Surprised myself by coming this far in rotary knowledge and I still don't really know what the air pump is for.



Where does the air get pumped to, and why? Will removing it have any noticeable effect?



J

they air pump is used to put fresh air into the exhaust ports between idle-2500/3000rpms (it varies), it um makes it pass smog. if you take it off the only thing that happens is that it will idle a little rich, because the airpump air throws off the o2 sensor, but the ecu is expecting the signal



mike

okay so how does the air get to the exhaust ports then? Because the hose is definitely connected to a thingy (technical term) on the intake manifold . . .



J

it goes in the the acv (thingee) and thru some ports in the block to the exhaust ports



mike

hm, ok, thanks



J

It pumps air https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/smile.png.



Actually, on the 79-80 cars, I believe it pumps air first into the ACV (air control valve) where its then metered out into the thermal reactor which acts as a form of catalytic converter.



On the 81-85 cars, it pumps air first into the ACV, and then is metered out into the catalytic converters. Without the fresh air supply, the cats would fall apart and clog the exhaust. Removing it without removing the cats will significantly decrease the lifespan of your cats.



~T.J.

ding ding ding.We have a wiener. https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...#>/biggrin.png i read that on a wankel site before.Thats one of the things that makes a SA unique.Amongst others. https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/smile.png

The air is pumped into the exhaust either right at the header or at the catalytic converter under most operating conditions. The air helps complete the combustion of hydrocarbons coming from incomplete burning of fuel in the engine. The rotary is a pretty dirty engine and puts out a lot of hydrocarbons.



If you disconnect your air pump the catalytic converters will not function well at all and will run a lot cooler. There is a temperature sensor on the main catalytic converter that detects when it is overheating. If this occurs then the air control valve (ACV) directs the air pump air back to the air cleaner lowering the temperature of the catalytic converter.



I do not think that the life of the catalytic converter will be affected if the pump is disconnected but it also will not be doing much cleaning of the exhaust either.



Hope this helps.

it rarely meters it into the cats directly, thats an evil forum myth



mike

OK, so it won't provide any gain to remove?



I have a full dual exhaust and an intake kit. I just have a little filter on the pump, but was thinking of removing it altogether...