I have a 76 250 s6. A lot of the vacuum lines aren't connected and I'm not sure the ones that are are even right. I was told cutting out all the smog and emissions things (which would remove most of the vacuum lines) would raise horse power AND increase gas mileage. Is this true? Is it better to cut it all out and cap everything vs get it all hooked up right? Any thoughts and tips are appreciated!
Dont just hack em all out...There are a few you need to retain such as Vacuum for transmission modulator....Vacuum for distributor advance mechanism and so on. Get a diagram and go from there...Disconnecting things and not knowing what they are for can make the engine run worse and give you fits...Good luck!!!
Well I was just planning on removing air pump and egr valve, smog pump, and any other emissions devices that wont be necessary. Of course I wont remove anything essential to the car running (like vacuum advance and so forth), I was just thinking I could remove a lot of the clutter and unnecessary lines and devices.
You wont really see any increase in power/MPG but it does free up the engine bay A LOT. Also it's less parts to break down, I removed all of mine as soon as my car became Smog exempt. We don't have any visual inspections here in California either. But it is a Federal crime to remove it Just throwing out that disclaimer in case they're watching.
So besides a complete shop tune-up, is there any way that I can improve horsepower/mpg without spending a ton of money?
With gas prices being the highest in the nation "Chicago area" - I do it lot. "Keep my foot out of it.
And here I thought we had the highest prices Hasn't been less than $4 in my area since last year average is 4.30 for crappy 87.
Word of warning about removing the "Smog pump"...It pumps fresh air into the exhaust in order to heat the catalytic converter so it can do its job. If the converter doesn't get up to temp on a regular basis. It will coke up and your car will eventually, just not run well enough to get out of its own way. If you eliminate the Thermactor system (Smog pump) be sure to eliminate the converter also. Dont hack up systems that are interdependent on each other. You have to eliminate entire systems, not just peices.
