Can the charcoal canister be cleaned or replaced? And how to clean it?

I'm just wondering if that would help with emissions or making it run better... Thanks.

I really can't imagine it failing - it's just a canister of activated charcoal that traps gas vapors and lets them get sucked into the engine at the appropriate time.

 

However, if it's not getting fully purged and somehow purging during the emissions test, it could throw the hydrocarbon readings through the roof. If you put a vacuum line on it while the engine is running for a while, it should suck enough air through it to purge out all the gas vapors.

 

There's also the actuation solenoid to check. I don't know exactly how it works on the Subarus, but there should be a vacuum valve that opens to purge the canister. If that's sticking or not working, it could cause problems too.

 

-=Russ=-

Cleaning it might be difficult; I just look for one at the wrecking yards that has less miles/years than mine and just replace the old one. I really don't know if it helps any.

I've been working on a Loyale. The vacuum modulator failed, sucking ATF into the engine. ATF also made it into the charcoal canister.

 

 

It was interesting, sort of.