On my newly acquired 94 f250 7.5 i want to remove the smog/air pump. I am going banks headers with a magnaflow high flow cat & muffler. When I remove the pump do i need to plug the heads like you do on a 5/5.8? If so can I use the same for a 5.0?

 

The air injection system on the heavier trucks is different than the F150/Bronco. You might have a single outlet on the back of each manifold or each manifold may have the spider leg pipes that injects air into each exhaust port. I do not believe the 7.5L engine ever used a port on the back of the heads.

 

rla2005 is correct, on the 7.5L the air injection line from the pump only goes to the catalytic converter.

 

mine injected air into the back of each manifold and it’s a 94

 

On my '94 there's smog injection ports on the back of each manifold and on the converter.

 

see this writeup:
Banks headers, and AIR pump delete project
8
(1987 - 1996 F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks)
: 03-27-2021 by kevinv10

 

As promised, here is the writeup, with pictures on my project. Truck is a 1994 F-250. 460, E4OD, 4 wheel drive.
I understand there are differences between the big and small blocks, on the AIR pump system, I can not speak to the small blocks, so this information is only for the 460.

I got the truck with a small exhaust leak. Knew it would need some work, I decided to just pull the heads, install the Banks system, and call it good. Silly me! Ended up pulling the entire motor, bored .030 over, new everything internally, pistons, rings, comp cam, lifters, bearings, etc. This was a long project, but, ended up with a fresh motor, complete Banks headers and exhaust system, and deleted the AIR pump system entirely. I did some reading on here, and did keep the EGR system, with some minor modifications.
The entire AIR pump system CAN be removed. You will need to make accommodations for the air injection at the exhaust manifolds, and catalytic converter, if you keep the original ones. Since I installed a Banks system, I will cover those modifications for the header install.. After removing the AIR pump, and all lines, you do NOT need a replacement idler pulley. You can run a shorter belt. I ran a Gates belt, that I will detail later. After you remove the AIR system, you will be left with an extra vacuum line coming off of your Tab/Tad solenoid. This line can be removed, and a vacuum cap used on the solenoid.

Here is the original cylinder head, you can see the broken studs:



I had the heads rebuild, and broken studs removed. Then went on to rebuild the entire engine. Here is a shot on the stand, with the headers loosely attached:



By using the Banks headers, I did not have to deal with removing and plugging the connections on the exhaust manifolds. But, here is a shot of the drivers side manifold, and the fitting you would need to remove, and block off, passenger side is similar:

Since the Banks headers do have fittings for the AIR system, I needed to block them off. On the passenger side, I made a plate:


On the drivers side header, there are 2 bungs. 1 for the AIR injections system, one for the EGR tube. You can see in the picture, I used a plug to block of where the AIR injection system would attach. Where my thumb is, is where the EGR tube attaches:


Since I deleted my AIR system, I needed to remove the vacuum line that runs from the Tab/Tad solenoids, to the thermactor valve. It is this Pink line on my truck:

I cut the fitting apart, keeping the black line intact. Then used a vacuum cap to plug off the solenoid:


Here is a shot of the motor installed, and headers installed. As you can see, it is a pretty tight fit, but, everything clears:


Overall, the Banks kit is very thorough. The headers, and exhaust were a perfect fit. Many brackets and pieces were top notch, and worked perfectly. The instructions were thorough, and very explanatory. I did not have a single issue with the kit. Only thing I had to add, was the catalytic converter. The kit, as is without the converter, fits perfectly for my application, but, was a bit loud. Adding the converter, gave me a nice mellow sound, and made the environment happy. I ended up using a Magna-Flow 3 inch in and out converter, and cut the supplied exhaust pipe to fit it in. while they are a bit pricey, I believe the quality, and ease of the Banks headers and exhaust kit, was worth the money.

