Melted pipe on VR6, what is it?

[kangaroo 0]

While working on my brakes over the weekend I noticed that this pipe (see image below) was resting against a heat-shield and had started to melt. Its located at the top-left of the engine and heads off somewhere beneath the airbox. It also has what looks like an in-line filter just out of shot in my pic.

 

The pipe looks intact, despite having a melted dent in it, and I've tied it back out of the way for now. But I'd like to know whether its carries something important and whether I should replace it?

 

Cheers.

[CorradoVR6-Turbo 0]

Its a vacuum take off for the valve infront of your airbox,which intern leads off to the carbon canister(all for fuel tank emissions) :|

Getting rid of wont make any difference

[kangaroo 0]

Cheers for the info James. I haven't looked into the plumbing in the C, so I don't know much about it. What does the carbon canister do? And where is it located?

[CorradoVR6-Turbo 0]

If you lift out the airbox,you will see the valve and the canister bolted to the innerwing,its job is to filter out the fuel vapours from the fuel tank before they go into the atmosphere :wink:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The carbon canister traps the hydrocarbons from the tank vent and then the frequency valve (connected at the other end of your melted pipe) starts pulsing at a speed governed by the ECU (throttle position). i.e fast pulsing off idle and off completely or very slow pulsing at idle. This then allows the engine to draw in the HCs and burn them off.

 

K

[kangaroo 0]

Blimey! All that for just gobbling its own fumes..

 

So at worst, if the pipe's got a hole in it and its a vacuum, it'll just suck in a bit of air and unbalance the way the emissions are controlled. The ECU would compensate though I guess?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Indeed, bloody emissions laws!

 

If you've got a hole in that pipe, you're introducing unmetered air which won't be compensated for.

 

You need to either replace the pipe or plug the hole as soon as.....