Howdy Folks,

Recently I've been getting some fuel smells in the cab of my RV. I took it in to have the fuel system checked for leaks but none were found. The mechanic took a look at the Evaporator Canisters and said there could be a problem there, but they have been unable to locate the parts to replace them. My rig has two Evaporative canisters.

They tell me the part is similar to this one listed on Ebay (1st Pic)... All the new replacement ones look like this (2nd pic).

As you can see, the newer one has two extra hose connectors. So how the heck do you replace the first one with the second one? From what I can tell, the two larger ports on the newer one appear to be air intake and should have some dust covers on them, but the smaller hose ports don't match the size on the original.

How do I swap one for the other when they don't even look the same?

Thanks!
Dennis

Old one looks like this

New replacements?

 

Before getting involved in trying to re engineer the evap system, have you tried a few salvage yards ?

There was a vacuum diagram under the hood in the engine compartment of your vehicle ,is it still in there?

Sometimes a dealership parts dept can tell you what other years used the same canister, all worth checking out.

I have some reservations as to the canister being the problem, something doesn't seem quite right.
If a hose or line came off. , now the odor is no longer contained, Even if you had the habit of overfilling the gas tank after the nozzle shut off, it could destroy the canister, but would leave you with a few other more serious problems of performance.
Why not get a second opinion ?

 

I'm not really trying to re-engineer the evap system. The parts that are actually installed on the vehicle don't seem to match specs either online or as they appear in the repair manual. I don't know if the E350 was a little different when modified for an RV or if it should be like every other E350. I would have assumed the latter, but alas, picture 1 is what is actually installed and picture 2 is what the repair manual and every other replacement online looks like.

I'll try calling the dealer to see if they have any insight on a replacement part. The mechanic is replacing all the hoses to the system because the existing ones are apparently in pretty bad shape and looking into an engine heat issue which they haven't been able to reproduce, but that's a separate topic.

In my area there is really only 1 mechanic willing to work on RVs, all the other mechanics in the area won't touch them because they don't have garages big enough, and before I go to a bigger city, I have to get the overheating issue resolved.

So far I've told them to just concentrate on the engine running hot and I'll figure out if the evap canister even needs to be replaced.

 

Having had a few problems with on line "parts sellers" , AND some "repair" manuals.
I have learned the hard way to get authentic info from my dealership using the VIN. .

They have all the "as built" info and that is worth the trouble.

A lot of places sell "fits all" parts and then you wind up altering things to make it work, if you are lucky.

 

So the Fuel smell issue was never resolved, but they say there is no leak in the tank or anything and insist it relates to the evap system.

The fuel smell isn't overpowering or even too strong, but its definitely there and only happens when I have a full tank of gas. Once it drops down by a quarter tank, the smell generally goes away.

Upon driving it home, there is a new issue... Now the speedo starts bouncing around when I hit 65mph. (facepalm)

Just looked at the evap canisters and they look fine. Mechanic said they looked like they were in bad shape, but I disagree with him. I walked around the vehicle and could smell fuel on the outside around the back by the fuel tank area. I personally think they missed something on the smoke test.

 

There is a good possibility the odor might be coming from the top of the fuel tank and the only way to prove it is to lower the tank and check it where the sending unit is installed.

If I am not mistaken, the canister is mounted on the pass side just behind the RF wheel. You should not be smelling the odor at the rear of the vehicle if the canister is defective.

 

Regarding the canisters, there are two and they are right under the driver side connected to one another in series. They look perfectly fine to me.

100% agree regarding the fuel smell. Thank you for the confirmation.