When i bought my Xb i found the spare tire in the trunk of the Xb under all that foam and plastic coverings. So i proceeded to remove it all to see what i would get from it. I found i could gain about 12" of extra room back there just by pulling out the spare tire! Well i dont like the fact of drive away from home (some times up to 4 hours) w/o my spare. So i figured why not put it where most car manu. put it, under the rear end of the car. I saw there was enough room and i could easily mount it.. BUT... WTF is this black box in the way? Tubes and wires coming into it and such. I figured it was probly the fuel pump or what not, so i figured i'd ask you guys what it may be and ask if it is possible to relocate this "Box" so i can mount my spare under the car rather than in my trunk. Thanx for any info.

Dave

Fuel canister for emissions. all cars have them, and they must be mounted higher then the gas tank.
you can relocate, but I haven't spent enought time under one to see where the best place to relocate would be.

When i bought my Xb i found the spare tire in the trunk of the Xb under all that foam and plastic coverings. So i proceeded to remove it all to see what i would get from it. I found i could gain about 12" of extra room back there just by pulling out the spare tire! Well i dont like the fact of drive away from home (some times up to 4 hours) w/o my spare. So i figured why not put it where most car manu. put it, under the rear end of the car. I saw there was enough room and i could easily mount it.. BUT... WTF is this black box in the way? Tubes and wires coming into it and such. I figured it was probly the fuel pump or what not, so i figured i'd ask you guys what it may be and ask if it is possible to relocate this "Box" so i can mount my spare under the car rather than in my trunk. Thanx for any info.

Dave

I've had the same thought. It really burns me that the spare uses all that room.

Japanese bB's apparently don't have spares at all, so the spare tire location is a kludge, not part of the JDM design. It would have been _so_ easy to put it underneath, but they didn't.

That black box is rather ominous, with lots of connections. Some of the connections are not flexible, so unbolting and moving it aside isn't really a possibility. There would be some non-reversable cutting and adapting involved, and without knowing the exact function of the black box (pump? charcoal canister? flux capacitor?) I really don't relish fiddling with it.

George

Well when I first saw that spare tire I was wondering "Why in the trunk area?" Then after looking at a few more Xbs i thought; DUHH! It's so lil miss granny who buys an Xb doesnt have to craw under the car (that has about 6" of ground clearence under the rear skirt) and thread this heave wheel down and slide it from under the car. Us americians are too "comfy" and dont want to dirt our $80 jeans to change a spare tire. Shoot probly 80% of us call AAA or something when they get a flat anyways. Anyhow i think they did that to increase the easy of getting to the spare w/o having to lift the rear skirt to accomidate it.

I wonder what they do in Japan with _no_ spare tire? Does their version of AAA bring a wheel with them?

I don't put the spare in my car unless I'm taking a road trip. The less weight the better :wink: .

How do you think we track our customers? :twisted:

How do you think we track our customers? :twisted:

you send out the MIBs

How do you think we track our customers? :twisted:Oh that's evil! :shock:

Here's your fix. Remove the spare all together and put a can of fix a flat in there. Either that or put run flat tires on the rims.

I just got a flat a few days ago, I definitely need that spare-if you are thinking of removing the spare... I say do it. Maybe even strap it to the hood or something.

Get a roof rack, thay make an attachment so your spare can ride up there.

whatever you do, make sure you have the spare. ESPECIALLY if you have low pro tires. I have 215/35/18's and i thought i'd be cool, and take out the spare, but then i hit a fatty pothole, and blew the crap outta my tire, and had no spare. and, try finding a pirelli 35 series tire at 8:00 at night in la habra. NOT HAPPENING. luckily one of my friends that has an xb lived close by so i walked to his house and got his spare. :shock:

I think it would look cool If you had a full size spare on the back of the scion, like the old vans and such. and if you were really cool you could make a small axel to mount it on and spin it as you drive.

only w/ spinner hub-caps! BLING-BLING baby! :lol:

Aside from all the sidetracks.... I think what you wanted to know is.... That think is your charcoal canister. And it filters any fumes that are on the way to the tank vent. Ive heard removing it can throw a code in the ecu but seeing as how its on the vent side of the tank i cant see where thered be a sensor to pick up any change... Anyhow hope this helped...

-Mikey

well when the weather here (north Va) clears up a lil, i'm gunna throw it on a lift and check things out, if i find any new advances i'll let ppl know. Cuz i can bet that a lot more scion ppl would love to relocate that spare tire.

Here's your fix. Remove the spare all together and put a can of fix a flat in there. Either that or put run flat tires on the rims.

even though that stuff comes in handy. its extremly flamable. really dangerous. i mean, your cars got a gas tank attached to it, but having a can in your car that could explode if temperatures got too high would be a risk.

Here's your fix. Remove the spare all together and put a can of fix a flat in there. Either that or put run flat tires on the rims.

even though that stuff comes in handy. its extremly flamable. really dangerous. i mean, your cars got a gas tank attached to it, but having a can in your car that could explode if temperatures got too high would be a risk.

there's several things that "could" happen to a car as it is now. Are we going to prevent them all? Chances are that they will never happen.

