Gas pouring out of charcoal canister?

[qu1cks1lver56]

So I sold my 86 to a guy today, and he calls me and says there's a bunch of gas pouring out of the charcoal canister.

I drove this thing everyday for 2 years, and my dad drove it for a few years before I drove it, and this never happened. When we put the new engine in, we didn't hook up any of the lines that went down to the canister, and as far as I knew, the only thing still hooked up to it was the line that came from the fuel tanks.

Any ideas what would cause this? I do know the passenger side tank is full of gas and half a tank in the other gas, also.

[463]

If he filled the tanks right full and the the temp warmed up outside the gas will expand and will run out the charcoal canister. Fixes, 1 dont over fill the tanks and 2 would loosen the clamp on the charcoal canister and lift it 1/2 to 1 inch will also help.

[Damon23]

Originally Posted by 463

If he filled the tanks right full and the the temp warmed up outside the gas will expand and will run out the charcoal canister. Fixes, 1 dont over fill the tanks and 2 would loosen the clamp on the charcoal canister and lift it 1/2 to 1 inch will also help.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This

Happend to me right before power tour last year. Filled the car up, put it in the garage and noticed a heavy gas smell. Went out and gas was all over the floor. When it clicks you are done.

[rollin thunder]

yup! overfilled it. He could try what 463 suggested but if the canister is only hooked up to the tank and not the engine already you could also plug the hose coming out of the canister or just pull the canister and get rid of the line from the tank. That is the route I went but some states emissions laws wont allow it.

[meatwagon83]

tell him its his truck and his problem!!

[Redcap]

Eliminate charcoal can.

[kalbert]

Originally Posted by 463

If he filled the tanks right full and the the temp warmed up outside the gas will expand and will run out the charcoal canister. Fixes, 1 dont over fill the tanks and 2 would loosen the clamp on the charcoal canister and lift it 1/2 to 1 inch will also help.

Right on. Move the can up a bit, and fill the tank until it clicks and hang the nozzle back up, no reason to pack it in there. The extra half gallon is only going to get you 3-4 miles further down the road anyway

Tank needs to breathe, I wouldn't recommend to plug the vent lines and throw the can away... It doesn't hurt anything, it's actually one of the better emission control ideas. Rather than vent the tank right to the atmosphere, it's routed through activated charcoal to store the vapors. Periodically at cruising speed air is drawn through the charcoal to pick up the vapor and run it through the motor. Has 0 impact on performance, a very small visual impact, and keeps a few HC's out of the atmosphere.

[FotoAssist]

In an attempt to resurrect an old thread, I also have an 86. I have just replaced my original 350 with a remanufactured vortec 350 with no provision for a mechanical fuel pump. My remedy for this was to get an intank fuel pump (and fuel tank) from an 87, and run a wiring harness with relay. I too only have the fuel vapor line running to the charcoal canister as I desmogged while doing the engine swap.
Can anyone think of another reason there can be fuel overflowing out of the charcoal canister other than the tank was overfilled. I know for a fact I only had 5 gallons of fuel in the tank.
Thanks for your input!

[Rich84]

You may be building pressure in the tank because of the pump. Try a vented gas cap if you don't already have one. I drilled 2 small holes in my cap when I added an electric fuel pump.

[Sabaka454]

See if you hooked to the return line rather than the vapor line. TBI sending unit is:

3/8" Feed
5/16" Return
1/4" Vapor

Carbureted is:

3/8" Feed
5/16" Vapor
1/4" Return