Trying to identify an engine part

[barmanvarn]

Was looking at my Dad's old '69 GMC C15. In-line 6, 230 or 250 (not sure).

There is a mechanism with a pulley mounted above the alternator. It's not a power steering pump and my dad say he removed the belt that ran to it a LONG time ago.

Was just wondering what this could be. Will dig up a picture if needed.

thanks

[undertaker72]

does the truck have air , or California emmisions , could have ben for one of those , but a picture will help

[barmanvarn]

No air. I still remember when my mom gave him $50 to get air installed as I think that was the going rate at the time. (He never did it.) LOL

We're in AR and it was built in St. Louis, so I want to say "no" on the CA emissions but honestly have no clue.

Here's a pic. You can see the pulley with no belt on it.

[undertaker72]

that is a air pump , it has emission components on it

[barmanvarn]

Originally Posted by undertaker72

that is a air pump , it has emission components on it

Ah, ok. Thanks!

Now I need to figure out what to do with it. Already had the conversation with my Dad where he said "I removed the belt a long time ago and the engine ran fine." I told him that doesn't mean he should do it. So I came here for ammunition.

Is there a general consensus on this thing? A lot of pics I've seen had a power steering pump (I think) in this location.

Do most people remove this thing completely or is my Dad nuts and I need to get a belt for it?

[tcrist]

If the belt has been off for a long time the pump could be frozen up and no good anyway. Removing it completely will do no harm at all.

You will just need to plug the holes where the tubes are installed in the exhaust manifold.

[barmanvarn]

Originally Posted by tcrist

If the belt has been off for a long time the pump could be frozen up and no good anyway. Removing it completely will do no harm at all.

You will just need to plug the holes where the tubes are installed in the exhaust manifold.

Good to know. :thumb:

From the description is sounds like something that would feed exhaust back into the engine in an attempt to burn more of it before it makes it out the exhaust. Am I close in my assumption?

I figured if I can remove it, it'll be one less thing under the hood to worry about.

[slikside]

What are the smog requirements in Arkansas for a '69 model year vehicle?? If you don't need to smog it, you don't need to run that pump. In fact, if you don't need to run it, it doesn't need to be there. Nothing to be concerned about IMO.

I have a California 350 V-8 that came with the same type of pump. But in CA, you don't have to smog a vehicle older than '75 (I think it is?). So I removed the pump, manifolds, etc.. I kept all of it, cuz it's all OE, but I've never looked back. It's one less component to run, maintain, etc... Better mileage, less power drag... you name it.

[slikside]

Originally Posted by barmanvarn

Good to know. :thumb:

From the description is sounds like something that would feed exhaust back into the engine in an attempt to burn more of it before it makes it out the exhaust. Am I close in my assumption?

I figured if I can remove it, it'll be one less thing under the hood to worry about.

That's it...you got it!

[barmanvarn]

Originally Posted by slikside

What are the smog requirements in Arkansas for a '69 model year vehicle?? If you don't need to smog it, you don't need to run that pump. In fact, if you don't need to run it, it doesn't need to be there. Nothing to be concerned about IMO.

I have a California 350 V-8 that came with the same type of pump. But in CA, you don't have to smog a vehicle older than '75 (I think it is?). So I removed the pump, manifolds, etc.. I kept all of it, cuz it's all OE, but I've never looked back. It's one less component to run, maintain, etc... Better mileage, less power drag... you name it.

As bad as it may sounds, they stopped vehicle inspection in AR sometime around 1990. I definitely plan to remove it completely at this point. Less crap to worry about under the hood. :0

thanks!

[barmanvarn]

Originally Posted by slikside

That's it...you got it!

Woohoo! One less question rattling around in my brain.

[slikside]

Originally Posted by barmanvarn

As bad as it may sounds, they stopped vehicle inspection in AR sometime around 1990. I definitely plan to remove it completely at this point. Less crap to worry about under the hood. :0

thanks!

