Quote:
Originally Posted by Christ
Stopping the AIP from spinning is the only viable fuel saving option. Plugging the holes does nothing but cause it to fight itself until it grenades eventually because it's constantly pushing against a dead wall and building internal pressure while the engine is running.
It probably would have been easier instead of changing all that stuff to just get yourself an idler pulley to replace the pump. You can also remove the internals of the pumps on some models, and that just leaves a couple bearings and a shaft to spin inside the housing. Still eats a little power, but it's better than pushing useless air. You can retune the EFI system to keep the cat active easily enough, too.
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The parts I needed were on hand. I had them from a Bronco I had sold. As far as I know, there weren't any aftermarket AIS pump delete kits (idler conversions, etc.) that would work on my application.
The AIS pumps can be gutted quite easily. Pop the end plate off and remove the vanes and it becomes an idler. You still have to block off the hoses though. The exhaust pulses will cause some air to draft through the pump if you don't.
Even when the pump is functional, if it's not moving any air, it's consuming very little power. Because it's a positive displacement pump (and only compressing air to a very low pressure), when the flow path is blocked, any energy expended to compress the air inside the pump is released back to the engine once it has completed it's cycle through the vanes. Same physics GM relies on with their active fuel management V-8 that disable 2 or 4 cylinders (by closing the valves) during cruise. I've done the wood-plug-in-the-hoses trick before and it doesn't seem to affect the life of the pump.