1) I know this is a dead horse I am kicking, but I have removed plenty smog systems from the LG4's, but never from a L98. Is this gonna screw up an otherwise stock engine / ECM? I have the heads off of it right now, and not only am I not sure how the heck I got the passenger side exhaust manifold off, i'm not sure how i'm gonna get it back on. Sure would be alot easier if It wasnt there, not to mention, it would be nice to actually see the passenger side of the engine when it is all done.

2) The car has 120k miles on it. So far, it looks to be in pretty good shape, but I wanna clean the sludge outta the lifter valley. is there a way to do this w/o pulling the short block? At this point, wasnt planning on pulling it. The car ended up to just have a bad intake gasket, just pulling the heads to have them checked to make sure. It is VERY tempting to pull it and go the rest of the way, but at this point, my lack of experience is slowing me down a bit. Any reason to pull it, or should i just put it back together?

 

I'm not sure what you might be considering removing, but none of the emissions control systems on the engine sap any appreciable power to operate. The passive systems don't take anything, including the PCV, EVAP, EGR, and catalysts. The A.I.R. system pump does require some power from the engine, but if the pump is in good operating condition, it's no more than 1-2 HP at peak RPM. The A.I.R. system can be eliminated, and the only detriment will be a little rich exhaust in open loop/cold starts. This shouldn't harm the cat converter, as long as the exhaust is operated to full temperature frequently.

Removing the EGR will cost you fuel mileage and power if the heads overheat due to a lack of EGR.

Removing the EVAP system will cost you fuel mileage, since about 5-7% of your fuel will simply evaporate out of the tank on warm days.

Removing the PCV system will create even more sludge in the engine and can contribute to dirty and wet (water) oil, ring sticking, oil consumption, and poor mixture control if the PROM is not adjusted to compensate.

Basically, keep everything. Dump or repair the A.I.R. if it is inoperative. Of course, if you have to pass an inspection that requires a visual, you'll have to keep it all.

If you want to clean up the existing sludge in the lifter valley and everywhere else that you cannot see, reassemble the engine and use synthetic instead of mineral oil. You should start seeing results in the first change.

If it is really bad, manually clean up everything you can while plugging the oil drainbacks with rags, then plan on frequent oil/filter changes. A flush with ATF can also accelerate the cleaning.

Either way, switching to a full synthetic will help keep the internals a lot cleaner.

 

Hmmm, good insight. Thanks. I had planned on keeping the PCV and evap systems. I guess my biggest beef is the AIR system. i dont have to worry about any kind of inspection, and I am gutting the cat, so no biggie there. I just didn't know if this is gonna set a code and keep the CK engine light on. The AIR pump seems to work okay, but the bearing in it is on its way out, so I was debating on just leaving it off. I have one from a cc carbed 85 305, buit dont know that it will interchange. The AIR system, more than anything is just a pain to deal with, not to mention it is just plain ugly.

 

BTW- If you have a Borg axle, the ratio is probably 2.77:1, not 2.73. Saginaw axles used the 2.73 ratio (41:15).

 

Yeah, that throws me every time. I have an 80 Chevrolet 4X4, and when i bought it, I pulled the covers off of both of the Diffs because the guy that had it before me changed the rearend in it. I counted the teeth, and it mathamatecally came out to 2:77. I went looking for a new set of gears, and when I told people that i had a 2:77 in it, they looked at me like I was from outer space, and then they would IMMEDEATELY correct me, and tell me that I, in fact have a 2:73, not a 2:77, almost like they were the ones to have counted the teeth on my truck themselvs. Good to know there is a difference.

That gets me to thinkin... the 2:77 posi that I took out of my truck (12 bolt housing) that is now out in my building... will the internals fit in a 3rd gen????