Hi all,

I bought my 86 f150 in Sep "16 with a valid safety inspection sticker and missing emissions equipment!

I now live in northern Virginia and failed safety inspection today due to missing catalytic converters, smog pump, and hot air TVS gizmo on the air cleaner.

I read that modern catalytic converters do not require AIR injection, so my plan was to install a universal converter and replace the TVS air cleaner business. EGR is intact.

I find it kind of ridiculous that the inspector wants me to re-install the smog pump AIR system and what have you exactly as it came from the factory when modern cats can function without. Its a thirty-year old truck for crying out loud.

Does anyone have any experience in this?

Mick

 

Yes, I live in Va. But I have never lived in northern Va, I have heard that is a little bit different world up there.

It has to have all the original emissions equipment on it and working or look like it's working. They do not sniff the exhaust up there do they? What I do is find a garage out in the country, and I get to know them, and they know me. They are not as strict out in the country. I would never take my vehicle to one of those garages in the city, I have done that before and have been rejected for my headlights being foggy. They also check for your defroster working, check engine lights on in the dash, etc. Most of the rural garages won't check that stuff. It all depends. You need to find one you like and stick with it.

For now you are stuck. You can scrape the sticker off and go somewhere else, but no sticker is a red flag to anyone who is inspecting, so I do not think that is going to work.

Did you talk to the guy that inspected it? Before you spend a bunch of money on a cat, I would tell him your plans and see if he will pass it. It's not about it being factory correct or working, it's about what he will pass.

I will warn you though, even most of the good old boy rural garages will check for a cat. And once in awhile you will run across someone who will lift the hood. The smog pump is something obvious that they always look for, they don't pay too much attention to all the little stuff.

Believe me I have run into this problem several times. A long time ago I bought a 84 Buick Regal for $100. The 3.8 engine had a knock, the trans was slipping. So I found out I could drop a 350/350 small chevy and trans right in place. That was a nice running car, and it had the stock exhaust with the cat and was nice and quiet. I ran it for 5 or 6 years, the place I took it to never lifted the hood during inspections. I then moved a hour south. Inspection time came, I had found a good garage but he had a new guy working for him and he lifted the hood. He refused to even inspect it. I ended up taking it off the road, let it sit around for several years and put the engine and trans in something else. Found another good 3.8 and trans, put that in it and a young kid from New York bought it when I put it on ebay.

 

I did a search around the DC area for a 86 f150 5.0 engine. This is what came up. I see one of them says "core only". They may sell parts off that engine and it may have some of the stuff you need on it. Just so it looks like it works. Just make sure the smog pump turns free. I had to get one on my 1980 working, it was very noisy. I would put the belt on it and take it for inspection, and then take the belt off for the rest of the year so it would last and the bearings would not fly apart in it.

1986
Engine Assembly
Ford E150 Van SHOP TESTED OK,WE DROVE THE VAN,,,MILES ARE ACTUAL 38K 38,000 A K156P $750 Oak Hill Used Auto Parts VARA USA-VA(Petersburg) Request_Quote 804-469-7179 / 800-553-7110 Request_Insurance_Quote
1986
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F150 5.0 CORE PARTS ONLY LOCKED UP, BLUE-083980 83,000 A 3066 $200 G & B Auto Parts, Inc. USA-VA(Floyd) Request_Quote 1-540-745-7401 Request_Insurance_Quote
1985
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F150 5.0,AOD,04-85,MFI,RWD,CORE ONLY 156,014 A 125566 $Call Southern Maryland Used Auto Parts-Brandywine Yard #12 USA-MD(Mechanicsville) Request_Quote 800-638-3446 / 301-373-2460 Request_Insurance_Quote
1985
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F150 CORE #42045 M/BUILDING, blue/wht-blue-115627 115,000 A 3121C $Call Boggs Used Parts, Inc. USA-WV(Caldwell) Request_Quote 304-647-4943 / 800-528-1781 Request_Insurance_Quote
1986
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F150 5.0 CORE PARTS ONLY LOCKED UP, WHITE-101386 101,000 A 3036 $Call G & B Auto Parts, Inc. USA-VA(Floyd) Request_Quote 1-540-745-7401 Request_Insurance_Quote
1986
Engine Assembly
Ford Bronco REBUILDABLE BLOCK 112,968 A 002890 $Call Vince Auto Parts USA-MD(White-Marsh) Request_Quote 410-335-3161 Request_Insurance_Quote
1985
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F150 AA0503 $500 Clayton's Auto Parts, Inc. USA-VA(Carrollton) Request_Quote 1-757-238-2885 Request_Insurance_Quote
1985
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F150 300-A85786 $400 Ted's Auto Salvage USA-VA(Richmond) Request_Quote 804-421-8777 / 804-523-2631 Request_Insurance_Quote
1986
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F150 PARTS 201171 $400 250 East Auto Recycling USA-VA(Louisa) E-mail 434-589-5770
1986
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F150 5.0L (VIN N, 8th digit) 0000018260 $350 Days Used Auto and Salvage Parts USA-WV(Ridgely) Request_Quote 304-738-9489 Request_Insurance_Quote
1986
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F250 5.0,A,10/85,4X4 E69450 $315 Paradise Auto Parts-ELITE USA-MD(Elkton) Request_Quote 888-811-5051/410-620-5051 Request_Insurance_Quote
1985
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F150 5.0L REAR SEAL LOOK TO BE LEAK, BLACK-RED 807 $250 Greear's Used Cars/Parts, Inc. USA-VA(Coeburn) Request_Quote 1-276-395-3321 Request_Insurance_Quote
1986
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F150 CORE TO BUILD,SMOKES ALOT,HAS NEW HEADS J194P $225 Oak Hill Used Auto Parts VARA USA-VA(Petersburg) Request_Quote 804-469-7179 / 800-553-7110 Request_Insurance_Quote
Year
Part
Model Description Miles Part
Grade Stock# US
Price Dealer Info

 

That Buick sounds like it was a nice ride. I am going to see what parts I can get around here if not a sympathetic shop.

