Airpump directly to CAT???
 

I read in another post that running your air-pump directly to your cat will help pass emmissions.

I think my ACV is toast, and i was wondering if anyone has had any luck doing this??

Also, is it safe to do all the time?? Or would the cat overheat?

Um, the airpump on 1989+ engines runs to the cat from the factory. It helps keep the cat from frying or cloging. It is called the "split-air pipe."

He means directly from the pump to the cat, not via the ACV. If the ACV is busted, air might not be getting there at all.

Oh, mabye I should learn to read more slowly! Sorry! How would you acheive this? But no, the air will not make the cat blow! Rotaries run HOT so if there is no air running to it, then it would blow!

What year/model is your car? I was looking to try this also . I have an 87 TII.

This is how most "normal" cars have it hooked up. Now ACV just stright from the pu p to the cat or ex manifolds.

The car is an 87 se with the cats off my 89 gtus. I was going to just put a block off plate where the ACV is, and just run a hose from the airpump.

Anyone have any ideas good/bad? If it will work??

If my exhaust system will explode??

(This happend on my old GSLSE beater at 90 mph) Scared the hell outta me and split my muffler in 2.

There is an easier way...All you need to do, as you are looking at the ACV, to the rear of it there are 2 Vacuum lines coming in. The one in the FRONT controls the Air to the cats (Split air i think its called). Unplug the FRONT vacuum line and plug the vacuum line. This will disable the switching solenoid and run fresh air to the cats at any speed. I have tested this on an emissions machine and it drops your CO readings signifigantly. I dont have any pics handy to show but if you get lost, I will get some.

Rat

Pumps
 

I've heard stories of people using a corvette electric airpump to run air to their cats for when they needed to get inspected, and as far as these stories go, they passed with flying colors. You can do a search and will probably come up with something if you go looking for corvette air pumps or something similar

I believe all the ACV does is try to get jsut the right amount of air to have the cleanest emmisions at idle.


either way let us know how it worked

And your exhaust system wont explode....

Re: Pumps
 

Actually, the ACV routes air to several different places. Port air, mixes with exhaust gasses at idle, and Split air, above 3800 RPM goes straight to the Cat. As previoulsy stated, you can fool the ACV into running split air all the time by disabling the split air solenoid.

Cool deal, Thanks for the help guys

Re: Re: Pumps
 

By drawing in port air at idle, wouldn't that richen the mixture? Would that be to help get the cat lit off?

Hey, J-Rat, did you ever get your car to pass AZ emmissions?

Re: Re: Re: Pumps
 

Port air, as I understand it, actually helps the Cat by putting fresh air into the Exhaust stream. This will LEAN the exhaust and give the cats the oxygen they need to do the conversion...

Anyone have pictures of what to do???

Ah HA!! Trying to cast doubt on my responses!?!?!?....:D

Actually, I am on a 1 year waiver...Reason? My rotor housings are swapped. Essentially blocking the Port air function. That and I think that I have some other lesser problems which are conspiring against me. My latest thought is that the AFM may be flaking out. As the spring gets older, they tend to weaken and that causes the flap to oscillate in the airstream. This in turn makes the ECU go bonkers. So in truth? No I didnt pass, I cheated.

But you know what?? I AM DRIVING MY 7!!!!!!

Got em at home, but I am at work...Any one else????

Did you try cleaning the AFM hinge with some brakleen and relubing it with a good lube. The SE I have has 230K on the origonal AFM and it works fine.

For the past few years, the car has been running w/ no emmissions eqip. I just moved to an area that requires testing, so I'm trying to re-instal the stuff. I am still missing some of the fited hoses that run from the pump to the ACV etc. and will probably just run a hose direct from the ACV to the split air pipe.

From what I know..there are more problems with my car then just swapped rotor housings..I am running REALLY rich. Its so bad that at a stop light, it makes me want to pass out. People that remove all thier emissions stuff arent running as rich as I am..But removing the ACV and cleaning it is an option.

Why would you run a hose straight to the cats when removing the vac line and plugging it takes about 30 seconds and gives you the same result?

Hate to bring back this old thread lol, but would there be any negative effects to running the air pump straight to the cat all the time?

The stock ACV shunts air to either the exhaust ports, the cat or the air silencer depending on conditions. I think it is only under 5th gear closed loop that the stock ECU sends air directly to the cat, because the engine is burning lean enough that the extra air is not needed in the manifold. So it stands to reason that you can still poison the cat from an overly rich mixture if air only goes to the cat. Actually, if air goes to the cat all the time and the car tends to run rich, I would expect a LOT of heat to build in the cat. It will probably glow red and then melt down.

Another thing I was wondering, If the split air solenoid valve were to be open at all times, would that mean that the ACV would send an un-metered amount of air to the cat 24/7, or does it mean that it would send a metered amount of air to the cat all the time?

Split air would go continuouly to the converter. There's not much *METERING* involved in this at all. The AMOUNT of air from the Split Air Solenoid is NOT anywhere close to the ACV SWITCHING to full split air.

Switching solenoid is the one that sends air to the split air pipe. Or put it this way.......makes it possible for air to go to the Split Air Pipe.

sorry if i repeat, i skipped to the bottom to give my personal experience. I hooked up an electric air pump straight to the cat to try and pass emissions, it just barely almost passed once, every other time it was still significantly too high... finally i hooked the electric air pump to the acv, with no air going to the cat at all, and it passed with flying colors. Pumping air into the cat lowered the numbers some, so if your just barely failing it should help you pass, if you got a long ways to go, its prob not going to be enough