Fuel fill issues

[skibo]

For 2 weeks now I've had trouble putting gas into my XC70 - fuel pumps keep shutting off and a spray of gas comes out of the fill. I found only 2 similar cases reported on this forum - one claimed the dealer found a spider had made a web that was blocking some sort of flap. Today I looked underneath and sure enough, I found a small spider building a web near the object in the photo. What is this cylindrical thing? Where can I find a diagram of this whole area? I was temped to stick something into that hole, but didn't want to cause another problem. Thanks for any advice.

[nickbw]

Not shown in Vida
https://app.box.com/s/pnsn8fo4tbbedjeu3h0j
My experience has been Volvo franchised dealers will tell you the whole rear end has to be dismantled and the tank brought down (six hours) but I had a Volvo specialist replace the flexi rubber link (part 16) recently without doing so. I could not fill the tank at all until the fix as the hose had split. It is claimed there is a valve in the filler path but I never found evidence of anything other than the one where you put the gun in at the filler neck.

[skibo]

Thanks nickbw. I see mention of some 'vent valve', and I suspect that is the mystery part in my photo - surprising that it doesn't show up on the exploded view. I'll take a look at my Part 16 though and see if that might be it.

[skibo]

I just found this on e-bay that shows this part I'm questioning - very surprising to me that this 3rd tube/pipe does not show up on VIDA. Seems to be some sort of additional vent that comes to the top of the filler and then turns downward into that larger cylinder with the hole at the bottom.

[Silvestris66]

Interesting. I just joined this forum to ask a question about being unable to fill up a 2003 XC70. My mother bought it used from my sister who kept it well maintained. I filled it up once a few weeks ago, and, at that point, it was tricky to get the gas in. Yesterday, my mother asked me to help her, and I could barely get 1/3 of a gallon in before gas foamed back up the inlet pipe and shut off the gas pump, so it's definitely getting worse. I've also heard about spider webs, but I'm unfamiliar with Volvos and don't know exactly what I need to clean out.

[volvospeed70]

The unit your reffering to is the Fuel tank vent cannister. There is a filter inside there that can get clogged with dust / dirt or even spiders i guess lol.

I'm not sure if you can clean it but worth a try.

[Silvestris66]

The unit your reffering to is the Fuel tank vent cannister. There is a filter inside there that can get clogged with dust / dirt or even spiders i guess lol.

I'm not sure if you can clean it but worth a try.

Is this the metal cylinder underneath the fuel-fill opening, or is this a charcoal canister located somewhere else?

If it's the metal cylinder I can see with a flashlight, how do you fix the problem? Do you have to get a mechanic to drop the tank?

[Silvestris66]

The metal vent canister is attached to the pipe from the tank via a U-shaped rubber hose. I blew air through the canister, but it didn't seem to be restricted. However, when I reattached the rubber hose, it felt like it might be collapsed and, thus, may be restricting air venting from the tank like a kinked garden hose. I'll have to investigate further.

[skibo]

I had planned to clean out that vent canister with some compressed air, but before I got to it my fuel-fill problem fixed itself, so for now I'm good. I expect it will come back at some inopportune time, though.

[nickbw]

As far as I know the charcole canister is located in the centre of the car, underneath the floorpan and forward of the fuel tank. It sits in a recess of the cast aluminum sections of the rear suspension. I only have rams and axel stands so it is a difficult area to inspect. This is very interesting and I find it very strange that it is not documented in Vida. skibo glad to hear you problem has gone away for now, hope it stays that way!