The 360 runs a fuel vapour recycling system that can give the owners issues when filling up the petrol tank. If you have difficulty in filling the tank to the top or the pump keeps clicking off then it is possible that the fuel vapour canister has failed.
The car has a fuel separator/disareator which is a long bar running between the top of the two fuel tanks (shown in yellow in the diagram below). This collects fuel vapours when the car is not running.
The vapours are allowed to flow into a charcoal filled vapour canister (number 10 in the diagram below). When the engine is running, the ECU determines when to release the vapour into the inlet manifold in order to be burnt in the cylinders. This is performed by opening valves numbered 12 in the diagram. Valve number 11 controls the flow of vapour into the canister as there is no need to collect the vapour when fuel is being drawn from the tanks. Part number 13 is an emergency shut off valve that activates if the car overturns and prevents any fuel leakage.
Problems occur when the canister gets blocked which in turns means that the air/vapour in the tanks cannot escape. At best this means the tank cannot be filled to the top but at worst it can mean the petrol backs up the filling neck which clicks the pump off.
Here’s a picture showing the canister in situ. To access it you need to remove the rear grill/panel. See here: Rear Grill Removal
Here’s a picture of a used, but functional, canister on the workbench:
Here’s a picture showing a faulty canister immediately after removal – note the charcoal pieces falling out of the end.
And here are a series of photos showing the construction of the canister. There’s no high tech in here and the OEM price of £250 is frankly a rip off.
Aldous Voice 
Aldous
Is the fact that the charcoal is loose the cause of the blockage? Is the unit not serviceable — i.e. replace the charcoal? I see those two springs at the bottom but am baffled as to their use — do they keep pressure on the filter at the bottom of the canister — is to what end?
Thanks
Alan
Hi Alan,
The blockage was charcoal getting past the foam filter and into the vapour exit (the larger dia pipe on the top of the canister).
The unit could be serviced by changing the charcoal and replacing the filters (they are similar to those used on vacuum cleaners). However, the case needs to be cut open to provide access so I guess you’d need to plastic-weld it back up.
Cheers,
Aldous.
Thanks Aldous. I guess for $700 it may be worth trying to refill it. I have a bunch of activated charcoal for my marine aquarium that would be suitable.
Alan
What is the part number for this part? Thanks!
It depends on the age of the car and the market it was sold in.
For early Euro spec cars the part number is 174782.
For later Euro cars it is 180132.
For early USA spec cars the part is 178356.
For later USA cars it is 186316.
Hi Aldous
Is it possible that the blockage described here could result in occasional fume smells in the car, particularly during abrupt cornering? There’s no fuel smell usually (I have checked the pumps regardless) with the engine running, but maybe a couple of times on a drive there’s a whiff of fuel for five or 10 seconds. It’s a 360 Spider, so maybe more detectable.
Thanks for your thoughts! Great website.
Tariq
I would be looking carefully at the top of the tanks, in particular the plastic roll over valves
Thanks very much, will do.
Get your 360 checked out by your mechanic – soon. There was a 360 that caught fire and burned to nothing a few years ago due to a leaky fuel line. My mechanic told me to always get the car checked out if a whiff of fuel is detected in the cabin.
Thanks Jay, you’re echoing advice on Ferrarichat, which directed me here. Paranoid now, appointment being made. Thanks again both
Tariq, I had exactly the same issue with my 2004 360 spider, wiff of fuel when driving hard followed by ECU light on the dash. After numerous visits to the garage which involved replacing first the canister, then the roll over valves neither of which made any difference a very bright mechanic noticed a tiny crack in one of the small white fuel pipes which run on top of the tanks which was only detected after the complete removal of the sun roof cassette. The mechanic reckoned the crack opened up under cornering or acceleration so you only smell fuel in these circumstances. I had it fixed and no more smell. Andy