Doesn't sound bad to me, I just didn't want to presume what the smog requirements were in the Great State of Arkansas.

[barmanvarn]

Originally Posted by slikside

Doesn't sound bad to me, I just didn't want to presume what the smog requirements were in the Great State of Arkansas.

Well, with some of the heaps I see on the road, I sometimes wish we still had inspections here. I also think everyone should have to take a driving test every 5 or so years, but I'll save that rant for another day.

[barmanvarn]

I was working on the truck today and took a closer look at this emissions "thing".

Look like the rubber hose runs into a tube rail that then runs into each of the cylinders. So removing it won't be as easy as I had initially planned.

Ideally I'd like to remove the piece w/ the pulley as well as the tube rail, but would then need to plug all of the cylinder ports.

Hopefully someone on here has already tackled this. Sadly, I seem to have the bad luck of always trying stuff that no one else has done. LOL

[snipescastle2]

I'd hold onto those pieces if I were you, someone might be looking for them for a restoration project, don't know what they are worth, but might mean the world to someone looking for them...
Good Luck!
Ben

[barmanvarn]

Originally Posted by snipescastle2

I'd hold onto those pieces if I were you, someone might be looking for them for a restoration project, don't know what they are worth, but might mean the world to someone looking for them...
Good Luck!
Ben

I'll certainly hold on to it for the time being. I did find that most refer to it as a smog pump. Once I found that out, I did find other threads where people have removed it and plugged the holes going into the head. Hopefully I can remove it soon.

Ideally I'd love to pull the entire engine to clean the sucker but for now I'm just trying to remove whatever I can so that I can slowly work to remove all the grease and grime that has built up.

[tcrist]

Not sure how it is everywhere else but the California smog law is that even though you do not have to have a smog check on the older vehicles, you are still required to have the smog equipment on the vehicle and in working order.

If you get stopped and they for some reason are looking for more to write you up on then they "COULD" write you up or even confiscate your vehicle for removing/tampering with the smog equipment.

Not saying that they would actually confiscate your vehicle, but they could.

[barmanvarn]

Originally Posted by tcrist

Not sure how it is everywhere else but the California smog law is that even though you do not have to have a smog check on the older vehicles, you are still required to have the smog equipment on the vehicle and in working order.

If you get stopped and they for some reason are looking for more to write you up on then they "COULD" write you up or even confiscate your vehicle for removing/tampering with the smog equipment.

Not saying that they would actually confiscate your vehicle, but they could.

I hear ya and appreciate the advise/concern.

In AR they don't do vehicle inspections anymore so I'm in the clear. That doesn't mean I'm going to run around w/ no cat or muffler, but removing this thing shouldn't be an issue.

[slikside]

Originally Posted by barmanvarn

I was working on the truck today and took a closer look at this emissions "thing".

Look like the rubber hose runs into a tube rail that then runs into each of the cylinders. So removing it won't be as easy as I had initially planned.

Ideally I'd like to remove the piece w/ the pulley as well as the tube rail, but would then need to plug all of the cylinder ports.

Hopefully someone on here has already tackled this. Sadly, I seem to have the bad luck of always trying stuff that no one else has done. LOL

Mine is a 350 V8, but I'm thinking for this thing it shouldn't be that much different. I remove the manifolds, as well a the pump with pulley, and the bracket it attached to.

Getting the AIR manifold off the exhaust manifold was by far the hardest part. Soak those nuts with a penetrating oil a day or two before you plan to start. Work then delicately, or you might destroy them getting them out. That may or may not be a big deal for you. I wound up having to use heat. A torch to the exhaust manifold "bosses" where the AIR manifolds screwed in. The combination of penetrating oil, and then heat worked really well.

The rest of the removal was a non-issue.

Originally Posted by snipescastle2

I'd hold onto those pieces if I were you, someone might be looking for them for a restoration project, don't know what they are worth, but might mean the world to someone looking for them...
Good Luck!
Ben

Absolutely. I did this as well.

