First off, your VIN tells you which evap system you have - the P2 Volvo VIN 8th character. The "A" in my VIN tells me that I have a "type A" emissions system, and, on my car, the so-called "J Hose" is not at all "J" shaped. The dealer parts guy and I double checked, and he confirmed that yes, this was the only hose in the entire Evap canister area that had any significant sales in the region, so we knew it was the right one.
But it looked like a very shaky lower-case letter "n", not at all like a "J".
Second, forget what VIDA says about dropping down the exhaust system. Don't go there - your exhaust system, if it is like mine on my 2004 v70, is held together by firmly rusted-in-place components that will require a cutting torch to "drop down a few inches". Leave it be until if fails, and admit that the rusted flanges are better and more secure attachment methods than the bolts, which have rusted away and disappeared, leaving empty holes in the same flanges.
So, how to get at the J-hose? It is hiding with the evap canister atop the rear axle! But there is a way...
You need to get the car up on a lift. Maybe YOU can do this with the car up on ramps or jackstands, but I'd pay a guy to get the beast up in the air where we can work on it, as this took 3 guys under the car to do, but it was all over and done quickly. No more than 15 mins total after about 20 mins of listening to the mechanics moaning and groaning and pointing excitedly at rusty things, whining about having to likely replace everything in the exhaust system aft of the CAT if they tried to "drop it down".
DO THIS - You loosen the rear subframe mounting bolts, and LET IT DROP DOWN, rather than the exhaust. Two guys lean on pry bars to pull down the subframe, and one guy reaches in and does the surgery to R&R the stupid little skinny clamps and the hose. Pay attention to the clamps here, there is not a lot of room for a normal clamp, so you need to reuse the wire-type clamp, or use a similar wire-type clamp.
So, for some folding cash to the mechanics who provided the lift and assisted on the surgery, and $30 to the dealer for a hose, I no longer have an annoying CEL, and I can actually (gasp!) pass inspection.
The irony here is that if not for the built-in fancy test pump (rather than just the purge valve as the only moving part), the J-Hose would not exist as such, and would not vibrate so much and fail. Designing in the ability to test not only raised the cost, but also lowered the reliability. But HIDING the whole mess above the axle on the wagons was just plain mean.
Here's a photo of a P2 V70 rear subframe from eBay, as VIDA only shows one side of this beastie at a time in its diagrams
- P2 V70 Rear Subframe
- rear_subframe_v70_2004.jpg (38.57 KiB) Viewed 1673 times