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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ Getting rid of the gas smell
Posted by: mepstein Feb 28 2015, 10:40 AM
In the past I:
Ran new fuel and vacume lines
Cleaned the interior
Replaced seals and gaskets on the fuel injection
Today I decided it was time to replace the charcoal in the canister next to the fuel tank
I purchased some replacement charcoal on Amazon. I've read that this isn't optimal but I feel it's got to be better than leaving the 45 year old origional mixture in the car.
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Posted by: mepstein Feb 28 2015, 10:43 AM
Unlike the mid and late model 914's, on the early cars, the end of the canister is not crimped. To get the charcoal out, you must drill a hole.
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Posted by: mepstein Feb 28 2015, 11:01 AM
Originally I drilled a small hole but when I dumped out the charcoal, the filter at the end of the canister slipped out of place. It is positioned with 2 large springs so an open chamber is created at the end of the canister, creating more space for gas fumes to ener the charcoal than if only a small hole was available. So I had to enlarge the hole to reposition the springs and the filter. The filter is held in place by the springs on one side and the volume of charcoal in the middle of the canister.
At first I refilled the canister with the same amount of charcoal by weight but it was only a bit more than half full. If I left a big air space in the canister, the filter and springs would slip so I filled the canister to the top.
Since I didnt have any large plugs, I used some duct tape to seal up the hole. The opening is on the underside of the canister so it should be invisible in the car.
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Posted by: porsche913b_sp Feb 28 2015, 11:27 AM
Keep us updated if it gets rid of the gas smell. I need to do that as well.
Posted by: mepstein Feb 28 2015, 11:35 AM
The new lines, clamps and seals made a big difference. Chris Foley/Tangerine racing has a kit that's worth every penny. I also bought all new seals for the tank, tank sender and gas cap from 914rubber. All the cloth braided lines in the front and back are new. There is very little smell left but I figure this last item couldn't hurt. If you have a mid or later car, the canister is very easy to take apart.
Posted by: mepstein Feb 28 2015, 12:42 PM
Next time I'll use a hole saw with the same diameter as a rubber trunk plug.
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Posted by: Larmo63 Feb 28 2015, 01:36 PM
Maybe, (probably) a dumb question here, but do those of us who are converting to carbureted engines and a single gas feed line really need the recovery tank and charcoal canister?
Posted by: r_towle Feb 28 2015, 02:37 PM
It takes away the smell in the trunk which flows into the cabin.
Alternately, you can run a hose from the expansion tank down along side the drain tube and have it exit under the car like was done for 60 years up until the 70,s
California inspection may be looking for a functional setup, so you would need to re route the intake hose into one of the carbs.
I put mine out under the car, it's fine.
You need to let the pressure out of the tank as it heats and cools.
The canister setup does that in an environmentally friendly way by sucking the fumes through the charcoal and also burning it via the intake.
If you just let it air into the front trunk your car will always smell like fuel.
Posted by: patssle Feb 28 2015, 03:56 PM
What about gas/moisture getting into the canister - does that ever affect it? I currently have my expansion tank exiting under the near with no canister and it has a tiny drip every once in a while.
Posted by: quadracerx Sep 27 2015, 01:00 PM
It takes away the smell in the trunk which flows into the cabin.
Alternately, you can run a hose from the expansion tank down along side the drain tube and have it exit under the car like was done for 60 years up until the 70,s
California inspection may be looking for a functional setup, so you would need to re route the intake hose into one of the carbs.
I put mine out under the car, it's fine.
You need to let the pressure out of the tank as it heats and cools.
The canister setup does that in an environmentally friendly way by sucking the fumes through the charcoal and also burning it via the intake.
If you just let it air into the front trunk your car will always smell like fuel.
Anybody got a diagram of the hose in question mentioned above? Or a photo so I can identify exactly which hose and the proper routing?
My red car is carbureted and has a terrible gas smell inside the drivers area whenever I run it...
Thanks in advance...
Steve
Posted by: bperry Sep 27 2015, 02:05 PM
I'll be curious how well it works. The main thing that concerns me is the "charcoal" itself.
What does the original carbon in the filter look like?
I've been actively maintaining aquariums for a hobby for over 40 years and never had good look with the pellitized charcoal. It was much cheaper but at least for use in aquarium filters, to put it bluntly, "it sucked". It didn't maintain the water quality even close to the way activated carbon granules does.
The best stuff I've used is Marineland Black Diamond activated carbon.
Another one I've recently started using is Premium granulated carbon under the Doctors Foster and Smith brand from their website. A bit lower cost than the Black Diamond but seems to work as well.
At least with the carbon for aquariums you can tell the good stuff as soon as you rinse it.
You can hear the carbon sizzling as it makes contact with the water.
The worst stuff I ever used was from Hartz.
That stuff looked like actual coal (shiny and very hard) and had no filtering capability at all.
--- bill
Posted by: boxsterfan Sep 27 2015, 05:10 PM
Did you change the rubber gasket on the fuel filler going into the tank? I replaced all the hoses and gaskets in mine but the smell was still there. Replaced the gasket under the fuel filler neck and presto!!
Posted by: Vysoc Sep 27 2015, 05:53 PM
Question for bperry?
Is there enough room in the granulated carbon mixture for the vapors to move through, pellets would create the spacing for vapor to move through? 
Just a question, my 75 stinks and I need to change out the material in the carbon cannister.
Vysoc 
Posted by: mepstein Sep 27 2015, 05:56 PM
Guys, make sure you have replaced all 3 seals on the gas tank as well.
Posted by: bperry Sep 28 2015, 10:21 PM
Question for bperry?
Is there enough room in the granulated carbon mixture for the vapors to move through, pellets would create the spacing for vapor to move through?
Just a question, my 75 stinks and I need to change out the material in the carbon cannister.
Vysoc
I've not opened up one of the canisters so I don't know what the original carbon looked like. Was it granules or pellets? Anybody got any photos?
I saw photos here:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=108524&st=0&p=1336946&#
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=389074
I would assume the smaller granules would be ok. I use the granules to fill canister filters for water filtration for my aquariums and the water flows through ok. The granules are fairly round so its not like it is hard packed with no space for the fluid to move through.
On the plus side the formed pellets contain much lest dust than the granules.
When used in aquarium filters, it is rinsed before use, but that is probably not a good thing to do for this.
So I'm not sure but I'd guess either would probably work ok.
--- bill
Posted by: Dominic Sep 28 2015, 10:26 PM
Did you change the rubber gasket on the fuel filler going into the tank? I replaced all the hoses and gaskets in mine but the smell was still there. Replaced the gasket under the fuel filler neck and presto!!
This fixed my gas smell as well...cheap fix, get a new seal from 914rubber.com
Posted by: arsprod Oct 9 2015, 09:16 PM
Guys, make sure you have replaced all 3 seals on the gas tank as well.
Are those called something other than fuel tank seals? I'm not finding them at pelican using that search term.
Posted by: mepstein Oct 10 2015, 06:10 AM
Guys, make sure you have replaced all 3 seals on the gas tank as well.
Are those called something other than fuel tank seals? I'm not finding them at pelican using that search term.
914rubber sells them
Posted by: RobW Oct 10 2015, 06:18 AM
Guys, make sure you have replaced all 3 seals on the gas tank as well.
Are those called something other than fuel tank seals? I'm not finding them at pelican using that search term.
914rubber sells them
Take your time with the installation as well. The bolts are small and easy to thread wrong.
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