hey all; I have a 1985 IROC-Z 305 engine in my 1988 Camaro SC. After the hellish nightmare I went throuhg to put on my chrome valve covers, thanks to the wonderful AIR pump and tubing, I have decided I want to remove it. All of it, except the pump, in case I should need to put it all back on one day, the thing won't freeze up on me.

however, when i did a search on this topic, I obviously found I can do it and my car will be fine and the engine bay will be more cleaner, but my bigger problem is my wonderful emission testing I have in MA. if i remove the AIR system, I have heard that my car will not pass emission testing. Which means I'll have to put the thing back on every two years. It's not that I mind doing that, but if I could just get the car to pass without it on, then why keep putting it back?

Has anyone in MA had their car tested w/o an AIR pump? how did it do? I live in New Bedford, btw.

If anyone lives in the New bBedford, Dartmotuh, or Fairhaven area, who has access to an emissions testing machine who can do a trial run on my car to see if it can pass (I already have my sticker for the 2002 year), please LET ME KNOW!

And, if anyone has any other info I should know about removing the AIR, let me know that, too.

Kev

As long as you don't have an underhood inspection you're OK. If you do have the inspection, they might not even notice it missing. They usually check for EGR and charcoal canister and no major engine swaps. Not all cars have air pumps so they could easily miss it. AIR is mainly used on cold startup anyway. As far as the test goes it'll run just as clean. I fast passed without it on Maryland's dyno (same as California). And if you want to put it back on, just pour in some ATF and spin the thing a few times every couple of months.

thanks for the info...what i planned on doing was removing it all and leaving just the pump on the engine block. so it will spin like it normally would, just wouldn' t be doing anything. that way, i know it will never freeze on me.

guys, keep any info you have coming

kev

So where are the pix of the new valve covers. That was hard to do? Install some headers and try to keep the same dipstick. Now that was fun!

The AIR system is really a waste of under hood real estate. It pumps air to the manifolds at start up then when the engine gets hot it diverts air to the cat(s) it has an overboard in event of a backfire to protect the AIR pump. This system only draws about 3 hp but it really uglies up your engine bay. If you want to know how much air it pumps remove a cat tube and feel, it blows like an athsmatic on downers. If your state doesn't do a visual you'll be ok. My state, Georgia only looks for cats, gas cap and sniffer. if it passes you're good to go. As soon as I have the time the AIR stuff is history. For you guys needing headers check out the difference in prices for SLP non AIR headers those pipes add 100.00 bucks to ugly up your motor. The same for most other headers too. After speaking to the folks at a cat manufacturer he said the system isn't needed for the cat to survive. So there you have it guys dump this sh-t if local laws allow.

good thing i did a search... anyway, NJ, i belive does a under the hood inspection... i dont know... when i brought my taurass in there, they didnt look under the hood, but my mom told me when she brought my car into inspection, the begged her to open the hood... it was a bunch of guys, so i dont know if they wanted to see the big mean 305, or they were all lookin for air tubes... thank *** i dont need the air tubes on the headers... ah i feel so much better... i think im gunna leave the air pump on the block, but when i put on the hooker headers, i will just take off all the stupid fittings... and if fail, ill put it back on i guess... does that sound good? ok thanks guys

Ensure that you keep the fitting thats connected to the Cat, otherwise it will clog.