Now this may be wrong or different for other makes but when on all my friends truck and on my nissan we took the canisters off and threw them in the trash, made no difference whatsoever. :D

Now this may be wrong or different for other makes but when on all my friends truck and on my nissan we took the canisters off and threw them in the trash, made no difference whatsoever. :D

Since leaving the gas cap loose will cause a "check engine" light, it would seem that leaving the charcoal canister off will cause the same thing to happen, due to an open vent condition.

There are so many tubes going into that box that I doubt that it is simply a charcoal canister.

Still, I would like to have a solution. All we need is one brave soul to give it a try! :)

George

The black box is a charcoal filter for gas fumes. It can be moved without freaking out the computer (ecu). You can put it anywhere in or outside of the car. It has to be rewired and replumbed without any air leaks or pinched hoses. The ecu monitors this black box constantly, so if you remove it you will have the check engine light on. If you move it do not start the car until you hook it back up. The check engine light may come on and have to be reset if the car is started up without the box hooked up correctly. If you remove it be careful to install it correctly. I found this out from my Scion Mechanic here at the dealership. I hope this information is helpful.

I would like to have my spare tire on the back of the scion. That would look good if done right!

The black box is a charcoal filter for gas fumes. It can be moved without freaking out the computer (ecu). You can put it anywhere in or outside of the car. It has to be rewired and replumbed without any air leaks or pinched hoses. The ecu monitors this black box constantly, so if you remove it you will have the check engine light on. If you move it do not start the car until you hook it back up. The check engine light may come on and have to be reset if the car is started up without the box hooked up correctly. If you remove it be careful to install it correctly. I found this out from my Scion Mechanic here at the dealership. I hope this information is helpful.

Very helpful! Thanks for researching it for us!

George

I choose to use a full size spare (195/50/15) and show it off, also I utilized the area beneath it to add additional airspace to my sub enclosure. Below is a link to the mock up I am doing, I almost have the fiberglass tire cover finished that will show about 1” of rubber and the whole rim…

http://groups.msn.com/GearheadJr/subenclosure.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=95

I choose to use a full size spare (195/50/15) and show it off, also I utilized the area beneath it to add additional airspace to my sub enclosure. Below is a link to the mock up I am doing, I almost have the fiberglass tire cover finished that will show about 1” of rubber and the whole rim…

http://groups.msn.com/GearheadJr/subenclosure.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=95

Are you running on the Axis Maglites or is that just for the spare? I'd LOVE to see a pic of those on your Box. Those are the rims I want, just in graphite... and 17"

Hey that would be cool if you could mount it on the back. Just not sure how that would work as far as opening and closing the hatch.

Sean

I choose to use a full size spare (195/50/15) and show it off, also I utilized the area beneath it to add additional airspace to my sub enclosure. Below is a link to the mock up I am doing, I almost have the fiberglass tire cover finished that will show about 1” of rubber and the whole rim…

http://groups.msn.com/GearheadJr/subenclosure.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=95

Are you running on the Axis Maglites or is that just for the spare? I'd LOVE to see a pic of those on your Box. Those are the rims I want, just in graphite... and 17"

no, just using it for the spare because it is 11lbs. I have the 19" Axis spiders, xBboy (Nilo) was running them he might have pics of it...

Hey that would be cool if you could mount it on the back. Just not sure how that would work as far as opening and closing the hatch.

Sean

You'd have to have it mounted separately on a swingout arm. You'd never be able to lift the gate and keep it up otherwise. They used to make an add on arm like that for the Jeep Cherokee after they crammed the spare inside. It would be hard to find a solid point to mount it

Either get a roof rack and toss it on top or wait for AAA... :lol:

Hey that would be cool if you could mount it on the back. Just not sure how that would work as far as opening and closing the hatch.

Sean

You'd have to have it mounted separately on a swingout arm. You'd never be able to lift the gate and keep it up otherwise. They used to make an add on arm like that for the Jeep Cherokee after they crammed the spare inside. It would be hard to find a solid point to mount it

Either get a roof rack and toss it on top or wait for AAA... :lol:


You are right...it doesn't sound feasible.

Sean

well when the weather here (north Va) clears up a lil, i'm gunna throw it on a lift and check things out, if i find any new advances i'll let ppl know. Cuz i can bet that a lot more scion ppl would love to relocate that spare tire.

The biggest problem with relocation under the rear is when you have a rear flat, you will need to jack the car up to get it out. I personally would not get under that car with that flimsey little scissor jack and try to unbolt the tire. Deathtrap city. :oops:

if you have a roof rack, go out and buy a full size spare and throw it on the top... kinda 4x4ing trick, when you dont have space, throw it on the roof... tires, water, gas, jacks, gear, ramps, tools, everything goes on the roof, and bungie/tie down galore