Well, that's new...

"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
07/13/2020 at 22:22 • Filed to: None

Driving along yesterday I noticed that my gas cap warning light was on. I’ve never seen that before and checked the cap but it was on securely and fully tightened. In the past I’ve had P0422 and P0455 evap messages pop up randomly, and assumed that it was something more severe; there’s an evap valve down behind the fuel tank that can be damaged by topping off the tank, something I’m guilty of.

I guess I’ll go ahead and order a new cap. I tried to get one at NAPA but it didn’t fit, so I guess it’s OEM this time around. Maybe this will clear up the evap problems as well. Ah, the joys of driving what is now an older car. Groaning under right turns, heat shield rattling, headlights fogging over, etc...

DISCUSSION (10)

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/13/2020 at 22:35

Yay! You have fuel-type issues too! We can be fu el problem buddies!

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
07/13/2020 at 22:50

Fun stuff. I can get the car to pass a safety/emissions check with a simple reset, but I wouldn’t mind firing up the ol’ parts cannon and solving this once and for all, and maybe, if I’m lucky, it will also cure my low fuel economy (although I think my lead foot is a bigger problem there...)

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/13/2020 at 22:53

My low fuel economy earlier this year was because the seam of the gas tank had rusted and was leaking slowly....ended up having to get a new tank put in for that...

smobgirl > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/13/2020 at 22:55

My check engine light is magically back off (in the van, not the Fiat, RIP in pieces ). Haven’t checked the codes yet to see if the light just burned out.

Jb boin > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/13/2020 at 23:08

I actually just explained a little bit about my evap issue on the other topic :)

In your case, if you don’ t smell gas going out of the gas cap it probably won’t fix anything to change it as in normal operation the gas cap is sealed .

If its a leak, you can try to find where it small gas on the engine bay when the engine is running or just after stopping (hoping it’s the line under the car) .

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
07/13/2020 at 23:12

Oof. Over 30 years ago I had a poor fuel economy problem with my Vanagon but solving it was rather easy. I knew it had to be an evaporation issue so I ordered all of the necessary parts from the dealer where I worked and installed them in the shop at school. So much easier to pull the tank when you’ve got a lift and a bunch of fellow students that can help out.

I just ordered the cap and the evap valve. I thought I was getting a good deal and then found I was charged $24.95 for shipping - outrageous. No employee discounts and no shop, so in the middle of summer I’ll have to go crawling around under the car whilst it’s parked on the street - oh joy...

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Jb boin
07/13/2020 at 23:22

I recently found a video by someone with the same car having the same problem. Apparently there’s an purge valve down by the tank that can become damaged by improper fueling.

I’ll have to go out and take a sniff around the cap. For around $30 it might not be a bad part to replace just based on age knowing how finicky modern cars can be. But even back in the ‘80s, in a smog inspection class, we were told that you could seal up the gas cap with a little Vaseline on the seal, but I don’t know if that trick would still work today.

Update: I just did the sniff test and found no evidence of vapors around the filler. I went ahead and canceled the parts order, partly because of this test and partly because of obscene shipping charges. Hopefully they’ll follow through and do it without have to get PayPal involved.

Jb boin > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/13/2020 at 23:32

The valve should probably be around the canister and not the tank, it’s directly on top of the canister on the A3 but it might be different on your car.

I also had to change the o-ring gasket around it (sealing it on top of the canister) 2 or 3 years ago, the rubber ring was broken in multiple parts and it was definitely smelling gas around it when the engine was hot (it should open the valve fully only when the engine is hot if i am not mistaken).

ps: just found the images from when i changed the o- ring :

Kinja'd!!!

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Jb boin
07/13/2020 at 23:37

The part in question on my car is just behind the fuel tank in the center of the car. It’s about a $60 part and should be relatively easy to replace once the car is on jack stands. But first I want to check the evap valve under the hood which should be simpler to get to.

If I do replace that one under the car I’d like to do a little extra sealing around the connections. Having done a lot of computer and electrical wiring my first thought was heat shrink tubing, but somehow I don’t think the idea of an open flame near fuel lines would be a particularly brilliant idea (I guess I could use a heat gun, but there’s probably a better way of making sure everything’s sealed up tight.)

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/14/2020 at 08:15

My Corolla has a dash message telling you to tighten the cap. It popped up once when I had cross threaded the cap and it blew my mind.