Charcoal canister restoration / repair

Are the Charcoal canisters used on mopars serviceable or were they replaced as a unit?

Specifically looking for information on how to disassemble the canister to replace the foam element on the bottom.

This unit is from a 72 Dodge Challenger

There is a fiberglass filter that fits on the bottom. It's still available new.

I think the factory used some type of glue on the bottom cover. I was afraid of breaking the plastic on mine. I've heard of people breaking out the bottom and refilling them with charcole. Then you have to figure out a way to hold it in there without being visable from the outside. I just put a new fiberglass filter on mine and called it good. If I start smelling any fuel, I might look into replacing the charcole.

As far as refinishing them... The top of mine still had the original date code on it. I sanded on the sides with wet/dry paper to get rid of the scratches and rust stains. I masked off the top(to retain the date code) and sprayed the sides with SEM Trim Black. If I had to do it over again, I'd spray it with something that has slightly more gloss to it.




Do you still have your original hoses that go to the carb? One of the hoses should have either a red or yellow stripe on it. I reproduced the stripe with a paint pen.

That is exactly what I'm trying to find out - How to take it apart to replace the charcoal, because the original filter deteriorated and lost some of the charcoal.
I'm not certain that the bottom is sealed together or maybe the 2 holes are used to unscrew the base from the cansister. On the GM versions it was a simple r&r for the filters.

Does anyone have any experience breaking the bottom apart as Darren mentions?

The canister itself is in excellent condition so would like to repair and use the original if possible

I hope the OP doesn't mind me jumping in. I also suffer from the fume smells, what is the correct way/locations to hook up the connections to the canister? Where do both ends of each hose connect to?

It depends on the year.

My 73 has three nipples. One goes to the tank vent. One goes to the carb bowl vent. The last one goes a large fitting on the side of the carb.

A FSM for your year should show where to hook them up.

Quote:

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There is a fiberglass filter that fits on the bottom. It's still available new.

I think the factory used some type of glue on the bottom cover. I was afraid of breaking the plastic on mine. I've heard of people breaking out the bottom and refilling them with charcole. Then you have to figure out a way to hold it in there without being visable from the outside. I just put a new fiberglass filter on mine and called it good. If I start smelling any fuel, I might look into replacing the charcole.

As far as refinishing them... The top of mine still had the original date code on it. I sanded on the sides with wet/dry paper to get rid of the scratches and rust stains. I masked off the top(to retain the date code) and sprayed the sides with SEM Trim Black. If I had to do it over again, I'd spray it with something that has slightly more gloss to it.



Do you still have your original hoses that go to the carb? One of the hoses should have either a red or yellow stripe on it. I reproduced the stripe with a paint pen.

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Sorry i did not post when it was first asked but i looked and looked for the pictures i took of doing them in steps
I did quite a few. I cut the bottom open, changed out the charcoal with the right size {aquarium store a neighbor works at had some}
Inside there is a metal plate I also added some screen and reglued the bottom back on.
On some I just cut the slots open to sneak the old stuff out and back in. Then just started cutting the whole thing open and glueing.
New pads are sold in 5 packs or singles.
I did clean the plastic with Westley's Bleach White and hand rubbed them to a semi gloss with Wenol RED