas. Basically it uses vacuum to vent the tank vapors into the intake.

There is obviously no performance gain to be had by removing it, you would be better off just moving the cannister out of the way and relocate it.

Thanks, So that line in the picture is to provide vacuum to vent the gas tank? I was counting on any performance gain but if I don't need it or if it's part of the emissions that I already pulled of, I was going to yank it.

GT_Rich · Jul 31, 2007

Plug the line going to the manifold at the manifold with a vacuum cap. Cut the other line under the car. I chose the cut it where it passes behind the inner fenderwell so it could not be seen. Leave this line open as your vent for the tank. Unplug the canister valve and throw it away.

Just to clarify how this does actually function: Once the car is warmed up, the computer will open and close this valve FREQUENTLY to vent the tank. It only opens at part throttle conditions (1/4 to 3/4 I'd say). It's almost bizarre how fast the computer opens and closes the thing. I know b/c I tried to keep mine and mounted it in the inner fenderwell - right against the inner rail. It made a ton of noise opening and closing under part throttle. It was ridiculous.

Also, I park in an attached garage and never smell gas.

DmnStr8 · Jul 31, 2007

GT_Rich said:
Also, I park in an attached garage and never smell gas.

+1 A previous owner had removed mine. The vent line from the tank was just coiled and taped to its side. I rarely smell raw gas from the car.

Had it been my choice I wouldn't have removed it though

Hizzle · Aug 1, 2007

Yeah, I was already smelling gas coming from it before I removed it. I think the canister was probably bad, is it supposed to sound like there is a bunch of sand in there when you shake it?

Scrapla347 · Aug 11, 2025

Hizzle said:
Yeah, I was already smelling gas coming from it before I removed it. I think the canister was probably bad, is it supposed to sound like there is a bunch of sand in there when you shake it?

Yes that's the activated charcoal that absorbs the fuel vapors.

Kid wita 5oh · Aug 14, 2025

Just another option...if you don't want the little bit of gas smell...
Plug the vac line(or cap the port on the plenum) leave the line from the tank connected (extend if needed)
Remove the bracket, cut off the locating tab and flip it and mount it to the out side of the frame rail....
That's what I did when I installed the vortech a couple years ago
Sorry no pics of it

Scrapla347 · Aug 14, 2025

Kid wita 5oh said:
Just another option...if you don't want the little bit of gas smell...
Plug the vac line(or cap the port on the plenum) leave the line from the tank connected (extend if needed)
Remove the bracket, cut off the locating tab and flip it and mount it to the out side of the frame rail....
That's what I did when I installed the vortech a couple years ago
Sorry no pics of it

I'm going to this. I have all emissions deleted but still have the tank vent line attached to the cannister. I had my fender off for a wire tuck and will relocate the cannister there. My air intake is also inside the fender, will the fumes mess with it? I'm installing a Terminator X so it's just the filter no more mass air meter.

Kid wita 5oh · Aug 15, 2025

Scrapla347 said:
..... My air intake is also inside the fender, will the fumes mess with it? I'm installing a Terminator X so it's just the filter no more mass air meter.

No issues

Scrapla347 · Aug 17, 2025

Kid wita 5oh · Aug 19, 2025

Yup just like that

Mustang5L5 · Aug 20, 2025

The only reason the charcoal canister connects to the intake manifold is because every now and then, the purge valve will open and the vacuum will draw fresh air through the over-saturated charcoal essentially regenerating it.

Without the purge line, the charcoal will saturate over time. Really, the charcoal canister is not so much an emmissions device, as it is a practical solution to the fact that the gas tank needs to be vented. The vent is through the charcoal as it's open to atmosphere.

I don't have a solution as to what to do when running an aftermarket ECU because i'm in the same boat. My charcoal canister serves as a vent only, with no purge. So far, no issues but I'm also not going to put 50-75K miles on this combo either. So who knows what the time frame is on oversaturating the charcoal

Noobz347 · Aug 20, 2025

Aftermarket ECU?

Here is what I would do:

Install a restrictor in the line. Some small orifice like what you would find in a quality Vac/Boost gauge kit, and let the vacuum pull from the cannister at a reduced rate, at all times.

If possible (I don't know what your induction setup is), pull vac [before] the MAF since it is unmetered air from the tank that you are ingesting.

It will be pretty even across the board (easy to tune out if necessary but so small that I doubt you would need to) and keeps air circulating in the can.

Mustang5L5 · Aug 21, 2025

Noobz347 said:
Aftermarket ECU?

Here is what I would do:

Install a restrictor in the line. Some small orifice like what you would find in a quality Vac/Boost gauge kit, and let the vacuum pull from the cannister at a reduced rate, at all times.

You'd have to tune to account for that however. Those gas vapors are technically combustible, so you are adding air and fuel that is technically not accounted for in the initial tune.

I did have the EVAP purge logic saved somewhere. I went through it in the Ford GUFB to see how they programmed it. Really it would be simple to program with a simple output from the ECU to trigger the solenoid open or closed. Problem is i don't think there are enough variables to cover the conditions it opened. I'll have to see if i can dig that up.

Scrapla347 · Aug 21, 2025

When I removed my cannister it was a very hot day. I had the line from the tank just hanging there disconnected from the cannister and wasn't smelling any fumes.

Kid wita 5oh · Aug 21, 2025

Scrapla347 said:
When I removed my cannister it was a very hot day. I had the line from the tank just hanging there disconnected from the cannister and wasn't smelling any fumes.

Some do some don't, ... personally if it was clogged/saturated or just missing I would have just let it vent to atmosphere but I figured since I had it might as well leave it in

charcoal canister removal?

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