Hey all. I have an on going problem which is starting to really tick me off. I have an 03 monte ls. It has about 187,000 give or take. Two months ago my mechanic fixed a problem with an emmisions light coming on and staying on in the dash. After I indicated to him that there was a loss of power at passing speeds i.e 120 > 130 kms/h. He said it was a plugged up EVAP Canister or was it charcoal... So after a few weeks the light came back on. As of a week ago the light was OFF for like 4 days. I felt like my mind was at ease. Then yesterday while driving into work, I put the pedal down to pass some ******* that couldn't drive. Obviously raising the RPM's to the higher range without going anywhere near red line. You get the idea.

It seems like, this problem goes away after a week under LIGHT load...and comes back when I go to pass or accelerate. The car is taken care of with frequent oil changes, its been recently tuned up, new plugs, wires etc etc etc. The only thing that I need to do is get some body work and a new paint job, seems like people like to hit my car then run away like cowards without leaving a note. SICK WORLD WE LIVE IN.

So its kind of annoying. YES I PLAN on bringing back the car next week to repair the a/c which isn't working. A very busy work schedule and personal life "sick mother" has hindered my follow up of these problems. I read on a few other sites that it could be a failing solenoid from the gas tank which opens up to put the gas tank vapours back into the engine.

So i'm curious
1. Is anyone having or had this problem?

2. I do plan on asking the mechanic to check into it again and use a scan tool for codes, but can somebody tell me where the EVAP canister is, maybe even provide a picture if its in the engine bay? If he said it was a plugged charcoal canister...could somebody tell me where the've stashed it? I actually think he said charcoal canister but I can't find the bill for the work anywhere.

3. Is there any other hose or system I can unplug and clean myself when I head up to the cottage? Any advice would be appreciated.

Anyone in toronto who has a monte here?