smog pump removal question

[fox-gt]

I spent a few days searching on pros and cons of removing the smog pump. Right now mine is hooked up and pumping air into nothing. I do have cats on my H-pipe. Some threads have said running cats without the extra O2 will burn them up (or clog them). The air connection in my H-pipe is currently plugged and I did pass emissions, but I don't want to damage the cats. My smog pump has started making an irritating whining noise. I don't know if I should replace it and hook it back up to the H-Pipe or go with a delete kit. The car is my daily driver.

Any help or thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[superhuaman]

I believe that what you said about the cats not getting air is true, for the FACTORY cats. I have heard that aftermarket "hi-flow" cats will live without air, and they are more efficent, since theres only one cat for each bank, not 3. They have the air tubes just to comply with emissions, but should pass smog without. Personally, I would delete everything A.I.R. related except for the TAB/TAD solenoids (required to stay plugged in to avoid codes).

As for the belt issue, do a search. I can't remember what size I used (with A/C & P/S) but I can tell you how to route it.

 

[HISSIN50]

Good info above. I'd say that the safe road is to get a new pump (or try to clean yours up - I have a pic or two of the inside of one if interested) and hook it up as is OEM (for quicker light-off, and O2 supplementation).

BUT, if you've been running for a bit on these cats with no pump (it sounds like the cats are not OEM), then I guess there's no big harm in continuing to run without the extra air injection, huh.

Good luck.

 

[jrichker]

If the cats have an air tube, it is there because the catalyst needs it for the catalytic reaction. Without the extra air, the cats will lose efficiency and clog. The computer instructs the smog pump to dump all the air output at WOT (Wide Open Throttle), so the 2-4 HP you save isn't worth the effort.

 

[fox-gt]

If the cats have an air tube, it is there because the catalyst needs it for the catalytic reaction. Without the extra air, the cats will lose efficiency and clog. The computer instructs the smog pump to dump all the air output at WOT (Wide Open Throttle), so the 2-4 HP you save isn't worth the effort.

Makes sense. I will get a new smog pump and hook it back up to the H-pipe.

Thanks everyone.