1988 Tbird Smog Pump Delete

[Avenged4426]

Looking to delete the Smog Air Pump on my 1988 3.8 V6 since it’s noisy

Is there a delete pulley or do I just buy a different serpentine belt ?

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[OneAmongOthers]

I doubt the smog pump really takes anything from the engine. As for a separate belt? I wouldn't think so. You would probably have to make something up or find a belt that fits without the smog pump. Also I would feel pulling off the smog pump would mess up your engines computer control wouldn't it? Try spraying some oil into the pulley. It may quiet down the bearings.

 

[OneAmongOthers]

Also if you remove the smog pump I think you would have to crimp or cap off the steel smog tube going into the heads as well as capping off the vacuum lines going into your engine as well. Just doing a quick google search I saw a few fellows saying this. Then its just finding a belt that fits.

 

[OneAmongOthers]

Yeah just do some searching around and hopefully you can find what you need.

 

[aidynphoenix]

Did you delete the smog pump?

 

[Dmeeks90]

On my 87 3.8 i used a 945k6 belt to delete the smog pump

 

[cruiser88]

On my 87 3.8 i used a 945k6 belt to delete the smog pump

Hi, I know it's 4 years ago but can I ask did you replace the air pump with an idler pulley? On my 88 car I don't see a way to run a belt without a pulley in the pump location

 

[Angelo B78]

Hi, I know it's 4 years ago but can I ask did you replace the air pump with an idler pulley? On my 88 car I don't see a way to run a belt without a pulley in the pump location

I ended up taking out all the tubing and capping the vacuum lines. Then I removed the pump and smashed up the innards to hollow out the pump. I plugged the air tube port thingy so that no water would get in there too.

 

[cruiser88]

thanks for your reply, I have mine off and apart. Did you press the centre shaft out of the housing and pulley mount? I don't see any other way to get the air vanes out. Also, looks like I caught it just in time, the rear bearing is ok but very dry. Lubed up, it'll run another 35 years...I'd like to check the front bearing but I can't see it.

 

[Angelo B78]

I think you can press it out. I took the more violent approach and used a screw driver to break all the vanes and kind of shook them out of there. I wasn't very patient or methodical about it lol. Whatever suits your need.

 

[cruiser88]

Ah, I thought the vanes were steel but if you broke them up maybe I'll give that a try. I might try using a gear puller or press to remove the drum from the case so I can check the front bearing. Although the front one seems OK, it was the rear one making noise and I found it undamaged and dry. I've had good luck using a big vet syringe to inject grease into sealed bearings

 

[cruiser88]

Here's an update to the smog pump delete...I did the wrecking yard and parts survey and could not find an idler pulley to replace the smog pump. Unlike my two F150 trucks, one with a 5.0 and the other a 5.8, you can't just bypass the pump with a shorter belt. So considering the front bearing on my pump is quiet, I took advice from this forum and gutted the vanes out of my pump. It looked difficult until I noticed the two "tuning forks" holding onto the vanes were nylon and thin steel near the inner bearings. So I used progressively larger drill bits, starting with drilling into the nylon, until the larger bit actually destroyed the pieces holding onto the vanes. The pieces all came out of the back, the bearing opening is very big. That rear bearing was making the noise I didn't like. But it is an open bearing so I was able to clean it and press new grease into it. It's running quietly in the car now.
I removed the pipes and check valves so now I can actually see the spark plugs! On my engine the pump did not put air into the engine, just down into the exhaust pipe, so deleting the system will not affect AF ratios.
I am now looking to delete the EGR valve, but I've heard the ECM expects the exhaust air coming into the intake manifold, it adjusts the AF ratio, so when the EGR is blocked off, both performance and gas mileage are negatively affected. Does anyone out there know about this? From what I've read about MAP vs MAF this should not happen with a MAP system, it directly measures pressure inside the intake no matter where the air comes from. I can see the problem with a MAF system because the EGR let's air into the manifold AFTER the sensor measures the incoming air from the filter hose.
A mechanic once told me the MAP system would "learn" how to manage the engine tune after it ran a while. I remember the old Ford Escort owners manual saying if you drove the car when it was warm outside, then parked it and the temperature dropped during the night, you should start the car in the morning, let it run for a few minutes for the sensors to operate, then shut the motor off and restart it. Then the motor will be "tuned" to the cold weather.