I'm not sure how long the previous owner had it hooked up wrong, but Burnout88 and I put it back together the right way. Anyway, after we did that we let it run for a bit in the garage (actually scanning it for some other issues) and when we turned it off, there was carbon sprayed on the concrete from the exhaust pipes.

Now my question, could a charcoal canister get so messed up from being installed wrong that I would need to replace it, or could it correct itself by kicking out the carbon like it did by running it? Or should I just replace it anyway?

What symptoms would happen from the canister being hooked up improperly cause? Rough idle, bad mpg, rich condition, all of the above?

 

Carbon isn't that uncommon after sitting and running in the same place. Water condensing out of the exhaust gases will wash some of the carbon off of the exhaust pipes and spit it on the ground.

 

I understand that, but we've had it running while sitting longer than that and never had carbon spray stain his driveway or mine. And coincidently minutes after hooking up the charcoal canister correctly? The Charcoal canister had to have been hooked up wrong for years before I bought it, and i've owned it almost 2 months.