98 V70 evap system code po442 "small leak"

Post by **98v70dad** » 18 Jul 2014, 19:52

I have about a week to trouble shoot and fix this problem in a car that is about 100 miles away in a small town with no Volvo parts. So I have to trouble shoot the problem without looking at the car and I have to have the parts with me to fix it. I would appreciate any help people can give me to isolate the problem. The only important clue I have is that the code sets shortly after buying gas even if attention is given to tightening the gas cap. I don't have any knowledge of how the EVAP system works so I don't know if the one clue I have helps to isolate the problem or not. I have searched the forums and read what I've found and suspect one or more of the following: gas cap, j hose at charcoal canister, L hose at charcoal canister, purge valve. This is my daughters car and she lives in a very small town and has a gravel driveway and no garage so I would like to get the car to pass emissions by doing as little as possible until I have access to it for awhile
on my home turf.

Can anyone suggest the most likely culprit based on the check engine light coming on right after a fill up? If the code is reset it doesn't come back until the next fill up.

Post by **deepsouth** » 18 Jul 2014, 22:01

Here's how I fixed mine:

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=63069

Good luck!

Eric

Post by **abscate** » 19 Jul 2014, 06:35

Take a new gas cap, purge valve, j hose, rollover valve and lots of hose clamps or know where there is a hardware store nearby.

Post by **98v70dad** » 19 Jul 2014, 06:41

Thanks. I actually found that myself and bookmarked it as a reference when I get time to do a complete job. BUT I've got one day to buy the parts, drive one hundred miles, make the repair on a gravel driveway, etc. The fact that the check engine light will go off only right after a fill up is a big clue but I don't know enough about that system to know what it tells me, if anything. My plan is to start with the most likely thing and work until I run out of time and hope I fix it.

Post by **98v70dad** » 19 Jul 2014, 07:35

One of the problems with working on a car you cant go out in the driveway and look at is that I really don't know what I've got. I spent the morning looking at deepsouths post and pictures and his evap overhaul doesn't involve a j hose. So i'm wondering if my charcoal canister is in the front like his is. he replaced about everthing and theres no mention of a j hose in his write up. if I don't have a j hose to replace the project gets a lot easier. his repair is for a v70 awd drive though. mine is just a two wheel drive. Does anyone know if they are the same?

Post by **abscate** » 19 Jul 2014, 08:26

Alternative approach

Buy a 20 USD OBD reader (which you should have in car anyway), clear codes a few days before inspection and then have car inspected with EVAP not ready.

Per EPA, you are allowed to have two circuits not ready and pass emissions test on a 1999 or earlier.

Prep your inspection station beforehand to make sure they are on board with the regs.

Successfully done in NY, probably the third most difficult state to smog behind MA and CA.

Post by **98v70dad** » 19 Jul 2014, 09:02

Thanks. I already tried that. I live in metro Atlanta and I have to park the car if I can't pass the test by the 27th. unfortunately, the car is with my daughter who is in college up in the north georgia mountains. I have done the same thing here in the city but up in the mountains they apparently dont know the regulations. When a 20 year old girl is arguing with a 50 year old guy about cars she will (and has) lost that argument. Unfortunately the nearest emssions check station is 45 mile from her. She got the codes reset for free at advance auto parts. They were pretty helpfu; but unfortunately they usually don't have much that fits a 98 volvo when I go up there to work on it.

Post by **98v70dad** » 19 Jul 2014, 09:04

Do you know how many miles or drive cycles you have to do for the "not ready" code to clear?

Post by **98v70dad** » 20 Jul 2014, 09:18

So my plan is to replace the gas cap with a new one, replace the purge valve and replace rubber hoses as needed. The illustrated parts catalog tells me that my charcoal canister is up front near the battery so that makes this a little easier. I'll reset the check engine light and then try to clear the not ready code and get it retested. I'm not sure the 2 systems not ready exemption for a 1998 car is still applicable in Georgia. new rules became effective a month ago and I can no longer find that in the law. It was clearly in the old one.

Nobody had any of the other mechanical valves in stock, so I'm going to hope they are working OK for now.

Post by **98v70dad** » 20 Jul 2014, 09:25

Before anyone gives me grief for spending as much as I did for a gas cap at the dealer i have some reasons. First, I wanted a cap with a tether. You can get an aftermarket cap with no tether for less than 10 dollars at autozone. Thats also why i just didn't replace the rubber seal on my gas cap with no tether for a few dollars. I didn't buy an oem cap online because I didn't have time to wait for it to arrive. It pained me to pay the dealer price, though. It was absurdly expensive ($42). They want over 125 for the purge valve. I got that at autozone for 39 after driving all over atlanta to find one in stock.