should the gas cap be vented? If not wouldent the canaster pull fuel from the tank with the vacum from the motor..........

The canister pick up at the fuel tank should be above fuel level.I believe when the tank is over filled, fuel is drawn to the canister.There is a overflow on the canister to prevent fuel entering the intake

I have an 80 and the charcol canister is located just as aftrshark says, in the engine compartment drivers wheel well area. I had gas smell from time to time. I found that the vacuum hose from the carb to the vacuum canister was never changed, soft, deteriorated and I suspected leaking. Changed the hose and no more gas smell.

Going back a few years when I was a GM mechanic. I beleive that there was a valve inline from the canister to the fuel tank to prevent this from happening. Again it was many years ago but it seems to ring a bell. I might be wrong but then again I might be right :)

I will give this same line a look over as soon as the great state of Texas dries out. Hopefully I can get this one fixed, I am tired of the wife telling me that I smell like gas when I am done driving the Vette. Is there a life limit on the charcoal in the tank? Can the tank, or its innards, be replaced if need be?

CVT4ME

|UPDATED|7/7/2003 8:47:18 AM|/UPDATED|

I was flipping through my Corvette Central catalog earlier today, spending some more money I don't have, and saw where their were certain years of c3's that had an inline check valve. I think it was for 78-80 models. I'm curious is all C3's had this valve and no one happens to be making the other years? I wonder if you could put this inline valve on all years just as a precaution?

I had this problem on my 73 and found that the vacuum actuated valve on top of the cannister was leaking and therefore not purging the fuel vapors. Consequently after a sufficient amount of vapors had condensed in the cannister, it would overflow and smell. I fixed it by regluing the valve. Hope this helps.

I have a good article on this problem that was published back in '99 from the NCOA newsletter. Pat Goss wrote about the problem with topping the tank off at the pump & what happens when you do. Mainly he said that liquid gas fills up the canister and over flows into the engine compartment possibly onto the exhaust system. He also stated that having liquid gas in the canister could cause the Check engine light to come on, Car to run poorly, and fail emission testing. Also said if the canister is flooded you would probably have to replace the canister. This was a one-page article if anyone wants a copy give me a fax number and I can send you a copy. Unfortunately I do not have this for E-mail. Went to the NCOA home page but could not find this article anymore.

If you would be so kind to fax it to me at 210-207-3393. That would be great and thanks for sharing the info.

CVT4ME

I have a 72 convertible. I removed the tank to redo my rear suspension and found there is a valve on the tank that is to prevent, I believe, liquid gas from getting to the canister which is mounted in the left front fender. the valve is plastic and is not available repro from what I found. You can bypass the valve with no trouble, from what I have been told. I used epoxy on my valve and also redid my canister. The filter was caked up after thirty years of road dirt.
I smell a hint of gas after a fill up but I believe it may be my cap. The gas tank is to be vented, if not the tank will sunk in. Happened to mine