[drhiii]

1997 900s. Had fuel pump replaced by a high performance shop. Led to replacing gas tank. Fuel smell in cabin persisted. Shop said the charcoal canister had been disconnected.

I want to do this one myself. $$ and all. Have been searching for DIYs on the whole mechanism. Location of canister, routing, etc. Wanted to ask however if anyone can point to a DIY that reveals how to replace the canister, and how to service the entire circuit ingress and egress lines. Help anyone?


Gather it is not advisable to disconnect this due to the fuel smell that enters the cabin. Is there a way to do this successfully, or is the better option to reconnect it and replace the canister?


Am in process of going through the car to restore as much of the current issues as I can. Motor mounts. Faltering instrument cluster. And some other minor issues. Car just wants to keep running so I need to give it some needed TLC.

 

[jvanabra]

A '97 should have all the ORVR stuff, but honestly I have zero experience with non-turbos. Assuming they do, everything you are looking for is under the car, just behind the fuel tank. A big black plastic canister bolted to the underside, with a couple hoses and a couple valves. It's pretty self-contained, easy to work with.

A leaky canister will cause a fuel smell, but so will a lot of other things. I think you're going to have to get eyes on it. This is a situation where a smoke machine would be helpful, as it would help pinpoint any leaks before tearing off dismantling things.

 

[drhiii]

A '97 should have all the ORVR stuff, but honestly I have zero experience with non-turbos. Assuming they do, everything you are looking for is under the car, just behind the fuel tank. A big black plastic canister bolted to the underside, with a couple hoses and a couple valves. It's pretty self-contained, easy to work with.

A leaky canister will cause a fuel smell, but so will a lot of other things. I think you're going to have to get eyes on it. This is a situation where a smoke machine would be helpful, as it would help pinpoint any leaks before tearing off dismantling things.

Ah, tx for this information. Anyone reading this... anyone point to a schema, diagram, etc.. that lays out the connections? Am not exactly sure if what the shop said was disconnected, where I am reconnect to? If that makes sense?

 

[jakejm79]

A '97 should have all the ORVR stuff, but honestly I have zero experience with non-turbos. Assuming they do, everything you are looking for is under the car, just behind the fuel tank. A big black plastic canister bolted to the underside, with a couple hoses and a couple valves. It's pretty self-contained, easy to work with.

A leaky canister will cause a fuel smell, but so will a lot of other things. I think you're going to have to get eyes on it. This is a situation where a smoke machine would be helpful, as it would help pinpoint any leaks before tearing off dismantling things.

Actually 94-97 900 has the charcoal canister behind the passenger (LHD) front fender, in 1998 Saab changed things and moved the canister near the fuel tank.

 

[drhiii]

Hm, I went out and looked all around the passenger side fender and did not see anything that looked like what the canister should be. Was going to crawl under the back end this weekend and start coming up with a game plan. But if the lines and canister are mostly under the hood, minus the line that goes to the tank... that sure would make it more doable.


Might you know where there is a schematic that shows how the lines run, and canister location and configuration? tx

Actually 94-97 900 has the charcoal canister behind the passenger (LHD) front fender, in 1998 Saab changed things and moved the canister near the fuel tank.

 

[jakejm79]

Like I said its behind the fender, so unless you pull the fender (or fender liner) off you wont be able to see it.

 

[drhiii]

Like I said its behind the fender, so unless you pull the fender (or fender liner) off you wont be able to see it.

I see. ok.



Still hoping to surface some layout to follow.

 

[jvanabra]

Actually 94-97 900 has the charcoal canister behind the passenger (LHD) front fender, in 1998 Saab changed things and moved the canister near the fuel tank.

Interesting. I assumed the new layout arrived concurrent with the '96.5 fuel tank diagnostics. Did they just add the fresh air valving in back and keep the original evap circuit?

This seems to suggest otherwise:

http://www.teacher.starenvirotech.com/Saab/ORVT_WKBK_10-03-02[1].pdf

But it also indicates that ORVR was never equipped on non-turbos.

Either way, probably a useful document for troubleshooting this issue.

 

[drhiii]

Interesting. I assumed the new layout arrived concurrent with the '96.5 fuel tank diagnostics. Did they just add the fresh air valving in back and keep the original evap circuit?

This seems to suggest otherwise:

http://www.teacher.starenvirotech.com/Saab/ORVT_WKBK_10-03-02[1].pdf

But it also indicates that ORVR was never equipped on non-turbos.

Either way, probably a useful document for troubleshooting this issue.

Ah, very good. Helpful document.


I have decided to take the '97 900s to a long time Saab mechanic and have him diagnose the situation. The original high performance shop did have a canister out. I could go back to them and discuss, but they proposed a significant cost. Not wanting to go that route. So will see what this semi-retired mechanic diagnoses first.


But still want to pursue a DIY route too. Sooo by all means... keep all the ideas flowing in. tx

 

[jvanabra]

Well, my advice is get a smoke machine. But failing that, the training document is literally a how-to on diagnosing evap circuit leaks. Everything you need is laid out in it.