Where is the location of the Evap Canister in a 1972 1800E? I would like to rebuild it/ check it while I'm servicing the fuel system..
Cheers
Cheers
cancruiser
Evap Canister on 1800E
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The parts manual for the 1800 E shows it way up front (#2 circled in red). Appears to be in the cowl area in front of the radiator.
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If it is anything like the evap cannister on my 1971 142 E, it will be pretty far gone due to rust / plugging. Being metal, any moisture that might have been in the tank tends to get sucked into the cannister and condense leading to rusting and clogging. The plastic cannisters on later cars was probably a good thing. If your cannister isn't rusted, then it might be just fine if the car has been in semi regular use. If you use that little hand held vacuum pump on the manifold connection and with the tank connection plugged can maintain air flow through the charcoal element it might be just fine.
The cannisters on the fuel injected engines did not utilize a purge valve. The system was passive and appeared to rely on the vacuum connection located at the throttle plate for purge control. That is not a pure manifold vacuum.
Since my cannister was toast, I have been searching for a suitable replacement. The trick with replacement cannisters is finding one that does not have an integrated purge valve which requires a control signal. I have been thinking about trying this
More Information for STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS CP1022 (rockauto.com)
which was used on a few million GM vehicles starting in the mid 70s. It looks like it is set up for use with an external purge valve and I am hoping that the purge line can be connected to that evap cannister port on the D jet intake manifold. I don't want to fork over the $ to experiment with a new one so I would like to go troll the salvage yard at my local Buck's Autoparts to see if I can find a used one for $5.
If it is anything like the evap cannister on my 1971 142 E, it will be pretty far gone due to rust / plugging. Being metal, any moisture that might have been in the tank tends to get sucked into the cannister and condense leading to rusting and clogging. The plastic cannisters on later cars was probably a good thing. If your cannister isn't rusted, then it might be just fine if the car has been in semi regular use. If you use that little hand held vacuum pump on the manifold connection and with the tank connection plugged can maintain air flow through the charcoal element it might be just fine.
The cannisters on the fuel injected engines did not utilize a purge valve. The system was passive and appeared to rely on the vacuum connection located at the throttle plate for purge control. That is not a pure manifold vacuum.
Since my cannister was toast, I have been searching for a suitable replacement. The trick with replacement cannisters is finding one that does not have an integrated purge valve which requires a control signal. I have been thinking about trying this
More Information for STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS CP1022 (rockauto.com)
which was used on a few million GM vehicles starting in the mid 70s. It looks like it is set up for use with an external purge valve and I am hoping that the purge line can be connected to that evap cannister port on the D jet intake manifold. I don't want to fork over the $ to experiment with a new one so I would like to go troll the salvage yard at my local Buck's Autoparts to see if I can find a used one for $5.
Thanks "142 Guy". Much appreciated. I'll go search for it behind the grille.
Owning a 70's British car, I am familiar with rebuilding the charcoal canister, which I imagine similar to the one in the 1800E. I have a spare one off an MGB, which has two inlets and one outlet to fresh air. It is also made of ABS plastic so no rust issues. If the one in the 1800E is too far gone, I can probably plumb the MGB one in its place. It checks all the boxes you mentioned as far as charcoal canister goes.
It is one of the emission systems I'd like to keep since it is passive (just a filter) so doesn't rob engine power (like an air pump would) and also convenient so the garage doesn't ree
k of fuel fumes in warm days.
Here's a photo of a similar one for reference.
![Image]()
Owning a 70's British car, I am familiar with rebuilding the charcoal canister, which I imagine similar to the one in the 1800E. I have a spare one off an MGB, which has two inlets and one outlet to fresh air. It is also made of ABS plastic so no rust issues. If the one in the 1800E is too far gone, I can probably plumb the MGB one in its place. It checks all the boxes you mentioned as far as charcoal canister goes.
It is one of the emission systems I'd like to keep since it is passive (just a filter) so doesn't rob engine power (like an air pump would) and also convenient so the garage doesn't ree
k of fuel fumes in warm days.
Here's a photo of a similar one for reference.
If you do a refit of a different cannister, post the results as I am always game to copy somebody else's solution - if it works. On the 140 the original evap cannister is really large and heavy so switching to a plastic cannister could give you a 'performance boost' through weight reduction.
