Emissions equipment

[dmc]

Hello all,

I have a question about emissions control equipment.  I have a 1970 Autostick Beetle, it has a charcoal filter under the passenger side rear fender and has 3 hoses entering it.  One to the fan housing, one to the air cleaner, and the last one goes to the gas tank.  My question is, would there be any ill effects if I were to remove all of this stuff?

[bookwus]

Hiya Dean,

"would there be any ill effects if I were to remove all of this stuff?"

From a strictly performance standpoint - No.  On the other hand, there will be no gain either.  So from that vantage point the matter is a "push".

However, you may want to look at this situation from another viewpoint.  The M-26 emissions system (the pieces you are considering scrapping) are not (as many think) a passive collection system.  Rather the system is "powered" by the cooling fan.  It actively traps loose hydrocarbons from the fuel delivery system and forwards them on to the carburetor for burning.  Remember that it does this with no loss of power or performance.

To remove this system is to encourage future problems with loose hydrocarbons accumulating under the front hood.  Every car I have inspected with a raw gasoline smell has had the M-26 system compromised in some way.  That's worth considering.  Might also be worth considering that hydrocarbons are identified as a cancer causing agent.

By the way, after reading the above, if you are now considering keeping the system intact (a good decision) you will want to know, if after 35 years, it is still doing its designated job.  Easy to do......One......make sure all connections are tight and hosing is intact.  Two.....remove the emissions canister  (113 201 801A) and attempt to blow through it.  On the end of the canister with two openings, plug the small opening and blow through the larger opening.  You should be able to do this EASILY.  If you have to force it or it just seems to be stopped up, it's time to replace (or refill) the canister.  I can give you more info about that.

Let me know what you decide to do.

Mike

1970 AS Bug

[dmc]

Well, we've decided to try and keep the emissions equipment.  I've pulled the canister off the inner fender well and I cleaned if off and attempted to blow thru it.  Air does not move thru it at all and my Bentley manual says nothing other than what it is.  Any help with refilling would be appreciated.

[bookwus]

Hiya Dean,

See if this passage helps out...............

"Insofar as the charcoal canister (E-Can) goes..........do know that you should be able to blow through it without any restriction. To test it, simply pull (disconnect all the hoses) the canister out of the system and blow through larger opening on the end with two openings. If you get resistance or its completely plugged (and many are) it's time to clean.

To clean it out you will need to refill the canister. So..........drill a 1.5 inch hole 1.5 inches in from the end with the two openings. Once that is done you'll see the carbon (charcoal) pellets. You'll probably need to poke them around a bit to loosen them. I used a dull screwdriver - worked great. Once all the carbon is out take a look inside. You should see a golden color. I believe the inside was anodized. If there is a lot of rust or unremovable crud inside, think about getting a new canister (more about that later). Any light dirt can be rinsed out with a light solvent. I'd recommend naptha - it evaporates quickly. Just pour about a half pint in and do the shake around thing for a couple of minutes, then drain.

Do not remove the internal "pads" at either end of the canister. The solvent should do a good job of rinsing them out. However, without the charcoal in the canister the springs (2 of 'em) behind the end pad will want to come out.  I fumbled around with them for quite a while trying to get them back into position behind the pad.  Fool's errand.  I finally just would up "unscrewing" them through the 1.5 inch hole I had drilled in the canister wall.  In any event, when it is all dried up refill with new carbon. Be sure to get pelletized carbon which is available at any good pet/fish/aquarium store. I found Coralife packaged in a half gallon container. You'll need two of these. The canister will take just a little more than a half gallon of the stuff. I got it for $6.95 for a half gallon container.  This stuff is identical to the "original load".

You can seal that 1.5 inch hole any way you think best as long as it is airtight. Me? I soldered in a screw cap fitting (I think I used one from an old can of Thompson's Water Seal). This way I can unscrew the cap and change the carbon in the future with no big hassle. Reinstall the canister and you are on your way.

Total time spent on the project (assuming the parts and tools you'll need are at hand) was less than one hour. An easy weekend project to get no more gas smell and a less polluting vehicle.

Oh yes.......about finding a new canister. They are available for cheap at a most VW oriented wrecking yards. I would not pay over $5.00 for one and most I have bought have been in the $1 or $2 range. If you can get into the yard yourself (like a Pick-a-Part kinda yard) look for an E-Can from a Porsche 914. It's the exact same E-Can as used in Bugs and Busses (70-74, I think) and its located in the front trunk. It is protected from the elements and will be in much better shape than one from a Bus or Bug."

[dmc]

Well it took me about 20 minutes to get the hole cut, empty the charcoal, clean the inside, cut the cover plate, and drill the holes for the rivets.  The only problem I ran into was while drilling the holes for the rivets the drill press shook the pad at the far end out of place and I got to fiddle around with springs for about 30 minutes.  Once I got everything back to where it was supposed to go, filling the canister was easy.  Packed almost the entire 2 liter tub of pellets into the canister.  Then it was just a matter of putting some silicone around the opening and riveting the cover on using aluminum rivets.  I also put some silicone into the rivets to keep it air tight.  This was all done on the backside of the canister in order to keep the ugly little patch out of site.  It works properly now, can blow thru the end with no resistance.  I will post some pictures pretty soon of the procedure I took.

[bookwus]

Hiya Dean,

Glad to hear that it went easily for you!  

You know, I cannot understand why more folks do not go this route.  Many will scrap the emissions system altogether not realizing that those loose hydrocarbons are actually dangerous (to your health) little guys.  And the system does not affect overall performance in the least.

Just seems to make little sense to do anything but refill the emissions canister.

I'll look forward to seeing your pictures.

[dmc]

Ok here are pictures of the procedure I took in refilling the canister.

http://www.fotonutt.com/VW/emissions/index.htm

Hopefully you all have no problems with viewing the pictures.  They are not in the correct order due to my lack of thinking ahead.