Hello everyone. I am new to this forum and please excuse me for even asking this question (I know it is a beat-to-death topics), but please indulge me, because I can't find the exact answer to my question. I bought an '87 Iroc last week with the 350 TPI engine. In my rapture at buying the beast, I neglected to notice that the smog pump was bypassed. It is not removed, just not hooked up (no belt connected). The car has a ton of power (showing 67,000 miles, which I believe is original), and I did notice when I bought the car that the cat was removed and a bigger pipe was run to the back muffler. There are no check engine lights activated, the car idles very well, and runs very well. At first, I was going to worry about the pump being bypassed. But after reading other post and stickies, I am now confused. In other posts, it is stated that the smog pump cannot simply be bypassed, because the pulley would still interfere. I don't have that issue. Is it because a): my belt is routed wrong b): I have the wrong kind of belt or c): THIS IS PROBABLY A STUPID QUESTION -- but here goes anyway: do I have a v-belt set-up instead of a serpentine (I assumed all of these motors were serpintine). If my belt situation is okay, and my alternator is working properly, can the smog pump simply set there hooked up, or will I have problems at the manifolds? Can I simply just put the plugs in the manifolds at this point? I was all ready to remove the pump assembly and all that other garbage, but others on here said the pump and pulley had to be routed with the original belt in order to remove the bolts behind the pulley? I'm really confused and need help. If all of the smog stuff was still on the car (and the convertor), I would leave it on, since I'm trying to keep the car somewhat factory (even though I now the smog doesn't do much). However, my car is in the half and half stage -- I can't go back to the original setup (without a new cat and a lot of work -- and who nows if the pump still functions or not since it has been unhooked for so long), and it appears that I can't remove the smog pump completely. If I can leave it the way it is, I probably will. Thanks in advance for everyone's input, and I'm sorry to ask all of these questions, but I feel like the scenario is a little different than the ones already described on here.

 

Sounds like your mixing up the v-belt setups with a true serpentine belt setup. You can leave it as-is, the stock 87 setup was a half-half combo, meaning the serp setup just ran from the crank pulley, water pump and the alternator. The rest was v-belt connecting it all up. The pully used for the smog was only used for just the smog pump, the very front of the water pump pulley, that was it. You can do yourself a favor (as long as its not illegal in your state, but to your liking), just plug the manifolds and ditch the rest of the smog, less weight and less hassle. It won't mess with the ECM either.

 

THANK YOU! That is exactly the answer I was looking for. That was what I was wondering -- if that year was even a serpentine set-up at all (I haven't looked at the engine in great detail just yet, and couldn't remember what the belts looked like). And that gets me back to my other question. Can I leave the pump there with everything hooked up (just not running off the belt), or do I need to remove it entirely? (I know removing it will be better for cosmetics, etc.). Is the procedure for taking the pump off the same for the v-belt cars, or can the pump be taken off now that the belt is already off, or will I have to put a belt back on to take the pump off? Is there anyway to remove everything else, and just let the pump itself set there? Thanks again.

 

ResurrectingZ is absolutely right. Your '87 should have the hybrid 'V' belt and poly-V (for the alternator only) accessory drive. Leaving the belt off will not harm anything. Removing everything would not cause any serious problems, and should not set any error codes. Since there is no cat converter, the pump is all but useless anyway. If you ever decide to replace the converter, install a 3-way converter and you won't need the air injection.

On the other side of the coin, if the pump spins freely, there would be no harm nor power penalty for putting a belt back on.

The only possible problems are if you are required to pass a periodic emissions test, and part of the test includes a visual inspection, an astute inspector might catch you on the lack of an air pump. If they understand the system and that you have a 3-way cat, they should understand that the pump is about useless and let it go - Maybe.

 

I live in the good ole republic of Eastern Kentucky. If we get emissions testing here -- God help us all. Of course, at 20 years old now, it would probably be exempt anyway. I went out and looked at the car a few minutes ago (I'm supposed to be working!), and looked at the smog pump set up. It looks like to me that the pump simply unbolts from two brackets and at the back. I don't understand why everyone says the pullet must be removed to access two torx head bolts. It looks like that would be irrelevant. Is the smog pump on a serpentine equipped car different than mine (at least, the way it bolts on)? This site is awesome, I appreciate everyone taking their time to answer my questions.