does any one know what a canister that is under the chasis is for? its some sort of fuel (something) it has lines that end un in the gas tank, when i disconnected such lines, from cannister, lots of ashses or something like that fell of, such particles were found in my gas tank. i am replacing my fuel pump, do i need to do anything to this canister? will it affect my fuel pump? tank? thanks for the help

 

that's your charcoal canister yo.. or evap canister.. or vapor canister.. whatever you want to call it..

it 'sposedly 'scrubs' the gas vapors before they are released into the air.. it's and emission standard..

it also reserves vacuum if'n I'm not stupid.. I mean, I AM stupid, but I still think it does that... and just so you know, STUPID is a recoverable condition.. I think.. I hope.. Okay, now: back to drinking heavily!!!!

 

Thats the charcoal canister. Evap canister is something else. If it's dropping bits of charcoal, then it's time to change it. Also, it would be wise to change your purge solenoid since I can almost guarantee that the charcoal made its way into the solenoid.

 

its a very involved set of hoses that capture gasoline evaporation vapor, stores them temporarily, and then sucks them into the engine and burns them when conditions are right. there's a diagram under your hood, and in the service manual.

there should not be any loose charcoal pellets. if there are, it means its ruptured, and as said, it means they are getting sucked around into places they should not be.

You'll want to disconnect both ends of each vacuum line one at a time, and blow them out with an air hose. Do this all the way to the intake manifold.

You'll also want to replace the canister. You might can get one at a junkyard for little to nothing. I don't know what a new one would cost. You don't want to go without one if you park inside - I did this on my old chevy and it allowed gas fumes in the garage. not much, but i don't recommend this to others. it could lead to a fire in an enclosed area with a pilot light or furnace.

And lastly - be aware - if charcoal gets sucked into the engine and burned or passed through, it will clog up the catalytic converter.

 

thanks lots of good info. i did not know, barely learning. thanks again..
so this purge silenoid? where is it located?

 

Top of the engine, drivers side, in the back. Cleverly concealed behind the breather on the valve cover. has a bunch of hoses, and an electrical connector.

 

Passenger side fender, towards the front of the engine bay.... right behind the passenger headlight if memory serves. Look on the radiator cross member (big steel thing that goes across the 2 fenders under the hood) for a diagram of the complete evap system. You'll wanna check all of the lines on the diagram for charcoal bits before driving again (dont want them getting into the intake and assing up the cat when they are burned).

Edit: whoops, well at least you'll know where to look when you buy a newer model LOL. Heyyou's info is correct for your year.

 

Wrong year there Mad. He has a 96.

 

How can you tell when one of these such things needs replacing and what about your fuel pump? how can you tell when thats goin south?

 

Usually..... it'll set a code. Otherwise, it comes as a surprise when you are trying to solve some performance issue.

Fuel pump going bad usually starts out as long crank times, progresses to misses/ping/running lean at higher RPM, and that point slowly gets lower, until the engine just stops running altogether. Fuel pressure gauge is fairly cheap, and will tell you exactly what your pressure is. If its low at idle, you can bet it gets lower as the engine demands more fuel. PCM can compensate to a point, but, only so far....