howdy doody ford people!
alright here's my question i just scored a edelbrock performer intake and carb for my 351 windsor, its in a 86' F-150 4x4. i already got on to jegs and bought all the brackets i need to adapt the throttle and kickdown etc etc....and i want to remove all the emissions crap while im at it (A.I.R pump, wierd vaccum lines etc) so my question is who all has done this and what kinda problems did you have? as far as i can tell i will have to keep a vaccum line running to my brake booster,distributor and there is a vaccum line that runs my heater control stuff ( the only reason i know is because i just got done ripping my whole dash out and repainting it) so any help on what im in for would be great

 

Don't forget the vaccum line that goes to the tranny.

 

oh yea forgot about that one, now im not a transmission expert so what exactly does that vaccum line do? i can't find it in the books so i havn't been able to figure it out

 

It goes from the intake vacuum into the transmission vacuum modulator. It controls shifting.

 

ahh ok thanks for the info, i have been trying to figure that one out for awhile

 

heres what i did on mine, 86 f150 351 4V HO.

for the vacuum lines yank everything out of there, run brake booster off manifold vacuum tree, run a line off the tree to the shift modulator, and run a line off the tree over to the small vacuum line that works the climate controls, i needed to use a adapter to connect the new line to the dinky factory line.

the smog pump got unbolted and thrown behind the garage along with the cats when i did my exhaust, if you havnt put a decent exhaust behind it yet you should. it really woke mine up, true duals no cats.

i took my intake manifold off to replace gaskets, i also made a little plate to block off the egr passages.

for the air cleaner i got a chrome holly top and bottom lid and a fram air hog to put between them, then pop a breather into the drivers side valve cover.

the charcol containers were unhooked when i got it so i ripped them out and put a big vacuum cap on the line where they were plumbed into the carb

the only emmisions type thing i have is the pcv is still hooked up. loosing the 20 year old power robbing smog garbage really woke the truck up.

 

hey thanks, i think i will probably put the edelbrock stuff on and then start work on the exhaust, i definitely dont want cats since i plan on putting flame throwers on sometime in the future

 

I have acquired a 1986 F150 4X4 5.8L I have removed the air pump and everything else that looked like it was related to emissions control on this engine- what an amazing difference in this old girl!
My question now though- being new to all this- is does the removal of all this junk change the tune up specs on the motor? Does timing stay where specified?
ANY guidance on after emissions removal would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

Taking the emissions off changes everything about the tuning and tune up specs. It's hard to get it to run correctly if you try to keep the original carb, since it's calibrated for all the emissions to be there. If you got rid of the egr, then you might start to get pinging on a hot day during a light pull or cruising the interstate.

You are pretty much on your own, there is no set specs to go by, since everyone modifies and takes the emissions off in different ways. You have to study and know what the emissions stuff did before you took it off, and what it might affect after you take it off.

I bet you also took off the vacuum lines and the hoses going to the aircleaner? You are going to regret this in the winter in Alaska.

I guess you do not have inspections in Alaska?

 

Why, "being new to all this", would you yank all the factory installed equimpment off and then ask what it will do?

Like Dave stated...It's all designed to work together as a system.

 

You also need to have the vacuum reservoir (with an inline check valve) hooked up to the vacuum tree at the back of the intake. The purpose of this reservoir is to store a supply of vacuum for operation of the climate controls. Without this in place, your heater and A/C will divert air only to the floor vents when the engine is pulling low vacuum. Like when climbing a hill, for instance.

The A.I.R. system and the EGR is debatable, but it would be wise to hook the charcoal canister back up. It costs zero horsepower to work, and in addition to being better for the environment, it keeps your truck (and you) from smelling like a gas station. The canisters trap the gas fumes from your gas tank and your carburetor and feeds them back into the engine for burning, much like the PCV valve does for the crankcase.

If you are going to run the stock-style catalytic converters, you need to keep the A.I.R. system and the smog pump working. And if you remove the EGR valve, you are going to have to re-curve the distributor to make up for the difference. In the end, you are not going to notice much, if any, difference. What really "robs power" in these engines is the stock low-compression smog heads, tiny cam, and restrictive exhaust.

I agree with Franklin. Replacing the factory thermostatic air cleaner with an aftermarket open element air cleaner is a BIG mistake. Particularly if you live in a cold climate.

The stock air cleaner is not an emissions device. It is thermostatically-controlled to deliver warm air to your carburetor when it is cold to prevent carburetor icing and engine stalling for improved driveability. It doubles as a cold air intake when the engine is warmed up and the carburetor no longer needs heat. It costs zero horsepower to function and it improves both power and fuel economy. Your Holley open element air cleaner is doing nothing but sitting there and drawing in hot, underhood air.

I totally agree. It is very foolish to remove equipment from your engine if you don't even know what it does.

And this attitude is what gives older carbureted vehicles a bad name. Everyone accepts the fact that if you take components off a modern fuel injected engine, it will not run correctly. Yet, with older carbureted vehicles, so many people feel that they can simply remove components and "smog junk" at will, and actually expect their vehicle to run "better." I have found that a carbureted vehicle can run just as well and be just as reliable as any modern fuel injected vehicle, PROVIDED all of the necessary components are hooked up and working correctly.

 

EDITED: Never mind, I misread something. :P

But as far as the emissions equipment goes, the AIR pump and the EGR aren't crap. Hooked up to the motor and the motor properly tuned, the EGR works when cruising, cuts off when you slam your foot to the floor, and the AIR pump takes so little effort to turn it's not worth unhooking. It doesn't rob power either, and is there for a purpose.

If you undo all of the emissions equipment, prepare to re-curve the distributor and reset your initial timing and a myriad of other tuning to be done. Just "slapping on" a new 4bbl carb and intake does not a hot rod make.

 

I agree with everything that has been said by the previous 4 posts.

To add to that, the only way any sort of "amazing difference" will be detected is if something was wrong beforehand, e.g. an EGR valve stuck open or a catalytic converter that's plugged up. When all this "power-robbing smog junk" is working properly, you can't tell it's there.

The performance problems of which engines of this era suffer are more caused by low compression and retarded cam timing than anything else.

 

Idaho,
While you may not need the cats to pass emissions inspections, if your vehicle came with cats originally, federal regulations require them if you plan to use public roads. Chances of getting caught are slim, but the penalties are high, and the lawyer fees to fight them, even higher. Get a good high flow cat, and be legal.

As far as pulling all of the emissions stuff out and it running better, these trucks run just fine when everything is working properly. Pulling stuff out, and then trying to piece it back together is not likely to improve performance. It will seem like it runs better, only because you were down 3 notches and brought it up 2. It's better, but still less than it would be if it were new.

If you really want to improve the performance, think new heads and cam, and then some headers. That's where your performance gains will be made.

 

1Oldman,
The airpump you removed added air to the exhaust stream - it allows the cats to function efficiently. It turns so easily, it takes nothing from the performance of the truck. As far as tuning this highly modified engine, you're in test pilot territory. As the others said, this was designed as an integrated system. Removal of one or multiple components WILL affect the functioning of the rest of the system.

Let's face it, if you're not sure how this thing works, you should probably do a lot of homework first, so that you do have an idea of what things do and what the consequences of changing that part will be before grabbing a wrench.

Good luck with your project.