1999 Corolla - Po446

That part on the JC Whitney site looks like the vapor pressure valve, a the hose ends are on opposing sides. Both the vapor pressure and the VSV for vacuum switching (purge) are both VSV or Vacuum Switching Valves. A vacuum is placed on one side of the valve to open/close the "switch" portion of the valve to allow the other side to freely pass or stop flow.

 

If the part was around $30 - that sounds like a pressure valve, if it was around $70, then that would be the VSV switching valve.

I'll try and take pics of mine, but I believe there were some running changes between the early 1998-1999, mid-1999-2000, and 2001+ models. So they might look slightly different. Probably be around this weekend or next, as I have to repair my exhaust that got beat up during all this snow/ice we got lately.

Thanks again. Yes, there may have been a 1999 mid-year change to the parts. (Oh, why must this be so complicated.)

Is there some easy way to tell whether my Corolla is from the 1st, or 2nd half of 1999? (This may be extremely important info).

I called the Toyota dealer, and emailed him my photos. He says the part I have pictured is part of the Vapor Canister, and not sold separately. I hope he's wrong.

And I have a call in to dealerdirectparts.com. I'm asking if they can match my photos to part #90080-91240. Waiting for a call back. (So far they're very nice btw.)

You'll have to look at the body placard, on the driver's side door pillar and see if they have the manufacturer date code stamped on there. Unfortunately, the VIN doesn't have that resolution, just model year only. If it doesn't show up there, they you can try looking at the passenger side of the engine, by the serpentine belt and see if you can see the date code stamped on the sticker there. This is assuming the chassis and engine were assembled roughly at the same time.

 

I too, hope that the pressure valve is not integrated into the vapor canister. I know on my car, it is sold as a single unit - cannot(easily) remove that sensor.

Thanks fishexpo - I easily found my car's manufacture date on the body placard. March 1999. So if I need an entire Vapor Canister, it's clearly part 77740-02071. Part # 90080-91240 is also listed as a match for a 3/99 Corolla. But I haven't heard back yet from dealerdirectparts.com about this part (whether it matches my photo).

More to come.

You'll have to look at the body placard, on the driver's side door pillar and see if they have the manufacturer date code stamped on there. Unfortunately, the VIN doesn't have that resolution, just model year only. If it doesn't show up there, they you can try looking at the passenger side of the engine, by the serpentine belt and see if you can see the date code stamped on the sticker there. This is assuming the chassis and engine were assembled roughly at the same time.

I too, hope that the pressure valve is not integrated into the vapor canister. I know on my car, it is sold as a single unit - cannot(easily) remove that sensor.

Thanks fishexpo - I easily found my car's manufacture date on the body placard. March 1999. So if I need an entire Vapor Canister, it's clearly part 77740-02071. Part # 90080-91240 is also listed as a match for a 3/99 Corolla. But I haven't heard back yet from dealerdirectparts.com about this part (whether it matches my photo).

More to come.

Update: I ordered the two parts above from dealerdirectparts.com, who so far has been great. The parts have been shipped, and I'm waiting for them to arrive early next week. I'm hoping the less expensive part (91240) will fix the problem, but it may be a full vapor canister replacement (02071). I'll ultimately return one of these two parts, but I want to present both parts to my mechanic at the same time.

Will update again soon.

So the repair has been completed, and so far so good. My mechanic replaced the Vapor Canister. I've driven the car around 100 miles now, and the CEL hasn't come back on yet. Parts + Labor on the repair came to a grand total of $295.

The other part (91240) I'd bought was not the circular part I'd pictured. It was instead a rectangular, 2 inch part, which also fits on the vapor canister. I've returned that part and am awaiting a full refund from Dealerdirectparts.com, who have been fantastic up to this point. Btw the vapor canister was exactly as advertised: OEM Toyota, and brand new. I'll update once again after the return of part 91240 is completed, to share a final verdict on dealerdirectparts.com.

Good to hear that you had good luck with Dealerdirectparts.com - be interesting to see how quickly they handle the RMA, price wise, they have a lot of other vendors beat.

 

Since the vapor canister was replaced, were you able to take a better look at the canister, noticed anything cracked or damaged on the casing? Once the car does its I/M routine, you should know right away if the fix was successful. Should take no more than a couple hundred miles and several cold starts to get that set.

My Verdict on Dealerdirectparts.com - they are great. They handled the RMA on the returned part, and credited my cc within about a week. So, I can recommend them - they passed with flying colors.

My car passed its Smog check, and there's still no CEL after ~500 miles. So it seems I'm in the clear on this issue?

I didn't notice anything cracked or broken on the old vapor canister - other than that possibly imperfect seal my mechanic pointed out (which I mentioned in my posts earlier).

Thanks again to fishexpo and everyone for helping with all the advice.

I now have an old (possibly irreparable) vapor canister for sale - anyone interested? (Maybe someone out there can fix & use it?)