I read your recent post on a guy asking about smog and the charcoal canister. I read this with some major concern as I dont run my smog pump. I dont really have a good enough reason to be doing this as when we did the h/c/i swap i jus decided to chuck it thinking it wasnt really necessary. But I do have a bbk catted hpipe. The engine runs pretty good for the most part, idles fine, revs up in neutral at a stop etc. But the problem lies that when I hit it in pretty much any gear the car is torquey but it doesnt rip to 6k smoothly like I feel a car with a trickflow package should. Now Im really thinking that my cats can be clogged? When your cats clog is the engine gonna jus not run well at all or can it run as I described? I also noticed once and awhile itll really rip but the overwhelming majority of the time the car will pull and then when it gets to 4k it jus feels like the power isnt pulling anymore and its time to shift, its not like an abrupt cutout it jus feels like the power curve is weak by that point. I still have my charcoal canister, I jus have the pump hanging there not even turning as I put a shorter belt on. The port on the cat I put a big bolt in. The heads have dummy plugs on the left head. I dont believe I have all the emissions plumbing anymore. How do I make this disaster correct? I really wish i didnt cut off the pipe when I took the exhaust apart as this iswhy I think I left it off when I put the car back together. The lil pipe being the pipe then sends the air into the cats. I know this is a long question and its gonna piss you off cause you feel strong on these sorts of things but my car doesnt go as fast as it should and im hoping theres an easy solution to this. Im prepared to have to buy a new hpipe as I prolly have done the damage to the current one. Im thinking the gist of this situation is I need to put all the smog plumbing back and possibly a new catted h-pipe. But I dont wanna get rid of a perfectly good h-pipe if theres a way to verify the current one being ok or not. Thanks in advance
? for Jrichker
- Thread starter 310stanger
- Start date
Running the cat converters without the Thermactor Air system (smog pump) is not a good idea. The cats on a 5.0 Mustang were designed to use the extra air to promote the catalytic reaction. Without it, the cats will eventually die and clog, causing a restricted exhaust path.
How it works:
The Thermactor air pump (smog pump) puts air into the heads when the engine is cold and then into the catalytic converters when it is warm. The Thermactor control valves serve to direct the flow. The first valve either dumps air to the atmosphere or passes it on to the second valve. The second valve (diverter valve) directs it to the heads or the catalytic converters. The air serves to help consume any unburned hydrocarbons by supplying extra oxygen to the catalytic process. The computer tells the Thermactor Air System to open the dump valve at WOT (wide open throttle) minimizing engine drag. The dump valve reduces the parasitic drag caused by the smog pump to about 2-4 HP at WOT.
How to tell if the cats are clogged - the best thing is to buy a Chilton's Mustang 1989-1992 repair manual and read the complete proceedure. It's on page 4-22 & 4-23 in the Emission Controls section in the manual I have.
Attach the vacuum gauge to the vacuum tree on the diriver' side firewall. There are some spare connectios to make it easy to do.
How it works:
The Thermactor air pump (smog pump) puts air into the heads when the engine is cold and then into the catalytic converters when it is warm. The Thermactor control valves serve to direct the flow. The first valve either dumps air to the atmosphere or passes it on to the second valve. The second valve (diverter valve) directs it to the heads or the catalytic converters. The air serves to help consume any unburned hydrocarbons by supplying extra oxygen to the catalytic process. The computer tells the Thermactor Air System to open the dump valve at WOT (wide open throttle) minimizing engine drag. The dump valve reduces the parasitic drag caused by the smog pump to about 2-4 HP at WOT.
How to tell if the cats are clogged - the best thing is to buy a Chilton's Mustang 1989-1992 repair manual and read the complete proceedure. It's on page 4-22 & 4-23 in the Emission Controls section in the manual I have.
Attach the vacuum gauge to the vacuum tree on the diriver' side firewall. There are some spare connectios to make it easy to do.
Attachments
Thanks ill have to run the test. How hard do you think its gonna be to find new thermactor plumbing? I have the pump still installed I jus need all the components now? Any time I look up smog pump online I just find the smog pump itself and not the actual plumbing. Thanks for the extremely detailed response man.
87fab
New Member
If you had to, you could get by with a check valve and diverter to the cats.
In my research, not all cats with a bung require extra O2 injection - the bungs are installed for ubiquity. Check with the manufacturer for more specific info.
Good luck.
In my research, not all cats with a bung require extra O2 injection - the bungs are installed for ubiquity. Check with the manufacturer for more specific info.
Good luck.
With the check valve and diverter to the cats, would the computer allow for proper engine operation? God I wish I never got rid of that stuff. What a headache this has become. I still gotta perform the cat test as Jrichker gave the procedure for but im almost positive by everything hes told me that I've slowly plugged them up. I cant perform the easy way out in jus puttin an offroad pipe either. I live in New Jersey and we have full inspections here.
None of this will affect engine performance at all, per se. The computer has no clue if you have an A.I.R. pump or not. This is all for emissions and the longevity of your cats. If you have a visual inspection (as I do), you will want to refurbish all of the components if you have the luck I do (I get 3 inspectors under my hood, trying to figure out what I've done).
As was mentioned, non-emissioned folks remove and throw away their stuff all the time. Keep an eye peeled and you should be able to score the TAB, TAD, hoses and pump. Worst case, you could buy new components from a resto house. I have some heater hose on my SMOG plumbing (from a pump retrofit) and it seems to hold up well.
Good luck.
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