Looking for Somone Who's Changed a Charcoal Canister

Please post any links you find on PriusChat about doing that... As best I can remember, we've always just said replace the whole tank/system as a single unit for all problems because its easier to do that swap from a low mileage wrecked car than taking apart that system.

 

What motivated you to undertake this unforgettable adventure?

 

Wait a minute If I'm not mistaken this is similar to my Siena van I have two sitting here that I can take out but I haven't done it just because and I do believe they will come separately from the tank It's a rectangular sheet metal like box affair that has the vacuum switching valve the charcoal canister related hosing and I'm sure some other stuff. I don't think you have to take the whole tank out You may have to loosen it so that you can slide the thing up kind of behind it if you will The rear portion of the canister assembly and it cheap metal rectangular assembly go up above the trailing edge of the tank if I'm not mistaken so removing it shouldn't be a thing but I guess if somebody wasn't studying very long they could just think that would be the quickest thing to do because I'm doing bolts is pretty quick of course if the tank is full and things like that just becomes a little more problematic You don't want the tank coming down when you blast out the bolts so that's just to loosen them or the straps if you have to to make a slight space just slide the canister assembly out Don't forget to unplug and debarb all your hoses.

 

Yes... But Gen2 Prius in the US have a rubber bladder to minimize, nearly eliminate, air displacement when filling the tank. I suspect that's why not many have found much interest in doing this job.

 

When the tank is empty, it has air in it. While filling up with gas, the air has to go somewhere. The canister releases pressure in the tank. When you fill up, the air in the tank goes into the canister. When driving it releases it.

There's probably some really good repair manual explanations of how that whole system works. I don't know that I'd go yanking that fuel tank just yet, but if you do, I hope it works out well. Not a difficult job, just a pain in the...getting it back in sometimes. (I've done a Gen 2 fuel tank 2x, with the cars lifted on jack stands).

 

As the bladder expands within the rigid outer tank, the air surrounding the bladder needs a place to go, and there is still a whole onboard refueling vapor recovery system involved there.



I agree that blindly waving off serious hard-to-fill problems as "oh, that's the bladder" is usually the wrong call. The bladder can be the answer for mild questions like "how come I could fill 8.3 gallons last week but only 7.8 today?". When there's a serious issue preventing refueling even a few gallons, or sloshing them back out at you, generally something in the ORVR system needs to be fixed, and when it's fixed you won't have that problem anymore, and can go back to just the usual bladder questions about slight differences in how full is full.

But beware, the canister itself will not always be the root of the problem. We've had threads here where the refuel check or fuel cutoff valves were the culprits.

 

And what was said above about the evap system was the case then my car's EVAP system would be dead in the water and completely failed and full of fuel because I feel my generation twos up when I first get them like I'm trying to stretch the tank till it explodes all the way up until I can see it in the filler neck right before it dumps out on my foot or the side panel and the tire I can stop it right at the top no air bubbling or nothing completely full no air anywhere that I can tell and everything seems to be working fine I have no evap codes no solenoid problems nothing car runs great not a light on the dash I know that evap canister is very similar on my sienna van and you can get it down without removing a bunch of stuff in the pictures it almost looks the same if you care to look at a sienna van evap canister picture It is well quite similar I don't even think you'd need to loosen the tank to get it off of the Prius and I think the hose is going to it should be relatively easy to do I've got one out here to do to remove for the part so I'll know in the next few weeks or so when it warms up a little I'll go out and take it off