Vintage 71 142e carbon filte, lots of questions

My evaporative control carbon filter is vented and not connected to the intake manifold.

Does the carbon filter have a max life? Im assuming the previous owner had some issues so disconnected it.

Can you have issues if using an old carbon filter?

The green book mentions a foam filter on the bottom that should be replaced every 25000 miles. Is this available? The rest of the cannister not servicable?

What did European market cars have? Im open to simplify/eleminate.

Restore It To Stock

fred.malmberg said:

My evaporative control carbon filter is vented and not connected to the intake manifold.

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fred.malmberg said:

Does the carbon filter have a max life? Im assuming the previous owner had some issues so disconnected it.

Click to expand...

No when the vacuum draws slowly across the activated carbon core it gleans the VOCs back into the engine.

fred.malmberg said:

Can you have issues if using an old carbon filter?

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Not really if it's not damaged, see above.

fred.malmberg said:

The green book mentions a foam filter on the bottom that should be replaced every 25000 miles. Is this available? The rest of the cannister not servicable?

What did European market cars have? Im open to simplify/eleminate.

Click to expand...

Dunno if it's NLA or not.

Maybe wash it out with soap and water if it looks dirty.

All that said, I'd find bigger and or better things to worry about.

fred.malmberg said:

The green book mentions a foam filter on the bottom that should be replaced every 25000 miles. Is this available? The rest of the cannister not servicable?

Click to expand...

Shortly after buying my 142, I went to one of the big box hardware stores and bought some foam filter media, like used in humidifiers or dehumidifiers. I cut it out & replaced the crumbling foam on the bottom of my canister.
Steve

The charcoal canister is an evaporative emissions device and if you are required to get your car emissions tested, you will fail if it is discovered to be disconnected or missing. Although I'm pretty sure a car as old as yours doesn't get tested anymore.

Make sure the vent line to the gas tank is not plugged and I suggest installing an inexpensive inline fuel filter on the vent line if you leave canister disconnected. Install the filter with the inlet side facing the atmosphere. I prefer the small clear/translucent Bosch fuel filters I use on Volvos with carbs.

The usual reason for disconnecting the charcoal canister is a torn upper membrane. When torn, bits of charcoal can be sucked into the intake manifold.

Theoretically, the charcoal canister should last a very long time as there are no moving parts, but tears in the membranes are not unheard of on all brands of cars equipped with them.