I was doing some detailing on my 1996 F250 this weekend, mostly cleaning up the battery tray area and coating it w/POR15...that stuff is incredible, by the way! Anyway, after I removed the tray, I looked over towards the radiator and saw this piece all chewed up, most likely by chipmunks as we have TONS of nut trees where I live, and , well, if you have nuts you have squirrels and chipmunks. Does anyone know what this is or what it does? It might be emissions-related, but I just passed the smog check last month (very, very good numbers, BTW). So do I just leave it alone or attempt to repair/replace it? Thanks in advance!
Rog

 

thats the charcoal canister. yes its emissions related although I believe that side of the canister has a vented cap.

 

thats the cannister from EVAP

 

Do you think its OK to leave it as it is? I'd guess it just has a little more venting now than when it came from the factory!
Rog

 

my truck is a little older but has a hose going up and around the wheel well but is open so I wouldnt worry to much about it

 

Gotta wonder what it was about that cap/hose fitting that would be so appealing to a squirrel (or whoever). Do they like the taste of plastic impregnated with vented gas fumes or something?

You might wanna cut that off flush, and shove a short hose in the ID of the hole, or find a loose-fitting cap for it, just to keep foreign objects (like litters of small rodent babies) from falling in there.

 

the hose is basically there to guide the vented vapors out of the engine bay and down to the road. the only thing you might get is a little bit of sooty air in your engine bay if you leave it alone. It will also probably smell a little more like gas/oil then if you vented it outside.

 

plus consider this - the line from the canister to the tank runs along the passenger frame and under behind the cab - its likely rusted in two....

 

Does anybody have a pic of theirs intact? Thanks!
Rog

 

Is there another one below that one? My '96 has two vapor canisters. The top one is hosed to the bottom one and the bottom one is hosed to the front fuel tank. Well, supposed to be anyway. No emissions here so very low on my list of repairs.

 

One of the electronics guys I worked with a few yrs. ago told me that rodents, racconns, skunks etc. will chew up wiring etc. 'cuz a lot of plastics are now made from soy oil rather than petroleum. Apparently they can tell the difference.