Hi folks,

I have an air management related question…..and NO the answer isn’t to ‘yank dem junks off da car”. This is a pretty all-original car

I recently resealed up the front end of a very low mileage 82. When I started it up again I noted a rather prominent whirring noise coming from the belt area/air cleaner. Upon further investigating the connector for the air control valve solenoid had broken loose on the coil and I disassembled and resoldered the unit. Fixed that but I still “feel” like I am hearing more of a whirr then I did before.

Best of my understanding, this system has the following:

Air Control valve that decides based on an electric/vacuum solenoid whether to direct AIR pump output to the exhaust or to the air cleaner

AND

Air Direction (I know that isn’t the technical word, forgot my manual at home this morning) valve that works similarly to the other BUT chooses whether to send the air to the aspirator tubes on the exhaust manifolds or to the catalytic converter once the car reaches closed loop operating conditions.

So here is where I don’t understand the factory manual and the flowchart for repair. Says that “some applications” may divert air to the cleaner at all times? What the heck? It sits there and farts air into the intake at anything over 2000 rpm? I understand on deceleration but not accel? That is normal operating conditions? Manifold vacuum is present, all lines are properly sealed and hold vacuum when tested with a pump. I know the electrical circuit is functional as the “noise” changes when you disconnect the air control valve solenoid connector. What I don't know is if the air management valve is working properly. I can't find a replacement one online and I am hesitant to take it all back off if it is indeed working normally.

Basically my question is do any of you with an 82 hear that whirring noise in your air cleaner as you rev it up in park? I can hear it driving down the road and I have to be honest and say I don’t remember if I heard it before this. Usually wasn’t revving the car with the hood open, nor was I listening for this but regardless it is there. Haven't had the car long enough to be cognizant of it.

Normal or not? Talk amongst yourselves! FWIW, I am doing a full write up right now on how to refoam your factory 6X9 10 ohm speakers. Pics and all. Should have it posted by the end of the week! They sound AWESOME redone (again, the correct answer wasn’t “upgrade to an Alpine CD player”!).

Thanks for any or all feedback,

Cassidy

 

Well, I think I have it figured out. After quite a bit of research and deciding this part is LONG out of production.....figured I can't hurt a bad part in the car.

Theory: Valve in normal position allows air pump air to go right into the intake and make a terrible noise. The "blow off" mode is stopped when the electrical signal is received to allow vacuum to the diaphragm, which in turn pulls a rubber plunger into place and seals off the flow of air to the intake. As long as a constant vacuum is present AND the solenoid is powered, air goes to the injection system (later guided into the aspirator ports on the manifolds or to the catalyst).

Problem: Mine didn’t hold vacuum.
I removed the vacuum solenoid from the end of the air management valve and used a vacuum pump to apply vacuum. It immediately failed, as you could hear it leaking. I assumed the worst and began disassembly to see if the diaphragm had rotted away. There is a great fear of cutting into something that you KNOW you cannot replace. I chose to use a die grinder and carefully cut the gold ring on the underside of the valve and spun it off, not unlike a piston ring. Came right off, and so did the upper half of the vacuum chamber. Once I found the spring that shot across the room (it is really springy for being 31!) I noticed the diaphragm was just fine. A quick test fit revealed that whatever had originally sealed the two parts together to create an airtight seal was long gone. After examining the area for cracks, I applied a small amount of RTV around the outer edge and reassembled the valve. I spun the rubber plunger against the seats on the other side just to be sure it had good contact and reassembled. The RTV holds so well that the gold ring is more of a “beauty part” at this point. I refitted that onto the body of the valve and applied some RTV around the groove to keep it from coming off. It is more than secure enough for what it has to do (sit there and look stock).

Hopefully this helps someone in the future. If I had half a brain I would have photographed the dissection. It really was simple to do.

Cassidy

 

I am only yanking dem junks off of my 82 because bubba has already made it pointless to get it working again. My manifolds have the tubes cut and crimped shut, the vac stuff on the smog section does not look complete. I just removed the pump for good. Let me know what this part looks like and I can send it to you if mine still has it. I applaud your efforts to keep the stock system working.

 

The air pump do make a little noise if you listen for it and if any of the hoses are compromised but the simple fix is just remove the belt. You won't get any codes or have any driving issues. I did it on my 82 because it was rattling at idle.