Hello,
Even when i had an FD i was kinda baffled by what the Air pump does and how i remove it... i kinda understand it blows air in the CAT for emission or something and on the FD it had some playing with the sequential business...
So if i remove the CAT whats it doing on my FC? is there a benefit other then weight and a tidier engine bay?
What parts do i need to remove it? There some issue with the water pump on the same belt i believe... is there any blanking plate that needs to go on the engine block?
Cheers
Alex
Hi Alex,
It\'s been covered several times before, but on a Turbo II engine the air pump is for the secondary air system which goes to one of 3 places depending on engine revs, and other factors. It\'s controlled by the ECU and a bunch of solenoids - some of them are under the filler neck, and some are built into the air control valve on the side of the engine which is where the hose from the air pump dissappears into.
The air goes into :
- The CAT - during warmup of the engine, and under certain rev ranges
- The exhaust ports - basically for the same reason above - but this is mixing the air into the exhaust stream directly
- The relief port - this is a silencer behind the drivers headlight - basically when the air pump air is not needed, it\'s chucked back out again !
If you have removed the cat, then you can remove the air pump as well, but if you do this then you may as well remove the air control valve - and for that you will need the blank off plate. Once you\'ve done this, it will be much harder to get the car through MOT emissions test - so be warned !
You also probably need to go dual belt on the alternator, as the water pump won\'t have much belt touching it and will slip at higher revs.
Good write up :)
Where can i get the blanking plates and dual belt?
Is there a guide knocking about for removing it? as i dont know where the air control valve is... i guess its just 2 blanking plates? one where the air pump used to sit and one where the air control valve sits...
The best write up I\'ve ever found for this is this one over on 1300cc.com
http://1300cc.com/howto/how2/pumpACV.htm
With regard to blanking plates - you need one for the Air Control Valve, as it needs to cover up some vacuum holes and the exhaust port and it\'s one way valve. Optionally, you should block up the air feed that used to go to the CAT (split air feed), but this hole is fed from a hole that would be covered by the ACV blankoff.
The air pump itself does not have a blanking plate - it\'s just got two hose attachments - one that goes into the air filter box, and one that goes into the ACV.
With regards to where to get blanking plates from - any of the vendors advertised at the top should be able to help out there - some ebay ones are a tad on the thin side and I\'d be wary of them unless from an overseas rotary specialist. The ACV blankoff should be 2-3mm thick steel, as you don\'t want it warping and causing a vac leak. I\'ve gone a stage further with mine, and used chemical metal to block off the 3 vac holes and the exhaust port - the blankoff is just cosmetic now ;)
Likewise dual alternator pulley - again the vendors that advertise on here can help - the belts also, or you can risk Halfords - they do the right size belt, just the issue is finding 2 that are the same size ;)
I got my last pair form Clive at MRP (advertises on here), as he will select 2 the same size and batch.
Spot on :) exactly what i need to know! Cheers bud :)