P0442, any idea what it could be?

[snrusnak]

Hey my wife just called me and said her CEL came on and so she went to autozone and had it scanned. I'ts a P0442. I'm guessing gas cap since the code is defined as "small leak detected in EVAP system", and I remember seeing the o ring on the gas cap is dry rotted and cracked. I'm going to buy a new cap(anyone know where to get one?) but if that's not it, where to next?

I'm very mechanically inclined, but have never had to deal with the EVAP system. I guess I can take it all off and check the lines for dry rotting/cracking. How do I clean out the canister and what not, I've never done it.

Thanks for any help.

[petrified.rabbit]

you dont really clean out the canister. But a general overview of the system to inspect it for issues might show the problem, but if you fill the gas tank without shutting off the car, you can get that code.

[snrusnak]

We never leave the car run while filling it up. I noticed a long time ago that the gas cap area was always black, like greasy almost. I noticed it every time we washed the car. I assumed it was the leaking fuel cap. This gives me even more reason to think so now with the code. I'm going to order a stant gas cap and see if it resolves the issues. I think I'll order a new coolant expansion tank cap as well while I'm at it...

[snrusnak]

Bought a stant gas cap, says "oem replacement". Hope this is the whole problem. This car was problem free until 100,000 miles. Now it has had a few issues, some it's fault, some poor design, and some from me being cheap and buying crap aftermarket parts. When my wife called and said the CEL was on my stomach sank. I've worked on this car constantly it seems for the past 5k miles. When she said it ran fine I felt better though, knowing it was something emissions, and we weren't stuck once again with one car and two people that need to get to work...

[thehunterooo]

I would not really worry about the code, if you reset it, it would most likely go away. What have you replaced in the past 5k?

[snrusnak]

I did the timing belt job 3 times recently. Bought a gates kit(cheap foreign water pump, idler, and tensioner) and did the job the first time, then a second time as I thought the water pump o ring was leaking(didn't replace any other parts), then a third time after realizing the water pump had failed(replaced water pump with a duralast and reused the other parts). Car runs fine now, no more water pump bearing noise, no leaking, and no overheating. I've done other work like oil changes regularly(wife drives a lot of miles), transmission fluid and filter change, pcv valve change, and am about to do plugs, wires, air filter(original), and valve cover gasket(leaking), and if I can find it the fuel filter. Also did the thermostat and housing replacement with the duralast one a while ago as the factory one broke. Then that was leaking due to poor machining on the piece, so I replaced it again and the leak stopped.

[snrusnak]

Where in Orlando are you hunterooo?

[thehunterooo]

I am over in Clermont (I just say Orlando as everyone knows where that is ). Though, most people know where Clermont is as well....

That is not too bad at 100k miles, after you finish off the rest you should be set for a while. The trouble spots of the 1st gen included the stock valve cover gasket and the plastic t stat housings, and those are/will be fixed on yours. Other than the bearings (few people have issues) it is not too bad, of course cheap parts can cause issues as well

[snrusnak]

Yeah I thought that the Gates kit would be top notch. I didn't realize that other than the belt the rest was crap parts. The duralast water pump compared to the gates kit water pump was like twice as heavy(the other felt like if you stared at it it'd crack), has a metal impeller(other was plastic), and in just the few weeks since replacement has already lasted longer than the other one. The other one was junk.

[snrusnak]

I got the new stant gas cap and put it on yesterday, it was a perfect fit. I need to either clear the code or unplug battery, or wait the X amount of on/off cycles to see if the code goes away.

Now we have another issue with the car though Some weird noise at idle with AC on, intermittent...