How do I maintain this canister?
I see no wires connected and it does not look like it comes apart. There are just 3 hoses connected to it.
I think it should have a replaceable filter in it.

 

Found the answer myself. It is maintenance free. From the FSM EVAP CANISTER
A sealed, maintenance free, EVAP canister is used on all vehicles. The canister is mounted in the engine compartment on the right side of the radiator closure
panel (Fig. 4). The EVAP canister is filled with granules of an activated carbon mixture. Fuel vapors entering the EVAP canister are absorbed by the charcoal granules. Fuel tank pressure vents into the EVAP canister. Fuel vapors are temporarily held in the canister until they can be drawn into the intake manifold. The EVAP canister purge solenoid allows the EVAP canister to be purged at predetermined times and at certain engine operating conditions.


There is also an EVAP purge solenoid which is replaceable. It mounts on the driver side of the intake on a bracket attached to one of the fuel rail mounts. Just to the right of the TPS.

 

Yes they're sealed.....theres a tech article on putting a filter on the purge signal line to keep charcoal out of your solenoid and intake. It's in the thread I started about plumbing the evac with no solenoid and pcm.

 

Thanks I found this recall It describes the repair. I am going to replace both the canister and purge valve.
http://dodgeram.info/tsb/recalls/7631.htm

 

Hey Robertmee, do you recall the exact name of that post about putting a filter on the purge signal line? I searched the term and tried a few pages of your posts with no luck.

 

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen-dakota/395928-charcoal-canister-help-on-engine-swap.html

 

Thank you. I'm thinking the new canisters must have different design or the recall fix would be temporary. I think I'll call a dealer see what they can tell me. Thanks again.

 

Yes, pretty sure the newer canisters had a different design.

 

The dealer who sold me one online yesterday just emailed me to tell me they don't have it can't get it!. My local hooked me up with someone but I forgot to ask about the design. It was past bus hours back there so I will get a call tomorrow.

 

The guy who called back this morning did not have the 3 his computer listed. They shipped them a while ago.
He gave me two other dealers one won't ship to customers only dealers. My dealer would have marked it up to $140 from $128 and those are both before shipping so my dealer gave me the same second dealer number after calling them. The other dealer was too confused by my asking for an email receipt telling me it would be in the box and other parts of the phone buying process and they did not use PayPal so I decided not to try I felt too nervous about the other guys confusion. I made another online purchase lets hope this one is on the shelf and not another zombie ad.