The evap plumbing in my car is all in place. It has just been 10+ years of 'getting around to it' to deal with the cannister. In cooler weather, the lack of a cannister is not so obvious; but, in hot weather the air in the fuel tank expands and vents through the system and with no cannister the car has a definite l'eau d' refinery fragrance about it. After owning modern emission controlled cars you notice how much old cars really stink. My B20E has the high compression, high overlap cam engine with no NOx control and the exhaust at idle is quite acrid.
The evap plumbing in my car is all in place. It has just been 10+ years of 'getting around to it' to deal with the cannister. In cooler weather, the lack of a cannister is not so obvious; but, in hot weather the air in the fuel tank expands and vents through the system and with no cannister the car has a definite l'eau d' refinery fragrance about it. After owning modern emission controlled cars you notice how much old cars really stink. My B20E has the high compression, high overlap cam engine with no NOx control and the exhaust at idle is quite acrid.
I found this on Amazon as a potential replacement: Amazon.com: GM Genuine Parts 215-153 Vapor Canister,Black : Automotive
When I bought my car it had a Nissan canister in it with an integrated purge valve, but only the hose to the tank was connected?? So I am uncertain on how the other hoses should connect...
When I bought my car it had a Nissan canister in it with an integrated purge valve, but only the hose to the tank was connected?? So I am uncertain on how the other hoses should connect...
That Amazon cannister looks to be the exact same cannister as that Standard Motor Products Cannister that I linked. That should not be a surprise since there are probably 500 million GM vehicles that used the cannister right from the mid '70s to the late '80s very early '90s.
On the E/F engines, I think the GM cannister should be connected pretty much like the original Volvo cannister because it appears to be meant for use with an external purge valve. The two ports on the GM cannister are marked 'purge' and 'tank'. The single port by itself is just the air inlet and is not connected to anything. The tank connection will go back to the tank and I am hoping that the purge connection can go directly to the evap port on the intake manifold.
Based upon the 1971 service manual, the carb equipped B20 engines used an evap cannister with a purge valve mounted directly on top of the cannister (Volvo called it an air valve). There was also a second valve in the system used to capture vapour emitted from the float bowls. The purge valve was controlled by pure manifold vacuum and opened at thigh vacuum (idle / trailing throttle) to suck fresh air through the cannister (purging) and draw it into a second port right at the throttle plate. The 1971 B20E system did not have the purge / air valve and the purge connection was just connected to that port right at the throttle plate (I believe at the bottom of the manifold). It seems like the B20E system is almost in a continuous purge. I don't know whether this changed with the later B20F engine. The E/F evap system is definitely simpler than the carb system because it didn't have to collect the vapours from the float bowls.
If your Nissan Evap cannister only had the tank connection and no purge connections that means the cannister was never getting purged. The carbon granules in the cannister would initially capture fuel vapour from the tank; but, at some point the activated carbon surface would become fully loaded and stop capturing vapour. At that point the cannister might just become a dirt filter to stop dirt particles from entering the tank vent system. I underlined the might because once the carbon surface becomes fully loaded it might end up trapping dust and get plugged in which case tank venting could become compromised.
On the E/F engines, I think the GM cannister should be connected pretty much like the original Volvo cannister because it appears to be meant for use with an external purge valve. The two ports on the GM cannister are marked 'purge' and 'tank'. The single port by itself is just the air inlet and is not connected to anything. The tank connection will go back to the tank and I am hoping that the purge connection can go directly to the evap port on the intake manifold.
Based upon the 1971 service manual, the carb equipped B20 engines used an evap cannister with a purge valve mounted directly on top of the cannister (Volvo called it an air valve). There was also a second valve in the system used to capture vapour emitted from the float bowls. The purge valve was controlled by pure manifold vacuum and opened at thigh vacuum (idle / trailing throttle) to suck fresh air through the cannister (purging) and draw it into a second port right at the throttle plate. The 1971 B20E system did not have the purge / air valve and the purge connection was just connected to that port right at the throttle plate (I believe at the bottom of the manifold). It seems like the B20E system is almost in a continuous purge. I don't know whether this changed with the later B20F engine. The E/F evap system is definitely simpler than the carb system because it didn't have to collect the vapours from the float bowls.
