Ricks84928

I’m having trouble finding a rebuild kit for my 84 928 air pump so I’m thinking of removing the guts and finding new bearings and just using it as an idler pulley. OR, removing it completely and moving the fan so it aligns with the power steering pulley. The car is registered as a classic and doesn’t need emissions testing.
My questions are:

Will any special tuning be required if I delete it?
I think all I need to do is pinch the metal tube that goes to the converter and plug the vacuum line that goes to a vacuum operated switching valve. Is that correct?
Also, if anyone knows where I can get a rebuild kit, I'll consider that also.

As always, you guys have always been very helpful. Any suggestions, comments or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Rick

bureau13

I think you can delete it entirely and just use a different sized belt on the fan...no need to move the fan. Not sure about the rest of it though...

Speedtoys

If you liv anywhere near a state that requires it, consider the challenge in selling it without it later.

Or if you state changes direction on this...

Its worth fixing, for the hassle it could create.

Fsharp9

Remove the alternator and smog pump fan belt and substitute a 21 x 1/2 inch belt from the crank to the fan pulley and reassemble, you don't need it you'll never know you were missing a smog pump

Jetdriver69

Deleted my air pump, engine driven fan, aux electric fan and Cat on the 82.

Put on a high output single electric fan and made my own y pipe. Haven't had any problems at all.

But Texas doesn't require emissions for 25 year old cars.

GlenL

What's wrong with the pump?

I've dealt with it two ways:

1) Gut the pump and use it as a tensioner. Remove all that piping, the filter and plug the ports on the heads.

2) Remove the pump, pipes, etc, and put in at 21" belt. Or is it 21 1/2"? Actually, the pulleys vary between models. Some get a smaller pulley at the fan to increase its speed. Get an assortment and see which fits. It's kind of a pain as you have to remove the fan to fit the belt.

The Forgotten On

I think MY 1980 928's used a pulley in place of the pump, although that part is hard to get a hold of now.

I had the original pump on mine bind up and make a horrible squealing noise as the belt bound up and melted against the crank pulley.

I used a tractor belt from a auto parts store and it worked perfectly to drive the fan while I had another pump rebuilt because I live in California where all emissions stuffs is required.

If you can, remove it and never look back as it is only needed during the first 5 minutes of warm up to make the cat more efficient.

When you remove it you will lose almost all high pitched noises form the engine as this bugger is the one making most of them.

Ducman82

Just take it off and use a shorter belt. That's what I did at the time. You won't miss it.

bills928

Just be careful if you remove the pump altogether , In NC they don't check smog on my 84, however the last time I took it in for inspection the tech intentionally checked for the pump and plumbing, when I asked him about it he said he would fail it if he saw that the emissions were tampered with or removed. Of course your state and or Tech may be different.... And probably most techs don't know if a pump belongs there or not , But this guy knew his stuff. So if my pump ever goes out I will leave it in and gut it.

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linderpat

Glen - it is 21" by 1/2" wide. I've done this too. Stripped out all of the plumbing, plugged he back of the block. I saved it all however, for future total restoration purposes.

17prospective buyer

Remanufactured ones are readily available as far as i remember. Who did you try? Take all the stuff off, don't get rammy and break stuff thinking you won't ever need it again. Gotta think about the future.

hacker-pschorr

Then you put it back on, no reason why it cannot sit in a box until then.

It's a pump held on by a few bolts. He's not permanently modifying anything.

The exhaust on my fathers 355 that he sold was modified in such a way that new manifolds would be needed to go back to stock. That's the definition of a hassle, not simply removing a pump. Kind of ironic that in the situation of the 355 the air pump was still installed and working to keep the computer happy, it was just blowing into open air.

The guy who bought the car preferred it over others due to the exhaust modifications.

I'm not going to live my life paranoid about what my Government might do tomorrow. There is plenty of stuff to be paranoid about they are already doing.

My state actually reversed it's emission laws due to cost and the overall hassle of running the program. Many states look at California as an example of what not to do.

Could this change? Absolutely, and I'll deal with that when it happens.

Nonsense. It's an antiquated useless system.
A better conversation would be how to upgrade the car with modern technology to make the car run even cleaner than stock. However, those same modifications are just as illegal as removing the stuff. Which is why this entire situation is so ridiculous.

Installing a computer controlled electric air pump with modern CATS would be an excellent upgrade......and still illegal. So why bother? Just remove the useless equipment and move on.


That's what I did with my 79 and 81 until I went to electric fans.

Ricks84928

Thanks for the help guys. Apparently there are different configurations for the belts on these cars. When you suggest removing the pump and replacing the belt, how do you adjust the belt? Mine uses a Serpentine type splined belt for the alternator. The only pulleys that line up with the pump are the motor and fan. The pump has the adjuster. If I remove it, the fan belt won’t be adjustable.

Jetdriver, Where did you get your electric fan?
Matt, I've tried searching on line but couldn't find any rebuilt ones. Id rather get I rebuild kit if I could find one.

Ducman82

When you use the shorter belt "motor to the fan", when you tighten up the bolts that hold the fan bracket on, it pulls up on the belt to get the fit just right. so there is no adjusting, just installing.

belts are cheap, try it and you will see what we mean.

Ricks84928

OK. Thanks. FYI, I just found a Youtube video from TimothyShawn99 where he installed spacers on his fan mount so the pulley lines up with the power steering pump, making it adjustable. He gives the required belt size also. Looks very easy.