Now, I know you are all anxiously waiting for to address the removal of the AIR system. So, wait no more. As I said earlier, I removed EVERYTHING. The pump, lines to manifolds, to converter, the passenger fender well can, themactor valve, 1 vacuum line, and it has made life easier. Once you remove the pump, a shorter Gates, (or equivalent manufacture) belt, will work. It routes around the alternator, water pump, and crankshaft. This is the one I used, and after a few thousand miles, still no problems:

So, to wrap it all up. Banks headers, rebuilt motor, no AIR system. Again, I did keep the EGR system intact. Don't know if it would make a difference to remove it. But, from everything I read, it is better to keep it.

The final outcome, is a happy motor, little bit more power, nice rumble, tiny, tiny improvement in mileage. And a cleaner looking engine bay.

With Zrt1200 input, here is a you tube link, to the running motor.


Here is a writeup I did. For some reason it is not allowing me to copy and paste the link. So hope this helps.

 

The air injection pump also goes to the exhaust manifolds, through the thermactor system. See the write up above. I have many miles on this mod, no issues at all.

 

Mine is a '90 model and does not have that. I guess the smog regs tightened up and they had to add that later. Sorry for the misinformation.

 

You are the man! Thank you for the amazing detail! I plan on taking the air pump off and will have a shop do the headers for me as I am sure there will be broken bolts. I will make a plate to plug the headers like you did before sending it over. I plan on going a magnaflow 3" muffler as well. The plan is banks headers, ditch air pump crap, delete cat then all new 3" exhaust from headers into the magnaflow muffler like the factory ran.

By chance do you know the plug size for the header?

 

​​​
I want to say 1 inch. But, honestly don't remember for sure. Once you have the headers in hand, a quick trip to the parts store will be all you need. If its in your budget, I would strongly recommend the Banks headers, AND exhaust pipes. Excellent kit, all parts fit factory location, hangers, etc. And you get the snazzy chrome exhaust tip. Lol. I have made several long trips with mine, including towing our 5th wheel. Re-tightened the header bolts twice, as recommended, and absolutely no issue.
Glad the write up helped. Great thing about this site is how many people will pitch in and help you out.

 

What is the thermactor air control solenoid. Im following your instructions on how you did your smog pump delete and im not sure what or where that part is. Any more details or pictures would be greatly appreciated. And just to clarify I can delete the pink vacuum line and cap of the solenoid?

 

I live in an area where there is a visual inspection of emissions (looking for catalysts) as well as a tailpipe sniffer test. I am doing a mass-air/Sequential fuel injection conversion (aka '95-97 CA emissions) conversion to my '95, mainly for the drivability improvement and tunability for minor engine mods - bumping compression ratio to 9.5, mild head bowl blending, mild aftermarket cam. According to the Alldata website (online reference source that ASE-certified mechanics use), the AIR injection is retained for CA emissions, but ONLY for the inlet side of the catalyst - no pipes to the exhaust manifolds. Since no AIR to the manifolds is required, I also am going with a set of headers, but mine are mid-length headers from DNA Motoring, and retaining EGR. Yes, I know some have had issues with DNA header fitment, but we've built headers from scratch for some of our non-standard engine swaps so it is not something we can't tweak to fit. I'll have to weld in O2 sensor bungs into both headers/or downtubes to make the OBD2 computer happy.. Aft from the Y-pipe will be the stock 3" in/out catalyst, 3" pipe to the 3"in/out Magnaplow, and a single 3" tailpipe w/chrome tip.

I don't know -- MAYBE I could get away with a smog pump delete since the OBD2 monitors the exhaust quality better... As far as I can tell, the AIR is supplied to the inlet side of the cat only until the catalyst warms up... It'd be nice to delete the AIR pump bundle of snakes hoses!

 

I'm not sure whose writeup you are following. In mine there is a picture of what is called the "Tab/Tad" solenoids. On my 1994, they are on a bracket on the rear of the drivers side valve cover. And yes on my truck it was a pink line. I removed it from the solenoid and used a rubber cap on the solenoid. Keep both solenoids attached to the wiring harness, and keep your E.G.R. system.

 

The egr system is capped and the Bung on the manifold is welded (that's how I got it) and seems to run alright without it.
93' f350