If your Nissan Evap cannister only had the tank connection and no purge connections that means the cannister was never getting purged. The carbon granules in the cannister would initially capture fuel vapour from the tank; but, at some point the activated carbon surface would become fully loaded and stop capturing vapour. At that point the cannister might just become a dirt filter to stop dirt particles from entering the tank vent system. I underlined the might because once the carbon surface becomes fully loaded it might end up trapping dust and get plugged in which case tank venting could become compromised.
Yes, I'm pretty sure my 20-yr-old partially-connected Nissan Evap canister is doing nothing, but I would certainly welcome a possibility of less fumes in the garage on a hot summer day!
So theoretically with a '71 or later B20E and a 215-153 canister: tank connection to the fuel tank, purge connection to the air intake manifold, but what of the AIR port on the canister? What is this for?
I'm just guessing here, if the AIR port on the canister was connected to a purge valve, it would normally be closed with the engine off. If the purge valve is then connected to a vacuum port such as on the distributor, it could open the purge valve when the engine is running and let the gas fumes captured in the canister be pulled off into the manifold?
Without a purge valve, maybe the AIR port should just be left open? Or capped off? These 70's emission contraptions confuse me.
So theoretically with a '71 or later B20E and a 215-153 canister: tank connection to the fuel tank, purge connection to the air intake manifold, but what of the AIR port on the canister? What is this for?
I'm just guessing here, if the AIR port on the canister was connected to a purge valve, it would normally be closed with the engine off. If the purge valve is then connected to a vacuum port such as on the distributor, it could open the purge valve when the engine is running and let the gas fumes captured in the canister be pulled off into the manifold?
Without a purge valve, maybe the AIR port should just be left open? Or capped off? These 70's emission contraptions confuse me.
As an answer to your very last question, no. When equipped, the purge valve (Volvo's air valve) connects in the line between the cannister purge port and the intake manifold to control when vacuum is applied to the cannister to purge the carbon granules.
On the original B20E evap cannister, the complete bottom of the cannister is covered with a mesh filter to allow fresh air to enter the cannister for the purpose of purging the carbon granules or allow air into the tank as fuel is used.
![Image]()
On the GM style cannister, the port marked air is just the fresh air intake for purging. On most GM applications, there is actually a little splash shield that snaps over the end of the port to try and reduce the chance of stuff getting splashed up and sucked into the port. You could probably install a short section of tubing bent down to do the same function or run the tube up into some protected area.
![Image]()
This is the design of the B20E evap system from the 1971 service manual.
![Image]()
Look carefully at the diagram and the purge port on the intake manifold appears to be located just in front of the throttle plate. I went out and had a look at my car and confirmed that it is perhaps 2-3 mm in front of the plate. This means that at idle there will be a very low / no vacuum on the purge line and little to no purge activity taking place. Most of the purge activity will have to occur when the throttle is just open enough so that the throttle plate is over the port opening; but, not completely open which is when manifold vacuum just about completely disappears.
The B20E evap cannister has a very large intake opening (the whole bottom of the can). This might be because it is designed to operate with lower vacuum on the purge line. The GM cannister has a smaller fresh air inlet and is probably designed for a higher purge vacuum so it may not purge as effectively with low vacuum. However, that is probably academic since the original Volvo cannister design is no longer available and we need to look for the next best alternative.
In thinking about the evap system designs which use a purge valve that purges using pure manifold vacuum, it occurred to me that purge air flow is going to look like false air which will affect idle speed. The B20E evap connection with the purge port in front of the throttle plate eliminates that particular problem.
The final note is that I only have the service manual for the 1971 B20E. You would need to check your car or a 1972 or 1973 service manual to confirm that the evap system on the B20F is set up the same way.
On the original B20E evap cannister, the complete bottom of the cannister is covered with a mesh filter to allow fresh air to enter the cannister for the purpose of purging the carbon granules or allow air into the tank as fuel is used.
On the GM style cannister, the port marked air is just the fresh air intake for purging. On most GM applications, there is actually a little splash shield that snaps over the end of the port to try and reduce the chance of stuff getting splashed up and sucked into the port. You could probably install a short section of tubing bent down to do the same function or run the tube up into some protected area.
This is the design of the B20E evap system from the 1971 service manual.
