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Air Injection

Currank5

Currank5

1/2 ton status
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Apr 4, 2006
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Is all that air injection stuff on my exhaust manifolds necessary? Is it for emissions and am i gonna be able to pass if i remove it? I have seen other newer TBI trucks without them.

Anyone know what the deal is?

If i could eliminate it, it would enable me to get a much cheaper set of headers also.
 
you would need to check with the state to see if you can remove it. If you have emissions testing, they would be the ones to tell you what can go and what stays.
 
would removing the belt and or unpluging it afffect the air/fuel ratio or change anything because of the ecm and 02 sensor?
 
Apparently there is nothing in the programming of the '747 (ECM) that changes the O2 sensor readings due to the AIR in the exhaust stream.

On the TPI stuff, GM DID use an offset for AIR being injected into the exhaust before the O2 sensor.

It is federally illegal to remove any emissions component, regardless of the state. Doesn't mean the state cares, but if it's a visual inspection, you SHOULD fail.
 
It can also drop a mile or two per gallon from your previous fuel consumption ratings. It won't always do it, but it does apparently have an effect. All of that crap is coming off my 350 pretty soon, but I am also looking at dropping a completely rebuilt 350 with TBI in to help improve the mileage a bit. Right now my Quadra jet has a dead spot at 3/4 throttle, and I want the reliability of the TBI for mine.
 
so take it off and weld a nut on the headers or what?

where is ideal on full lenght headers?

down by collector?
 
why do you want to remove it????? there isnt any reason other than making the engine pretty. it dosnt suck away power, it injects air into the exhaust to burn any leftover unburned fuel which makes your cat last longer (or is that being removed), and it does make the engine perform better. also as was already said, removing it is a federal offence and it will not pass visual inspection.

maybe its the fact that i used to be a tech, and maybe its because i am a tree hugger to a certain extent, but people who hacksaw off emissions equipment for no reason are one of my biggest pet peves. it dosnt hurt performance, and it does help the environment. doing that kind of stuff is the reason crazy hippies are loosening lugnuts on trail rigs.

if you want to run headers and such, there are plenty of emissions compliant options available to you. i am running edelbrock TES small tube headers with all emissions equpment on my IROC, they were a direct bolt in and made a very noticeable difference in both the sound and performance of the car.

obviously its your truck do what you want, just my two cents.
 
Hmm, the exact problem that I have, it's illegal to remove and will fail visual inspection. Very frustrating, as the air pump has no filtration system on it and thus would be sucking muddy water and shooting it into my exhaust also, mine appears to have a tube that runs up to my air cleaner assembly too so, it'd be shooting muddy water up there to, real smart design!:rolleyes:
Anyways, I tried to do what is (evironmentally) right, I talked with the guy in charge of inspections around here (NCDMV for my county) and asked if I could put in a Vortec 6000 engine swap, lower emissions, better fuel economy, etc (I would be retaining all the emissions equipment that came on vehicles with the Vortec 6000). This would be a great swap in terms of impact on the environment for the reasons I just stated! But, he said, "if it doesn't have a smog pump, it will fail". I responded saying that the smog pump is an outdated emissions device and the Vortec engine would put out less emissions and that I would even be willing to have my truck held to an OBD II inspection standard, knowing that this is a lower polluting set up. He said, "no, we wouldn't be able to do that, it would just be automaticly failed for not having a smog pump." What a bunch of morons!
So, although I do not want to, it sticks me thinking about tearing off the air pump system and become another polluter (maybe even not register the truck and have it be offroad only) so that I can use the truck for what purposes I bought it for, just because the DMV (inspections division) is filled with idiots!!!:angry1:
I don't know if your DMV is this blatantly stupid! Maybe in your state, you can swap in a newer motor that doesn't have a smog (air) pump and have the best of both worlds, lower emissions and no ugly, mud sucking , piece of $#!+ smog pump!
MAYBE IF THE GOVERNMENT WOULD GET A CLUE, (IE IF YOU WANT TO SWAP IN A BETTER EMISSIONS MOTOR YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO) WE'D ALL BE HAPPIER!:angry1: Hippies, fourwheelers, everybody!
 
That certainly doesn't sound right. Have you checked your state agency's website that handles this sort of thing?

Obviously states can mandate more strict rules (CA for instance) but the answer you got is stupid. AFAIK, anywhere that is strict on engine swaps (CA again for instance) you can always go NEWER in emissions/engines, but never backwards. If you can legally swap a 6L in your truck (IIRC, some states only allow the same displacement offered in your particular rig, so a 1974 350 truck could get a 1996 350) there is no way you could ever get one with an AIR pump.

Kind of dumb to not restrict the engine swap based on a component that wasn't included, but not displacement.
 
the stupid air tubes are the cause of my exhaust leak. the tube broke at the flange and so i had a 1/4" hole in the exhaust. great. now that i've plugged that, i'd like to get rid of the rest of the mess so the same thing doesn't happen again. the inspector said that as long as i get rid of any evidence that there ever was a smog pump, i'd pass a visual inspection because they can't know for certain if it even came with one. something like an idler pulley in place of the pump would probably be a give it way. of course, since most of the inspectors are younger than my blazer, that helps a bit. i've actually had one inspector that had never seen a quadrajet. weird
 
The only way I can see to "trick" people with a visual is to replace the manifolds. You'd need some semblance of intelligence to tell, but the AIR injection bungs (whether plugged, welded, whatever) on the manifolds would be a dead giveaway.

