Somone told me i could get rid of that A.I.R. system on my car and still pass the sniffer, is this correct ? Id like to try and clean up the pass side of the engine so i can work on it, make it look nicer... ect. He said i could remove that A.I.R. system that heats and cools the cats to propper operating temp, without majior problems. But i thought i remember hearing that your cats would get super hot and fail without the A.I.R. system, can somone shed some light for me ?? Im only asking because i just swapped in a 355, and have a hell of a time getting to things, especially on that side.

Also what else can you remove short of the AC system to clean up the pass. side of the engine if anything ?

 

I heard that the AIR system keeps the cats at the correct temperatures for them to remove the most pollutants. I know you will fail visual without it though so hopefully you don't have to do that in your area.

 

The AIR supplies fresh air to the cats to help afterburn unburned hydrocarbons, I heard it can be a source of cat failures but from what I've been told by my local inspector it will not cause a well kept and tuned car to fail unless you have a strict visual inspection. Most of the inspectors I've run into don't keep up with which cars came with it and which didn't. My '91 S10 Blazer didn't and it passes as well as the Z. I'm going to remove the system from my Z also to clean up the engine bay. Don't expect any HP gains tho, at 4500 rpm the AIR pump only consumes about 2-3 hp. If I have to reinstall it due to future emission concerns I'll deal with it.

 

we dont have underhood visual inspection here in colorado, only a dude with a little mirror that makes sure the friggin cats are on the car, so what would be the best way to remove the system, i mean id plug the openings on the headders with simple NPT fittings, but what about the tube that comes from the cats, can that be unscrewed from the cat, im pretty sure it can. I guess id have to just leave the pump on the engine bracket, but will that cause it to fail if i just leave the pump on, i wouldnt think so. Has anybody else done this ??

 

If all you want to do is clean up the top of the engine just remove the AIR tubes from the headers plug them and remove the diverter valve. If you are leaving the cats on the pump will still supply air to the cats and you have cleaned up the engine bay. You only have one hose to route to the cats but that should look better than all the manifold air tubes and related plumbing. In as installed operation the manifold air is only active when the engine is cold. The diverter then routes air to the cats when the engine gets hot. The system also has a bypass to vent overboard in event of an exhaust backfire to protect the pump. In any event don't remove all plumbing and just plug the pump outlets this may destroy the pump and then if you have to reactivate the system you will need a new pump. I plan to remove everything and just reinstall the cats for emissions inspections since Georgia just looks for cats and sniffer results. I will keep all components in the event Ga. decides to someday go California on us.

 

Yea damn smog laws here suck a**.

 

I've done it.

The tube that goes to the cat is only held on by a little clamp similar to an exhaust clamp. Once you pull off the tube from the cat, just squeeze the one on the cat shut with some Vise Grips.

The plugs you will need are Flare Plugs. Standard size NPT plugs won't work. My car was 1/4" flare plugs. When you buy flare fittings/plugs, they are measured buy the size pipe they use, not the size of the plug itself. This is the measuring standard for flare fittings so that people DON'T use NPT fittings where flares should be.

Now my car was 1/4", but that doesn't mean yours is. Simply measure the OD of the tubing, and that's what size you need. An easy trick is to tighten up a Cresent wrench on the pipe, slide it off, and measure the opening with a tape measure. Or even an open end wrench might work. Or hell, even use the Vise Grips. You get the idea.

I left that tube hanging there for now. It's held in the engine bay by a clamp that bolts to the heads. I was just too damn lazy to take it off. Everyone that has seen my engine bay has yet to notice it. I'm the only one that sees it, and that's if I remember to look.

AJ

 

If all you have to do is pass the sniffer than hell yeah take all that stuff off. You should still pass as long as you're not running to lean or rich and you don't have leaks in the exhaust or valves, and if your cat isn't just clogged to the max. You should get an MSD and you'd pass for sure. Some guy at Hot Rod dropped a Big Block in his Thirdgen and hooked it up with MSD and dual exhaust no smog stuff and he went to get it sniffed "just to see" and he claimed that it was way cleaner than his old 5.0 was. If your cat is bolt in you should get a straight pipe you could bolt in also for when you're not at the smog station. So go for it, man.