Look carefully at the diagram and the purge port on the intake manifold appears to be located just in front of the throttle plate. I went out and had a look at my car and confirmed that it is perhaps 2-3 mm in front of the plate. This means that at idle there will be a very low / no vacuum on the purge line and little to no purge activity taking place. Most of the purge activity will have to occur when the throttle is just open enough so that the throttle plate is over the port opening; but, not completely open which is when manifold vacuum just about completely disappears.
The B20E evap cannister has a very large intake opening (the whole bottom of the can). This might be because it is designed to operate with lower vacuum on the purge line. The GM cannister has a smaller fresh air inlet and is probably designed for a higher purge vacuum so it may not purge as effectively with low vacuum. However, that is probably academic since the original Volvo cannister design is no longer available and we need to look for the next best alternative.
In thinking about the evap system designs which use a purge valve that purges using pure manifold vacuum, it occurred to me that purge air flow is going to look like false air which will affect idle speed. The B20E evap connection with the purge port in front of the throttle plate eliminates that particular problem.
The final note is that I only have the service manual for the 1971 B20E. You would need to check your car or a 1972 or 1973 service manual to confirm that the evap system on the B20F is set up the same way.
Hi, rather than add a different canister…My 1800e came without one. I sourced one from eBay, it was from a 142, but is identical other than the bracket. To refurbish it I cut a 1” hole in the bottom where the foam filter goes. Emptied the charcoal, replaced with compressed charcoal pellets, which apparently are the ones used in modern systems, and sealed the hole with a disc of sheet metal. Then used a piece of charcoal mesh used in home air conditioners to replace the foam filter. installed with homemade L brackets similar to original.
Seems to be working, no gas fumes detected when parked in the garage , which were evident prior.
Seems to be working, no gas fumes detected when parked in the garage , which were evident prior.
Hey 142 Guy, thanks for providing the diagrams and setting me straight! I was assuming the GM canister was open/perforated at the bottom for fresh air intake also, and the AIR (fresh air inlet) on top was throwing me off. Makes sense now, that if the bottom is sealed, the fresh air inlet port on top needs to be open.
I like the idea of finding and refurbing an original canister, but in the meantime, I think I'll try out the plastic GM can. Thanks!!
I like the idea of finding and refurbing an original canister, but in the meantime, I think I'll try out the plastic GM can. Thanks!!
Guys;
I'm following this thread with interest...I recall a thread on a forum dealing with refurbishing an ES Evap Canister where the perforated bottom had rusted away, allowing all of the charcoal granules to fall out and be lost...the canister bottom was replaced with a fine brass screen to allow breathing (but less susceptible to rotting away) after refilling with activated charcoal (from aquarium supply).
Cheers
I'm following this thread with interest...I recall a thread on a forum dealing with refurbishing an ES Evap Canister where the perforated bottom had rusted away, allowing all of the charcoal granules to fall out and be lost...the canister bottom was replaced with a fine brass screen to allow breathing (but less susceptible to rotting away) after refilling with activated charcoal (from aquarium supply).
Cheers
There are probably a hundred ways to skin this cat. The original cannister used fairly fine granular fill which required the felt filter and wire gauze on both top and bottom of the media to keep it in place. The felt filter on top is probably required to keep charcoal fines from getting sucked into the engine. If the top felt filter is not compromised then re packing would seem like a viable option. If you want the engine compartment to retain its original look then restoration of an OEM cannister is the way to go. If you still have an original cannister it is also the no modifications required solution in terms of installation.
Since I am running coil on plug ignition with no distributor, I have rather departed from the original look of the engine compartment so original appearance is not so important. When I did the resto on my car, we filled the holes on the inner fender where the cannister mounts on the 140, so any cannister is not going back in the original location so I have the mounting issue to deal with regardless of what cannister I use. I would rather pay $32 to experiment on a new cannister from Dimeani than around $50+ which seems to be the going rate for used cannisters which then require some restoration.
Since I am running coil on plug ignition with no distributor, I have rather departed from the original look of the engine compartment so original appearance is not so important. When I did the resto on my car, we filled the holes on the inner fender where the cannister mounts on the 140, so any cannister is not going back in the original location so I have the mounting issue to deal with regardless of what cannister I use. I would rather pay $32 to experiment on a new cannister from Dimeani than around $50+ which seems to be the going rate for used cannisters which then require some restoration.
I haven't refurbished the canister in my car yet, but in previous projects I used the paper filter media from an engine air filter to replace the felt. The air filter media is designed for this kind of application and is easier to find.
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