Your emissions sticker on the core support is a positive way for the inspection station to ID what is supposed to be there, but with the information I think you are getting that is wrong, they certainly will have the information available to them that says whats supposed to be there. Depending on year, there were only four or five engines that would come in the trucks destined for US sale, it was not random if AIR was installed or not.
 
well, i dont know about your state, here in virginia, the law regarding an engine swap, is that you must meet the emissions of whichever is newer, the engine, or the vehicle. in your case, swapping in all the emissions equipment on a vortec 6000 should pass.

what is more likely the case, is your inspector was too lazy and didnt want to deal with finding out exactly what the rule was.

the other option, is getting some hosing, and routing the air intake from the air pump somewhere that it wouldnt suck water. i actually thought (but cant remember exactly) that the tube to the intake manifold was where the pump pulled its air from. i didnt think it pumped air into the intake.......
 
Figured I'd break this down into points for ease of writing:
1)Oh, get this, I talked with the guy in charge of the counties' (including mine) inspectors and he said they don't care about displacement, could put a 572 C.I.D. big block for all they care they said. But put in a better engine (in terms of efficiency and pollution output in comparison to the stock 350) that doesn't include a smog pump?:shame: Ridiculous!:angry1: Even stupider considering we don't officially require anything other than safety and visual emissions look over on pre 95 vehicles. So, by voluntarilty submitting to OBD II (96 and later) testing, I would actually be asking to be held to a higher standard!
2)As to the design of the air pump, mine appears to draw air in at the air pump itself, I could be wrong though but, it looks like it has vents in the front of it to allowing air in that way.
3)About the inspection itself, although they may not personally know what is supposed to be there, they just look it up in a big book of what was required by year and model. So, I'd watch out for that, if your state is the same, no amount of disguising the fact that the truck came with it is going to help! I used to work for the DOT and have taken inspection classes and gotten certified as an inspector (although I never had to do any inspections while I was there) so, I have seen and studied the requirements book. Just to make sure I talked to the county inspector guy, he told me all they go by is the book so, believe me, I looked at it pretty thoroughly, and it lists by year, than by model, then 1/2 3/4 1 ton (if applicable to model), then engine, then federal VS Cali emissions.
4)Sorry to rant, I am just really pissed at the stupid rules that make no sense!
 
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this would be the result of people writing laws that dont know anything about cars. to them, smog pumps are the cure all, if you dont have one, your engine OBVIOUSLY isnt going to be eco friendly..... pssshhttt i hate ignorance.

although i find the fact that you can run any size engine you want, without a smog pump odd....... the engine you have has a smog pump..... my understanding is you can run anything you want, so long as it still passes the emissions originally dictated for the engine, unless you hit antique status, and then you can run whatever the hell you want. except in your case it seems, more modern engines.

all of this is very confusing to me. but then, i hate politics ;)

maybe we should write a petition regarding laws on engine swaps, get as many signitures and demand a re-write baised on the input of experts in the automotive field.

i could get behind that, i might even be able to find the time to write up a draft.... anyone here willing to sign it?
 
I would definately sign it! One thing I think might actually help as well (now that I think of it) is to contact SEMA, seems like something they would want to get in on.
Oh, I forgot to mention, I did discover a loophole of sorts: if I were to swap to a diesel then, I would be required to meet the equipment standards of a diesel rather then a gas. But, that does not mean that I could then swap back in a gas and say "well it meets diesel requirements".:haha:But, it might,I repeat, might possibly help guys that have diesels in some states 'cause they might just say that all the swapped in gas motor (if they opt to do that) needs to have is the equivalent emissions systems to that which the diesel had, possibly.
I thought about going to diesel but man, there's a high price to that if you want serious power!
 
id be willing to draft something up, probly wont get around to it till this weekend though. ill post it up when i get a decent letter written.
 
i am going to run headers, no air smog pump, you save HP off the pump belt, and the emission **** that the pump creates

i am going to run long tube headers with my TBI setup, going to weld in a o2 sensor nut, so it can plug in

tb is going to be chipped, k&N, cam, heads ported, over bore plus balance,

i figure 330hp, should go good!

but no air pump, headers only.. **** manifolds
 
I was thinking about the Edelbrock TES system. Does the outlet on the header on the drivers side drop straight down like the stock manifold? I'm wondering because i had another set of shorty headers that i couldnt use because it would hit my slave cylinder. If i cant use those, i'm gonna get it inspected then just buy a set of long tubes.

Anyone have a TBI truck that came factory without AIR? My fathers '91 1500 doesnt have the air injection. Is there a difference between the TBI in my blazer and the EFI, as it's called, in his truck?
 
*sigh*

emissions equipment does not rob power, just cuz you dont know how it works, dosnt mean it is bad. unless youre building a show car where underhood aperance is important, there is absolutly no reason to take it off.

ill cite the EGR as an example, had a buddy build up an engine for his project, decided that the EGR wasnt important, despite running a higher compression. he wound up failing emissions due to NOx and melting some holes in his shiney new pistons, because he failed to find out what EGR did. which is recirculate inert exhaust gasses into the intake charge to lower combustion temperatures. the small ammount of egr allows higher compressions and more aggressive spark timing which produces more power than is lost by replaceing some fuel air mixture with exhaust fumes.

as for the TES headers, i am running them on my IROC, and they are awesome. even as small primary (1.5in) headers, they made a HUGE seat of the pants performance increase as well as adding a very mean sound to the exhaust. the only real pain in the ass was swapping the air valves. everything else was very strait forward. and yes, im also running a high flow catalytic converter, which i put on in place of the strait pipe i bought the car with.
 
My 88 4.3 astro did not come with the air pump originally. There does not appear to be any difference between it and the AIR equipped trucks, except the exhaust manifolds are a type of shorty header that is factory original, and does not have the connectors for the AIR injection system.
 
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