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Does an 81 E4ME work ok without AIR pump and lines?

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Old Jun 24, 2014 | 11:11 AM
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Default Does an 81 E4ME work ok without AIR pump and lines?

About to rebuild my E4ME QuadraJet and just want to make sure I'm not wasting my time. I pulled off the air pump, canister and related vac lines to clean up the engine bay and plugged any open ends. Then I replaced the chip with a Hypertech which turned off my Check Engine light and replaced the base carb gasket and all the plug wires and dist cap which smoothed out the idle. Now she starts perfect, idles almost smoothly and pulls hard at WOT. But she still bogs at partial throttle and surges at cruising throttle and occasionally backfires. I'm guessing she's still running too lean.

I'm sure the rebuild won't hurt but an E4ME can run properly without all the pollution control vac lines, canister and air pump can't it? Or will the computer always be trying to compensate for the pollution equipment removal?

Last edited by Give'rBuddy; Jun 24, 2014 at 01:19 PM.
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Old Jun 24, 2014 | 11:39 AM
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I'd keep the canister, myself.

Aside from that, yes, an E4ME should run fine without EGR, AIR, or EFE. The only thing it needs is the computer controlled dist, sensors and ECM.
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Old Jun 24, 2014 | 12:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Shark Racer
I'd keep the canister, myself.

Aside from that, yes, an E4ME should run fine without EGR, AIR, or EFE. The only thing it needs is the computer controlled dist, sensors and ECM.
:agree: I have hooker headers with side pipes so I removed the air pump and kept the rest of the system (including the canister) works fine.
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Old Jun 24, 2014 | 01:16 PM
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Originally Posted by larryg3
:agree: I have hooker headers with side pipes so I removed the air pump and kept the rest of the system (including the canister) works fine.
I kept the canister in the shop but don't really know what it does. Just that it seemed to run better without it. What's its purpose?
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Old Jun 24, 2014 | 01:28 PM
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That is the pressure release/fumes filter for the gas tank when using a sealed gas cap. I'd keep it.
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Old Jun 24, 2014 | 05:28 PM
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Originally Posted by CaseyJones
That is the pressure release/fumes filter for the gas tank when using a sealed gas cap. I'd keep it.


It also captures gasoline fumes that vent from the float bowl. It's nearly zero impact on performance.
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Old Jun 25, 2014 | 01:50 AM
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Keep the canister. It will run fine without all that other stuff. Mine runs great!
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Old Jun 25, 2014 | 08:45 AM
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Originally Posted by Moser28
Keep the canister. It will run fine without all that other stuff. Mine runs great!


same here
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Old Jun 25, 2014 | 09:26 PM
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Agree - keep the charcoal canister and ditch the rest.
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Old Jun 26, 2014 | 01:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Give'rBuddy
About to rebuild my E4ME QuadraJet and just want to make sure I'm not wasting my time. I pulled off the air pump, canister and related vac lines to clean up the engine bay and plugged any open ends. Then I replaced the chip with a Hypertech which turned off my Check Engine light and replaced the base carb gasket and all the plug wires and dist cap which smoothed out the idle. Now she starts perfect, idles almost smoothly and pulls hard at WOT. But she still bogs at partial throttle and surges at cruising throttle and occasionally backfires. I'm guessing she's still running too lean.

I'm sure the rebuild won't hurt but an E4ME can run properly without all the pollution control vac lines, canister and air pump can't it? Or will the computer always be trying to compensate for the pollution equipment removal?
I just rebuilt my E4ME on my 81 last month. Still getting it dialed in as I don't have a lot of time. It can run fine without all that smog stuff. As like most the other responses I kept the charcoal canister. Tomorrow morning I'm hoping to set the timing to perform at it's peak and run it down the road a few times for "testing" lol. If the car is surging it sounds like it might be a little lean, the bog can be caused by the secondaries opening rate. I'd check that before anything else and make some adjustments there. Just be sure that you "unwind" the spring and count the turns to give you a baseline to return to.
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Old Jun 27, 2014 | 12:24 PM
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Make sure you keep the O2 sensor; CCC needs it.
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