charcoal canister

Hello everyone. I have a 97 T100 v6 3.4 liter. The check light came on 3 yrs ago and after a long story the dealership replaced the charcoal canister. Now the light is back on and I'm having problems starting it AGAIN. Is there anyway you can check the canister?? Or is there something I'm doing wrong over the yrs? It cost me 300+ to replace and I would like to fix it myself if I could. Thanks for any advice...Anthony

Charcoal cannisters are really pretty simple. I know of only a couple of things that can go wrong with them. One is a check valve in the input from the gas tank. (My reference is the '85 Toyota shop manual--A quick check of the '94 T100 shop manual was fruitless.) I think the check valve is supposed to block flow back into the tank. Applying low pressure air to the upper hose inlets, one at a time, should show if it is working. If the check valve is stuck open you might be able rig something in the inlet line.

The other possible problem is the filter in the bottom. The recommended way to clean it is to block one of the upper inlets and apply 43 psi air into the other, blowing the dust out the bottom. No charcoal should come out the bottom.

I don't see how a $300 price tag can be justified. Maybe the later California models are more complicated.

Good luck--let us know what you find.

My check engine light came on once, also... It turned out that I had filled my tank, and then topped it off a bit more, and then drove it 2 blocks and parked it for a week while I went on vacation..
The gas expanded and filled my charcoal canister.
I had the check engine light reset by Autozone (free) and have never had the problem again..

The cure?? When the handle on the pump goes click, put the handle back on the gas pump.. I haven't attempted to over fill and I haven't had a problem since.