[Keith Strong]

OK, i have had numerous conflicting reports on this and I wanna get a thread with the info I need. I have a fuel cell. Custom built. All it has is the sending unit garbage in it. No charcoal canisters, etc. What exactly is needed to make it legal? I have to smog this july and want to at least show an effort :laughing:

 

[The Rockslut]

the charcoal canister on a YJ is on the firewall knucklehead.

It would need all of the same attachments that the stock tank offered to be legal. Fuel supply, return and vapor return.

Still dont think they will pass it because of the fill neck.

 

[Keith Strong]

the charcoal canister on a YJ is on the firewall knucklehead.

It would need all of the same attachments that the stock tank offered to be legal. Fuel supply, return and vapor return.

Still dont think they will pass it because of the fill neck.

I know that, but isnt that one of the lines I have dangling under my rig? Anybody got a diagram or pics of what the stock crap looks like so I can TRY and make it relatively the same? Still haev all the lines under there, they just are not hooked up. Also, what would need to happen with the filler neck?

 

[WideJ]

Alright, I just dealt with this last week...
I tried to smog a custom fuel cell in my 94 YJ, and the smog tech basically laughed in my face. You are going to need to make an appointment with the smog referee. Since the tank is not (I'm assuming) SAE approved, etc, the vehicle will not pass no matter what your filler neck looks like. Just make sure to hook up the breather hose (like the two that were on the stock tank) to the charcoal canister lines. They should still be there unless you ripped them out. If the referee doesn't like it, then do what I had to do... swap the stock one back in to pass emmisions .

I talked to the guy that was doing the smog and asked him if he would "notice" if I had the stock tank hooked up to the stock filler (no sending unit) and all bolted in so it looked normal, with the fuel cell in. He said that as long as the fuel cell is hidden, like under a blanket or some gear, that he would have paid no attention. All they do is pull the cap and put it on some pressure test thing. The rest is a visual inspection.

Hope that helps, good luck.

 

[Keith Strong]

I was readin your stuff in searches. So basically I am shit outta luck? My stock tank is gone, and this one is mounted in a way that makes it more than a major pain int he ass to remove it. Cant install a stock one with it being where it is either. Crap.

 

[misterarj]

fuel cell

Keith,

From my understanding on other projects, since fuel cells are not DOT approved they are not legal for use on the street in CA. Therefore if you can make it pass the sniffer test and can avoid having the tank seen, you may be able to pass. But if the tech sees the tank and it's been swapped he'd have to fail it on the visual portion of the inspection. Best suggestion is to fin someone to assist you in it passing the visual (ie them looking the other way) and only relying on the sniffer.

AJ

 

[1RUSTYRIG]

And hopefully he doesn't notice that it leaks like a shotgunned bucket from the sending unit :flipoff2: ....

You could always get a non-op or green stamp for this year until you can hunt up a pre smog title.

 

[WideJ]

Don't forget that you can go to the smog referee and get a certificate that will exempt you from that portion of the smog check. That is always worth a shot before giving up hope. I just swapped my stock tank back in because I still had it and did not want to hassle with the referee issue. If you got ahold of a stock tank and cut it so it "looked" stock in the vehicle you might be able to pull it off. After all it is just a visual check.

 

[Supergper]

do they really look for a gas tank in Cali??? I have never seen them even try to look here...put you stock cap on(if you have it) and let them test the cap BTW, if you need a charcol canister I just pulled mine off this week and its yours for the cost of shipping (if you want it)

 

[The Rockslut]

They dont look for the gas tank but they test the gas cap and make sure the filler hose has the restrictor plate in it.

Keith, just put the stock tank in the back and hook it all back up. After it passes just reattach all the stuff to the cell.

 

[norcaljeeper]

check out race-dezzert.com seen this subject quite often on there they are usually talkin about for a ranger or some other pre runner but i have read some of the posts and they deall with this all the time in so cal


also i am under the impression that if you dummy your tank and filler with a good capso it looks like it is still stock i.e. putt in a skid or something to cover all the lines. after all they dont really look that hard. just make sure your filler neck and cap look real good.

 

[LOPPY]

Hey, dont you still have the recepticle and whatnot in your bodywork? If so, just throw a new hose on it, run the hose under the body somwhere like it's going to the stock tank. Put a new cap on it. Basically, makes it 'look' like the stock tanks still there. Cover up the fuel cell with a board or a bunch of gear or something and see if they notice. All they do is pull the gas cap to test it, so the guy will prolly not bother even looking under the vehicle to see if the stock tank is still there or not. Hell, it's worth a try.

lol... just make sure to put that hose on. I dont think it would fly if he pulled the cap off and saw the ground through the hole. hahahaha...

 

[Keith Strong]

Well, my stock filler and cap are the ones on the fuel cell. It does have the restrictor plate in it. I am gonna try getting one and putting it in the stock location though. Matt.....can you or Neil hook me up on that?

Eventually, when time permits, I am gonna rebuiild a new cell that sits more flush anyways, so i am gonna enclose it so its not even visible. However, the way this cell is mounted makes it impossible to remount a stock tank