Yank out all the emission control or not?

[fourbyfourforfun]

I have a 1986 k/5 Silverado Blazer in great shape. I want to know what the avantages/disadvantages would be in removing all the emision control devices. Is it a bad idea? Will it resale for much less later? Gas milage? better towing?

thanks for your advise,
Fourbyfourforfun

 

[73k5blazer]

Alot of the vacuum lines and goofy switches on the engine are not emission control. Alot of them are for drivability. (Like cold weather starting, high altitude operation, hot weather operation), drivability, to ensure your vehicle doesn't stall, hesitate, fail to start, run on...etc. Alot of people rip all the stuff off and wonder why they can't get thier car to run properly, or why it has run-on, or why is stumbles when it's hot...etc...etc.etc. In a tempered climate it's alot of less of a blow as you can tune it, and since temp doesn't vary so much, it's not a problem. In northern or hilly area, watch out...your car won't run right unless your turning screws every time the humidity changes.
It will yield slightly better performance under certain conditions, but all in all, it's not a good idea IMHO. The old cats are nasty, but if you replace the cat with a modern day style ($100), those are much less performance intrusive.
Other than that, the rest of the stuff is fairly trivial.

 

[fourbyfourforfun]

Thanks for your advise! you make alot of sense. I have some of those problems you descibe already. I wondered if running down all those future vaccum leaks and faulty switches, and the cost of replacing them, if I would be better off pulling them. But you make a strong case for keeping drivability. I live in Florida but will tow my trailer to Arizona. I will have to look at it closer.

Thanks,
fourbyfourforfun

 

[Chevy305]

I freekin ripped it all off my engine! So much more room now in the engine compartment. Also a lot easier to fix stuff when you don't have to remove 50lbs of emission crap to get to the problem area. If you want to remove all emissions stuff I recomend getting an aftermarket intake manifold and carb. You know stuff that doesn't even has emissions fittings. It's a lot easier than trying to deal with emissions controled stuff that is no longer controled.

 

[dyeager535]

One thing to consider for resale is that someone that is from an area that tests emissions will likely not consider buying your vehicle. Reinstalling emissions components later is extermely expensive.

The carburetor and distributor are both designed/tuned to work with the emissions systems, removing the emissions stuff causes problems with them, leading to more cost.

Typically vacuum leaks are the major problem, along with tampering by previous owners. If your vacuum diagram is still on the core support, you should be able to make sure everything is hooked up correctly.