I was told that if I take the smog pump off that it will throw my motor out of balance. Is this true? Does it make a difference taking it off? It's easy to take it off right? _____________________________________________ 88 iroc 305 tpi

no, yes, and yes.

If you do remove the smog pump, there's a pulley that you can install in it's place so that you can still use the OEM serpantine belt and routing, instead of re-routing it as described in the tech article. I ordered one and it's supposed to be here tomorrow. If I get it on this weekend I'll try to get some pics. I posted the part number in another thread on this board, do a search for posts made by me or ones titled "smog pump delete pulley".

In the bad ol' days of the 1970's, when low-compression smoggers roamed the streets wheezing through pellet-bed cat converters (God, I sound OLD) we simply got smaller belts. There is a way to look at a belt part number to find out how long is. Then you can make a good guess at what the new belt ought to be without the smog pump. If the shop or parts store has cool people behind the counter, they'll let you try on belts in the parking lot until one fits right.

Take a string and wrap it around all the rest of the pullies and then measure it. Then tell the guy at the parts counter you need a 6 rib belt x inches long.

James

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If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy
Aftermarket T-56 (pain in the A$S but worth it)
Lots of things to do still

THere is a tech article on this (does anyone ever visit the tech section?)

968k6 is the belt, routing is described in the tech section

ive taken it to 6500 rpm, no problems