Helm manuals are generally out of production for many of these "older vehicles" If you have any source of original factory shop manuals for that info..now would be the time to donate the information.

I have found this particular forum to be absent of any real shop manual information in the sticky's on emission plumbing topics. That was my point. Of course a person can always ask a question and be presented by the usual suspects giving their opinions..which is good but..a little tech info in the files would save a lot of time...anyway, goodwill to all who work on what your drive and if it happens to be a "bull-nose Ford" (powered mostly by carburated engines)...which was built in the day of evidently "untouchable info"..happy hunting.

 

The problem we are faced with is copyright laws. Technically, posting anything out of a copyrighted publication is against the law. I post screen grabs from pages in the parts catalog and that seems to be acceptable. But if I posted all 5000 pages of it I suspect someone would get sued. So I doubt IB would even allow it to happen.

 

Thanks for your efforts here Gary..and Best wishes for the new year to you and yours.

 

Let's get down to it. I will tell what little i know about that thing that is broken.

Gary already basically said what it is and where it goes. Here's the idea behind it;

The carb bowl needs to be vented. That's what that large pipe is doing coming out of the carb, it's letting the bowl "breath". Then comes in the EPA. All these vents on the automobile are letting out gas fumes and that is hurting the environment. We need to contain these fumes.

So they invented the charcoal canister. It's usually a black square box mounted somewhere in the engine compartment. The charcoal inside can contain and store the gasoline fumes. So now we need to seal the carb bowl and route the fumes to the charcoal canister. We also need to change the fuel tank cap so it can let air in, but not let fumes out. It needs to breath also, so they will run a dedicated line from the fuel tank to the charcoal canister also.

They go even stricter later on, and now systems can be tested by pressurizing the tank. If it won't hold pressure, then there is a leak somewhere and it will fail the test. That's what they are doing at the inspection station when they put that gizmo on the fuel filler.

They have even got the gas cans now. You can't buy a regular gas can for your mower now, you have to buy one of those sealed jobs with all the levers and buttons on it to fill your mower up.


Bottom line, that thing that is broken and in your hand will not affect how the truck runs, as long as that elbow fitting is open and the carb bowl is allowed to breath. The only problem, you are letting gas fumes into the atmosphere.

 

Amen!

 

There are lots of places online that sell this stuff, check eBay and google "used factory service manuals" or some such and you'll find places.

Here are some I've had personal good experiences with:

Welcome to Lloyd's Automobile Literature
Faxon | Shop Manuals for Car & Truck Owners | DIY Service, Repair or Maintenance
Used Books, New Books, Movies, Music, Gifts and More from Alibris Marketplace

Here is one I have bookmarked but don't have any personal experience with:

Home Page Dave Graham Auto Repair Manuals

Here is some info on my copy for my truck, likely others will be similar:

Engine/Emissions Diagnosis
FPS 365-126/326-81G

It may take some time to find what you're looking for, but it'll likely show up eventually...

EDIT: For plumbing specifics, the under-hood sticker was considered the holy grail and even the books don't have many specifics on that stuff... the mechanics were taught that sticker is golden...

 

Before I forget, another thing that causes a personal bias in me about this stuff...

I have been to some big cities in foreign countries where they don't have any pollution controls on their cars and factories (you've probably seen pictures), and those experiences have left me with a different understanding of the importance of that stuff and the value of clean air and what the EPA does for us as a whole. It's probably not a popular attitude amongst many folks but it is what it is...

 

I've been to Mexico City, where there were times you literally couldn't see across the street for the smog. And I lived in London where the particulates dispensed by the diesels that were everywhere lay on the fences and coated the windows and CRT's with a black film like lamp black. In fact, we had to hire someone to clean our windows monthly due to it. And it was all to do with the complete lack of emissions controls. So I, too, appreciate the strides we've made in this country. I may not appreciate all of the requirements, but they have proven effective.