A.I.R. Pump Removal on a 1989 Pontiac Formula

Last Tuesday I decided to lift the hood of my car and take a gander. I have been pondering removal of the A.I.R. Pump system for awhile, though hadn't decided to tackle the project quite yet. In fact, my plan for the day was nothing more than breaking the fittings loose, which I anticipated being a chore in itself, then remove the system at a later date.

For those wondering what exactly the A.I.R. Pump is, it is an Air Injection Reactor that pumps air into your exhaust manifolds and to your catalytic convertor to help combust unburned fuel when it reaches the cats. It is essentially part of your emissions package, though I've read more than a few examples of inidividuals passing state emissions testing (not required in Michigan) without the A.I.R. Pump system in place. Me, I'm more concerned about the ease of being able to maintain my vehicle. Plus, since my car is nearly 20 years old now, quickly closing in on antique status, which would disqualify it from having to pass emissions testing even if it were in place. I'll recycle a little more plastic products to make up for it. haha

First, I removed the cover on the black distribution block located on the passenger side and unplugged the two connectors. I then unbolted the block from the A.I.R. pump itself and removed that portion of the system. The A.I.R. Pump itself will remain for the time being, as will the fittings that run down to the cats, both will probably be removed the next time I change the oil and have the car up in the air.

At first look, I only noticed 3 fittings per side, which I found to be odd considering it is an 8 cylinder engine. It wasn't until I freed up the other 6 and began to remove the driver side plumbing that I realized the final two rear fittings are actually on top of the exhaust manifold, as opposed to the side like the rest. I had been down this road before, with my first 89 Firebird I had back in the early 90's. I'd changed plugs and valve seals a few times and quickly grew tired of working around the whole A.I.R. Pump system. Not knowing how the car would function without it, I simply made the decision to remove it and deal with the consequences. Back then, the removal was...well...less professional I guess you could say. :) I simply pushed, pulled, pried, and cut the system out, then allowing me to use sockets to remove the fittings as opposed to wrenches that were rounding them out on first attempt.

This time, I was a little more conscious about saving everything I remove from the car. Not that it'll ever be reinstalled for as long as I own the car (I don't plan on ever selling it), but ya never know when the 100 point restoration guru out there will be in need of such a system 25+ years from now, and that's when I'll part ways with it, not for any large profit, but just to help out the car hobbyist that does things a little differently than I. So after fighting with the top fitting of the passenger side for the better part of an hour, I finally broke it loose. I know damn well I bought a set of crow feet for use with a socket wrench, though I looked everywhere and simply couldn't find them, a sure tell sign that it's time to reorganize my tools.

During removal, I'd occasionally fire up the engine, "just to see what happens." With the rubber hose connecting the two sides removed I was able to determine that the valve that was part of the fittings on each side was a one-way valve. Made since, as allowing exhaust gasses to backfeed would defeat the purpose of the system. I fired the engine one more time, once the fittings were removed, and got the expected result. Exhaust gasses shot out the exposed holes in the manifold exhibiting a blue flame, popping and crackling as well. For whatever reason, I was somewhat entertained by the little spectacle, though one time was enough, no sense in cooking whatever was a bit too close when I removed the passenger side system

After both sides were removed I headed up to a Nut & Bolt shop that was walking distance. It was one of them old school places that have been there 75 years or so and would likely have everything in stock. After coming up short the first visit, I returned after searching the internet to find what others were using to plug the holes. Though not a perfect fit, 1/4" NPT is sufficient enough to do the job. It appears that the fittings are some real oddball size, as I never did run across any info on the net stating the exact size, simply what would get the job done

After installing the allen head plugs, I was ready to call it a day. The A.I.R. pump still pumps air and will continue to do so until it's removal. I must decide whether or not to simply buy a new serpentine belt, reroute it, and deal with the slack, or, purchase the pulley that helps fill the void. Either way, I'm probably not going to tackle that project until my next tune-up, which will be much more extensive this time around.

I've also been pondering removal of my catalytic converters, installation of headers, and a new muffler (or two), as mine is getting quite rusted out and I can hear the gases leaking. I've been trying to determine a few things before taking on the installation. First, whether or not I could replace the cats with a set of bullet type mufflers. Secondly, if by doing so I could run a true dual exhaust to the rear. The problem with these cars comes down to ground clearance, as the passenger side floor board has a hump to make room for the cats, and there is little room to run anything more than a single intermediate pipe to the rear to tie into the rear mounted muffler. I'll have to either search the net, or hit a few local car shows, and find a worthy muffler shop able to mandrel bend a custom exhaust.

Pre-wrenching, I soaked all the fittings numerous times with WD-40.

Here you can see 3 of the 4 driver side lines of the system.

A close-up of the fitting at #2 cylinder.

The passenger side is much more of a clusterfuck, and the real reason why removal of the system makes normal maintenance much easier. The big black box with the two gray ear muffs is part of the system as well, a sort of distribution block.

Here's a closer look at the passenger side fittings, which are much harder to access than their counterparts on the driver side.

The green hoses (covered in dirt) tie into the system and attach to your catalytic converters, in my case, two cats. Seems on of the cats lost it's heat shield along the way.

The rubber hose that ties the two sides together.

I was now able to move the distribution block out of the way to make more room to work.

You must remove the cap to the distribution block so you can access the two electrical plugs that tie the system into your ECM. Though slightly concerned about how the computer would respond, I had no problems when I did the same removal of the system on my first Firebird, though it was a 305 TBI, where as this is a 350 TPI. After 4 days of driving, I've had zero trouble codes pop up, so it seems the ECM is happy.

The two connectors, which I still need to zip-tie someplace out of sight.

The distribution block.

Driver side fittings.


Passenger side with distribution block removed.

Here you can see the plumbing (top) that leads down to the cats.

Driver side fittings removed.

The driver side after removal of the fittings.

Here you can see how tight it is getting to the rear fitting.

I had to "tweek" the passenger side a bit in order to get to the rear fitting. The A/C box made access extremely tight.

Passenger side fittings.

Passenger side with fittings removed.

Finished product. A few pounds lighter, and a helluva lot easier to work on!