LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

Air pump for engine important/affect performance?!!?

Old Jan 23, 2006 | 03:49 PM
  #1  
Camaro94SS's Avatar
Thread Starter
TECH Apprentice
 
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 366
Likes: 0
Exclamation Air pump for engine important/affect performance?!!?

The people at the dealer said the Air pump is important to the engine run condition and they said the air pump helps push the exhaust out of the pipes,and not having one can faulty your 02 sensors....i thought the Air pump was just used to heat up the cat. converters and that the air pump wasnt neccessary as far as the engines performance, the dealer seems to claim completely different and says i NEED an airpump...it is going to cost around 350$.....PLEASE HELP ME A.S.A.P.!!!! I need to know if the air pump will faulty the 02 sensors and/or affect my engines performance in any way!! Thank you everyone!
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2006 | 04:14 PM
  #2  
Chris 96 WS6's Avatar
TECH Apprentice
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 385
Likes: 0
From: Nashville, TN
Default

The people at the dealers are idiots.

The AIR pump only runs for about 1 minute at cold start up. For the rest of the time it doesn't do anything. Its only purpose is to supply extra oxygen in the exhaust so the catalytic converter(s) heat up to operating temperature faster.

It has no benefit to the O2 sensors.
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2006 | 04:16 PM
  #3  
95 TA - The Beast's Avatar
TECH Regular
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 412
Likes: 0
Default

The dealer is full of **** and just trying to make money off of you...

To clarify it *IS* important to lower emissions during a cold-start and allows the cat to 'light-off' quicker, but it is not necessary AT ALL for the running condition of the motor itself... In that he is giving you a line of BS...

Hell, if you really need and want a new airpump, I have 4 used ones sitting around on a shelf in the garage, a couple with less than 20k miles on them... Send me $30 and I'll ship ya one...
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2006 | 07:15 PM
  #4  
curlyws6's Avatar
On The Tree
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 177
Likes: 0
From: Eastern NC
Default

Ditch it alland save the money for performance mods.... if your AIR pump does what mine did, a new one will crap out in no time and you'll be doing it again.
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2006 | 07:56 PM
  #5  
Dragframe's Avatar
9 Second Club
15 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
iTrader: (14)
 
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,336
Likes: 67
From: wyoming @ 12000 DA...
Default

lol.. i dont even know where the damn air pump is on the motor.. lol.. i haven't taken much look at under the hood of the car... I will get rid of it to have a lil less **** under my hood when i have time.
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2006 | 09:53 PM
  #6  
matt94z's Avatar
11 Second Club
20 Year Member
Photogenic
iTrader: (49)
 
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,475
Likes: 1
From: Munfordville KY
Default

The air pump is useless. Most don't even work anyway. Take it off and save yourself a few pounds.
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2006 | 09:54 PM
  #7  
infinitebird's Avatar
TECH Veteran
20 Year Member
Liked
iTrader: (11)
 
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,280
Likes: 51
From: Denver, CO
Default

Originally Posted by Dragframe
lol.. i dont even know where the damn air pump is on the motor.. lol.. i haven't taken much look at under the hood of the car... I will get rid of it to have a lil less **** under my hood when i have time.
It's on the lower left, under the alt.
Reply
Old Jan 28, 2006 | 11:33 AM
  #8  
cuda_dude's Avatar
Teching In
 
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Default

Originally Posted by infinitebird
It's on the lower left, under the alt.
I thought it was on the drivers side front, under the intake.....
Reply
LS1 Tech Stories

The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time

story-0

Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph

 Verdad Gallardo
story-1

Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-2

Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!

 
story-3

Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP

 Verdad Gallardo
story-4

Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes

 Verdad Gallardo
story-5

Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power

 Verdad Gallardo
story-6

10 Camaros You Should Never Buy

 
story-7

10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die

 Verdad Gallardo
story-8

Five Reasons the Camaro Was the Most Pivotal Player in the Pony Car Wars 2.0

 Brett Foote
story-9

10 Reasons the LS7 Is GM's Most Extreme Naturally Aspirated V8 Engine Ever

 Verdad Gallardo
Old Jan 28, 2006 | 01:59 PM
  #9  
96capricemgr's Avatar
11 Second Club
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,975
Likes: 15
Default

http://www.impalassforum.com/tech/en...p/air_pump.htm

Now technically this only applies to the b-bodies but it is VERY much the same engine and management system. Without the AIR and reprogramming to delete it the cats and O2s might suffer slightly sooner death. As noted the AIR runs at startup and actually at WOT times when the AFR is rich and the O2s are being ignored by the pcm, the fresh air it provides can keep the exhaust burning so it does not foul the cats and O2s. Really not a big deal though. That TSB ignores the 94 b-body because they were out of warranty but the time GM jumped through the hoops to do this so they didn't care. They did this to get out of the warranty work on the 95-6 cars with failing AIR system still under the extended emmisions warranty.
Reply


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:46 PM.

story-0
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph

Slideshow: A modern Camaro transformed into a retro icon, this limited-run "Bandit" build blends nostalgia with brute force in a way few revivals manage.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-21 13:57:02


VIEW MORE
story-1
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked

Slideshow: Cadillac didn't just crash the high-performance luxury vehicle party, it showed up loud, supercharged, and occasionally a little unhinged...

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-04-16 10:05:15


VIEW MORE
story-2
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!

Slideshow: Top ten most powerful Chevy trucks ever made

By | 2026-03-25 09:22:26


VIEW MORE
story-3
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP

Slideshow: Hennessey has turned the Silverado ZR2 into a 700-hp off-road monster with supercharged V8 power and a limited production run.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-24 18:57:52


VIEW MORE
story-4
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes

Slideshow: A one-off sports car that looks like a vintage Italian exotic-but hides a C6 Corvette underneath-just sold for the price of a new mid-engine Corvette.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-23 18:53:41


VIEW MORE
story-5
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power

Slideshow: A heavily reworked 1972 K5 Blazer swaps its off-road roots for a low-slung street-focused build with modern V8 power.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-09 18:08:45


VIEW MORE
story-6
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy

Slideshow: There are thousands of used Camaros on the market but we think you should avoid these 10

By | 2026-02-17 17:09:30


VIEW MORE
story-7
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die

Slideshows: Which one of these myths do you believe?

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-01-28 18:10:11


VIEW MORE
story-8
Five Reasons the Camaro Was the Most Pivotal Player in the Pony Car Wars 2.0

The world was a better place when it was still around.

By Brett Foote | 2026-01-23 09:20:37


VIEW MORE
story-9
10 Reasons the LS7 Is GM's Most Extreme Naturally Aspirated V8 Engine Ever

Slideshow: The 7.0-liter LS7 was designed for absolute cutting-edge performance.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-01-07 18:36:00


VIEW MORE