Hello, my question has been addressed before on here but since I'm not so experienced under a car I want to check to make sure I understand. I have a 71 Cutlass. The gas tank has 4 lines coming off of it. The one on the sending unit goes to the fuel pump, as far as I know I don't have a return line. I don't have 2 hoses on my fuel pump. Other than that I'm not sure. I've read that the outer to, on the left and right are vents that go behind the rear seat metal looking vent thing, lol. The middle hose I think is also a vent seeing as some gas tanks had 3 vents. So to be clear, my questions are did I just describe the hoses correctly? I also, removed the black canister under the hood, do I need that still? At times while driving I smell gas inside the car. It's not real strong but gas is a noticeable smell. I'm wondering if everything is set up correctly. Ultimately ID like to install efi one day and one company says to vent their product and I'd like to understand my gas ventilation system so I can know where to tap into and if my current setup is correct.
Thanks

 

Yes, you described it correctly, and yes, you want to retain the charcoal canister. The whole point of the canister is to trap gasoline vapors that would otherwise go into the atmosphere. Since you've deleted it, you now have vapors going wherever that hose ends, which is why you now smell them in the car. The charcoal canister has exactly zero effect on performance, and actually captures and burns gasoline vapor that would otherwise be lost. There's no reason not to have it.

You might want to understand what these pieces of equipment actually do before ripping them out...

 

Thanks for the response. I didn't rip it out on my own at least, I was told I didn't need it anymore. I still have it it has 2 ports on it. Where do I connect it? I have an edlebrock intake and carb, but I m not sure where to hook up the canister. And whats inside the canister? Is there something that's needs to be replaced or cleaned?

 

There is a filter on the bottom of the canister, one could replace it. The charcoal inside basically just absorbs gas fumes then later releases them back to the engine, never really needs attention.

 

Thanks for responding. I've been reading other post and one of the ports on the canister one connects to the vent tube from behind the rear seat and the other connects to the carb. Right?? If that's true then I have an open vent hose somewhere under the hood, if I don't have my canister connected!!! Also before my rebuild rats/mice etc made a home under my hood and it seems as though the canister was a popular venue. The plastic outside seems to be in tack but it feels pretty light I'm not sure there's anything in it. Should I buy a replacement?