Apparently my defroster didn't blow hard enough either, but thats another story.

Also, Can anyone recommend a catalytic converter to use without AIR ?

 

I lived in NOVA for 3 years, Alexandria, but kept my registration at my sisters in Va. Beach. Inspectors in NOVA did not require Emissions, only Safety, due to where it was registered.

But, my guy was a Bear on properly working emergency brake.

There is a couple of Junk Yards in the Fredricksburg area I have been to.

 

To my understanding, you are still required to have the emissions equipment to pass the regular safety inspection. You are not required, on a vehicle of that age, to have an emissions inspection.

 

I'm originally from Reston (Fairfax County). I've been out of there for over 25-years now but I sure miss that area - however I can't even recognize my old stomping grounds anymore

Newer engines have the Cats very close to the engine (they are usually built into the exhaust manifold (header assembly) so an air pump is not needed. The reason for the air pump on our older trucks is to heat up the Cat quicker on startup (the Cat is so far away from the engine it takes a long time to heat up without the extra air). Once the engine/Cat is hot the air pump no longer pumps air into the Cat. Its a cold startup function.

I can't help on this, but if you do not do the air injection and can get away with just a Cat, go with a "metallic" Cat, not the cheaper "Ceramic Honeycomb" style. The cheaper Cats can overheat (from a too rich a mixture which is more common on carburated engines) and melt. The metallic Cats wont melt. You can Google this and decide for yourself. But if your Inspection guy is looking for a stock cat and you upgrade to a high-flow metallic cat might be noticeable to him.

 

As a child I remember driving out to Reston/Sterling to chop down a Christmas tree. Now its all shopping malls.

Anyway, I found a 86 4.9 for parts about 5 miles from my house for around $400. Has all the emissions tomfoolery intact.

As much as it goes against every fiber in my being, I might buy it and attach the missing parts to my truck.

 

Somehow I missed you have a six cylinder and not a 5.0. You should count your lucky stars that your truck runs as good as it does. You have a carb but the carb and the distributor are computer controlled. I would go over the whole thing and check all the vacuum lines, hopefully things are not disconnected too bad. This truck is almost like fuel injection, and it's controls and vacuum lines with the computer are pretty much like fuel injection, so you can't take anything off of it and it still run ok. You can disconnect the smog pump and it will still run ok, but everything else needs to be hooked up.

This inspection guy may have done you a favor. We get people on here all the time who have your style engine, and someone before them has disconnected everything, and they have poor power and very poor fuel mileage. We end up telling them to convert it to a early 80's model setup with a regular distributor and carb.

 

Actually, you all helped my convert my truck about 11 months ago. How time flies...

I spent a lot of time converting my truck to a 1970s set up that works great. Duraspark II with an early 1970's carter YF off a Maverick and working EGR. My original feedback system was chopped when I bought the truck.The inspector didn't notice anything regarding the missing feedback and EEC IV. Just the smog pump and cats!!

If I knew about these systems then, I probably would not have bought this truck.

 

It's not that bad. And it's what I thought. Most of the inspectors don't get into all the different engine controls. How could they? There were so many different systems, even on just Fords, not to mention all the other brands and even the foreign cars. But most all cars after 75 had a cat. And most had a smog pump, but not all. There must have been a huge hole where that sensor went or something else obvious that he mentioned it. You can put little ball bearings in the hoses if you want to hook them up without them doing anything.

I used to have a 85.5 SVO mustang that had the turbocharged 2.3 4 cyl. It originally came from the factory with no smog pump. It was more than once I was stuck at a inspection station while they were scratching their head if it was supposed to have one or not. Of course they would not believe me. They would either get someone in the know to tell them it did not come with one, or they would look it up in some sort of manual they had in the back. Usually a 20 minute delay each time I took it somewhere new.

Like I said, I have lived all around Va all my life, and have had many experiences with vehicle inspections, especially since I have never owned a new vehicle and usually drive junk. Put the smog pump on there and hook it up like it might work with a belt on it, and put the cat on it, and you should be good to go. Quit balking at your responsibility for saving the environment.

 

Or you could just run antique tags and not worry about an inspection.

 

x2


At least investigate this. Of course, the laws are different from state to state. My father did this with a 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass he owned when he moved to Dallas, TX. He was able to avoid the emissions testing. Unfortunately, I think the state put limits on how far he could drive each year.


Thankfully, OK hasn't gone to emissions testing... yet.


BTW, I love your user name. The Dude abides.

 

Hell, the laws in VA can be different from city to city, or county to county......

 

State page says "the owner must self inspect and insure the vehicle is in proper order" (or something like that)

Basically, honor-system.

Mine has not a thing on it except an exhaust pipe these days. It works.