I've got a question for all you motor experts out there. I have a 1985 bronco with the 351W HO in it. I've been having trouble getting the vacuum lines right and I ran into a guy who is a mechanic yesterday. I asked him about it and he said to take all that stuff off. I mean the air pump, all the thermactor stuff, plug all the vacuum trees and PVS's, plug the EGR valve, etc. He said all you need is the brakes and transmission hooked up. He said the truck will run better with that stuff off of it. I just want to know from somebody else, is this guy full of it, or should I strip all this stuff off. And I want to know if he is right about the brakes and transmission being all I need hooked up if I do take it all off. Maybe somebody knows what this guy is talking about. I hope so. Would like a second opinion before I do it. Thanks

 

Early emissions equipment tends to be really complicated and vague in its operation and many earlier models don't monitor emissions as closely through the computer as well as later models so you may be able to "get away" with it. But its never recommended. You will have tuning issues to deal with if you plug the EGR valve because it changes airflow through the intake during operation and its a constantly changing variable. So, getting the carb tuning right will be a very touchy situation. If you remove the PCV valve and plug the hole the blow-by gases in the crank case will build up and cause a bog-down effect eventually stalling the truck. If your truck has a catalytic converter with fresh air injection from the smog pump, it will never heat up enough to remove the additional emissions crud its supposed to be burning off. If you don't have emissions inspections where you live, well I guess you could just let the motor belch whatever it wants into the air. (sorry personal bias agaisnt removing things that help me my family and me live longer).

Oh and the answer is NO, there is more vacuum that needs to be connected and functioning. If your truck still uses a vacuum advanced distributor that line must be in working order (85 probably doesn't though). And if you want your heat and A/C controls to work the vacuum supplied to them must be in working order as well.

I realize that, once removed, vacuum lines on early emission equipped vehicles can be a royal PITA but removing them also yields its own fair share of headaches. The major vacuum and emissions plumbing routes should be diagramed on a decal under the hood and a service manual should give most of the other information.

 

Graystreak's got it. Sure, it will run better without that junk, but it's going to be hard to properly remove without removing the computer, cats, and everything else. Then, you probably won't make it through inspection. Where I live, even if it had less emissions without all that junk on it, they'll still fail you because it isn't original, and it had the cats removed. It's bs. Anyway, your best bet is to work with what you have, try to keep everything working the way it's supposed to and it will run fine.