docmow

what will happen if remove belt from it until i get a new one

thank you docmow

Easy Mike

Nothing.

SwampeastMike

If there is a catalytic converter installed it may very well overheat and self-destruct. Why? Because the purpose of the AIR system is to burn raw fuel that didn't burn in the cylinders. That fuel will burn in the catalytic converter causing it to overheat.

If there is no catalytic converter installed then nothing bad will happen except some raw fuel exhausted to the environment.

3X2

Until you get a new one? Nothing if a day or so. Pre cat car? Nothing but the pump may seize in a couple of years. With a functioning cat- see above reply.

bradleyb66

Not necessarily true - my 79 has a cat, but came from the factory with no air pump (federal emissions car). I do know that if it's running too rich, then the cat can (and will) overheat, but I doubt the AIR system would help much in that case.

Wrecked82

I would run my 82 off and on with and without the smog pump belt. More that "a day or two" as said above. Like a year. About 6 months ago, took off all the smog equipment. Nothing bad happened. Don't know why it is said the cat will melt. Used a temp guage to check temp at front of cat and at back of cat and got just the results I read I should receive.

SwampeastMike

Isn't a "federal emissions car" the same as "non-California"? If so, I sure thought that ALL '79s came with the A.I.R. system. Are you the original owner?

av81

There is Federal Emissions and California Emissions , I have never seen on a emissions tag that said non California emissions , I had a new 79 that had no air pump , I am not 100% sure but I thought the purpose of the air pump was to dilute the tail pipe emissions lowering the NoX gas so they pump air in the cat and manifolds it's more or less a bluff job to pass emission standards .... if not true I would like to hear the discretion of operation .

Torqued Off

Take all that garbage off the car and throw it in the trash.

SwampeastMike

From the '79 Corvette Shop Manual:

"An air injection reactor (AIR) is used on some engines to provide additional oxygen to continue the combustion process after the exhaust gases leave the combustion chamber. An engine driven pump to provide pressurized air which is injected into the exhaust port of the exhaust manifold and then into the exhaust system.

"The AIR system operates at all times and will bypass air only for a short duration of time during deceleration and at high speeds. The diverter valve performs the bypass function, and the check valve protects the air pump from damage by preventing a back flow of exhaust gas. Diagnosis and service procedures for the air injection reactor system is in this section."

I know the old adage of "The solution to pollution is dilution." but in this case the AIR system isn't about dilution--it's about forcing the fuel to burn more completely.

I only have the '78 and '80 assembly manuals--not the '79.

The '78 shows the AIR system was not used for base engine (L48) Federal Emissions (non-California) and normal altitude cars. California, high altitude and ALL L82 engine cars had the AIR system. In 1980 ALL cars and engines had the AIR system. Something tells me that compression ratio and/or camshaft and/or timing and/or carb tuning made the difference between whether or not the AIR system was required to meet the requirements for a given year.

I know that AIR systems were used into the 2000s on some Northstar (Cadillac) engines and probably others. They may still be used in some circumstances. It may still be a "California thing"--I don't know.

av81

Thanks for the info , getting back to the air pump question I would say if you remove the original pellet type converter and go with the newer style you will not need the air pump unless your local inspection station checks to see if emission components are present. I still run the pump in my 81 even though I have a new style converter just to keep the motor looking original . Although I never saw a pellet type converter overheat just from no air pump I have seen them turn cherry red from a bad running carb , I was working on a car many years ago left it running in the yard at my garage the back seat actually caught on fire from the heat of the converter , we were in the garage working and heard fire trucks coming up the drive way lol