So a few friends of mine say get rid of/ delete/ by-pass the emissions control equipment on my truck and it'll run great and be much easier to deal with. Looks like the PO attempted to get around some of it at least.


My main concern being a beginner is not knowing how bypassing one system affects the performance of another, and I will no longer be able to reference shop manuals or diagrams for wiring and hose placement.


I have no emissions test or safety inspection in my state due to the age of the vehicle.


What's the general concensus from you Ford Truck guru's?

 

Hey Matt
Ka'Bluey doesn't have anything under the hood as far as emissions. No smog/air pump, egr valve, etc. Just bare as it can be to run.

Unk Bob

 

So with that, I have a 3 to 0 vote for getting rid of all emission control equipment. Any other guru's want to give their knowledge/experience on this issue?

 

By the way, I do not have the EEC on my fuel tank. My fuel tank will be getting replaced however.

 

Make it 4 to 0.

 

Let's go 5 - 0.

 

And here is 6 - 0...
I assume you still have the closed crank case ventilation system in order.

 

Let's make it 7 - 0.

 

8 - 0
Keep all the crap in some corner of the garage.
You never know when we are going to be forced into California level emission b/s.

 

8-1

Because I dont know why this question has to be asked...

 

If it is functioning or close to it, keep and repair. If there are multiple problems, throw it away and start clean.

Had an 88 Mazda B2200 with emissions junk on it, made 17 mpg... threw it all away and put a 32/36 Weber carb on it and made 28 mpg consistently...

Luckily my 74 had no emissions other than the vapor canister.

 

So it sounds like I should get rid of, get around, or remove any and all emissions control stuff. What are the main components besides EGR valve and spacer that I can delete?

 

Your truck is not going to "run better", as your friends are telling you. The emissions equipment is not like a bag over your head, you simply remove it and life is easier. It is like having a wooden leg. A wooden leg creates limitations, but removing the wooden leg creates more problems. If you replace the wooden leg with a top of the line, state of the art prosthetic leg, then you can see signs of improvement but with a larger cash investment. If you cant afford the prosthetic, restain and varnish your wooden leg and go.

I had a 400 several years ago, and used the search button for several days, over many months. I don't know this information first hand, but this is the general consensus...

The 400 engine was designed around emissions. The heads, pistons, intake, carburetor everything was built around reducing emissions. So deleting the external emissions components, is not going to do much but hurt your performance because it was built to enhance the engine.
So if you are going to expect real gains, you are going to be disappointed. To get real gains, you will need to change your pistons, intake, heads, carb, catalytic converter delete, etc. There are people that have gotten a lot of hp out of the 400, do a search, but it cost them a lot of money to do so.
My general understanding is that it is cheaper to swap in an FE 390 and trans than build the 400. The FE family of engine had way more aftermarket support than the 400, giving you choices for torque or hp needs.

So, what did I do? I removed the EGR, cleaned it out and repainted it, reinstalled it. I replaced and rerouted my vacuum lines correctly. I replaced my air pump because it was cheap insurance. I basically got my 400 back to optimum stock performance.

I was more than happy with it at that point.

 

Personally for the truck I have right now, I don't care about performance, making the most HP, like that, I want it to be reliable primarily, and I want to learn the systems that make it work. I really don't care one way or the other if it has emissions control stuff on it or not, I want it to run well, period.

 

Mt truck has the egr valve bypassed along with a few other things. The main difference I have noticed is the response isn't as crisp or powerful as it should be. I would keep it unless it's beyond repair. The engine is designed to have those hooked up. Don't quote me on this, but I think removing the emissions affects your timing and if you do decide to remove it you might have to adjust your timing accordingly