Who has ditched their air pump?

Klunky

Founding Member
Jan 30, 2002
290
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17
Kansas
When I do my heads/cam upgrade here in a few weeks, I want to yank all the air pump stuff too. Do I HAVE to buy one of those idler pulley kits to replace it? Or can I just rip it off and buy a shorter belt? What did you do?
Thanks.
 
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Just make sure you route it as in the diagram. I have mine routed wrong and some others do too, I wont go into how to do it the wrong way, but you end up with an even shorter belt. Actual belt size may vary so buy a few belts and return the ones that dont fit. I took my car to the autoparts store with the pump still on it. then I went in and bought a belt and tried it in the parking lot. I went back in twice before I got the right belt. I know the guys and gals down there pretty well and they didnt ring it up till I had the right one. Saved the trouble of doing exchanges and returns. Hope this helps.
 
Thanks Jerry, yes that sure does help. I have just that setup with functional AC so I'll go with the 84.5 belt and get that damned pulley off! The former owner never cleaned out the rest of the smog hoses and equipment. What exactly should I do with all that garbage? How far should I take it back? Its very unsightly :(
 
Tried the idler pulley for a short time on my '85 after the pump fell apart and it cratered (real P.O.S., I won't even mention the Texas based company's name...). Belt I use now is a Cadillac application, but I forget which one off the top of my head. I'll try and check the numbers this evening. Have had no problems, but I rerouted it based on the underhood diagram, and drew up a new one that kept the accessories all running the same way. I redraw it each time before I change it now to be on the safe side.
 
I did both- got the UPR pully kit, and actually felt a difference. Later, I pulled that off too, and didn't notice anything. Sure did clean up the engine bay though, ripping all the smog pump paraphinalia out. It's in the shed now, right next to the stock H-pipe w/cats- waiting for emissions time :D
 
I have done this just about 6 month ago. There is two ways of doing this. One is to remove the smog stuff, all of it. In doing this you must plug the back of the head. There is a line that goes up to the back of each head that is connected to the smog stuff. The other way is to not remove this pipe and instead just plug it off. Either way you go I feel you will see a difference in performance, not much but anything helps. Good luck!
 
What's the length? I believe my belt is a 70.5", DON'T quote me on it; and I still have AC, and power steering. Mine may be too short for you too though, I have a MARCH alternator bracket that doesn't use the tensioner- so it's a few inches shorter. The best way is definately to go around them all with a string and measure it, then go buy it by the inch and get a size higher and lower to be safe- return the two that don't work.