Originally Posted by tcrist

Not sure how it is everywhere else but the California smog law is that even though you do not have to have a smog check on the older vehicles, you are still required to have the smog equipment on the vehicle and in working order.

If you get stopped and they for some reason are looking for more to write you up on then they "COULD" write you up or even confiscate your vehicle for removing/tampering with the smog equipment.

Not saying that they would actually confiscate your vehicle, but they could.

Didn't know that! But now that I think about it, it makes sense. No way the state of Kalifornia would endorse the removal of the equipment, even if they were no longer going to "check" them every other year.

I'm going to take my chances and leave it all in the box though. Everything works so much better now!

The Air Resources Board doesn't have any black helicopters, do they??

[barmanvarn]

Since the vehicle as sat for 12+ years, every time I've been under the hood lately, I've been soaking everything in sight w/ PB Blaster. LOL

Thanks for the advice on removal. I haven't done an in-depth look at all the things I need to remove as I'm still in a slow process of removing gunk off the engine so right now it's hard to tell where all of the connecting pieces reside.

Right now every time I go down I bring back a rusty wheel and slightly used tire so that when I go back and can mount it on the truck (as all the existing tires have dry rotted).

[RichardJ]

Unlike v8 engines, the inline 6 smog tubes are in the head. They reach in more than an inch and you have to loosen all 6 nuts at the same time. I don't remember the size, but a tapered thread plug like below should be easy to find at any flaps.

It doesn't sound like smog testing will be an issue, so you can clean up the unused AIR pump and make room for a much more useful power steering pump.

[barmanvarn]

Originally Posted by RichardJ

Unlike v8 engines, the inline 6 smog tubes are in the head. They reach in more than an inch and you have to loosen all 6 nuts at the same time. I don't remember the size, but a tapered thread plug like below should be easy to find at any flaps.

It doesn't sound like smog testing will be an issue, so you can clean up the unused AIR pump and make room for a much more useful power steering pump.

Thanks! Hopefull I can get it removed soon, freeing up more space to clean off the engine. I hate clutter and I HATE a mess. LOL

Power steering is certainly on the list, but it'll be quite some time before I get that far into the project. (Along w/ a disc brake conversion)

Which reminds me of another issue....right now the brake pedal goes to the floor so the truck has zero braking (not important right now as the engine doesn't run). We topped off the reservoir. Will have to research that at a later date.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by barmanvarn

From the description is sounds like something that would feed exhaust back into the engine in an attempt to burn more of it before it makes it out the exhaust. Am I close in my assumption?

I'm late to this thread, somehow missed it until now. Sounds like you got the info you were looking for. But since this question wasn't answered (not that it matters now ) I'll take a stab at it.

That pump has nothing to do with exhaust gas recirculation. What it did was inject fresh air into the exhaust manifolds in an attempt to reduce emissions. Back in the day, a lot of them were disconnected and/or thrown away. As mentioned above, if they haven't been used in a long time they would probably freeze up.

[barmanvarn]

Originally Posted by Stocker

I'm late to this thread, somehow missed it until now. Sounds like you got the info you were looking for. But since this question wasn't answered (not that it matters now ) I'll take a stab at it.

That pump has nothing to do with exhaust gas recirculation. What it did was inject fresh air into the exhaust manifolds in an attempt to reduce emissions. Back in the day, a lot of them were disconnected and/or thrown away. As mentioned above, if they haven't been used in a long time they would probably freeze up.

Good info. Looking forward to getting it off and out of my way so I can do more cleaning.

I did manage to remove the valve cover and at least get it all cleaned up. Wanted so bad to paint it put didn't have time and had to reinstall it.

[barmanvarn]

Just an update....

Got the air/smog pump removed a few weeks ago and capped off the rail that went to the block.

Today I was finally able to remove the rail and now just need to pick up the plugs this week to fill in the 6 holes. So glad to have that crap out of the way.