EGR - Would anyone want it?

[broncr]

'Sorry to hijack the thread, but...

I see you're from here in Colorado... have you heard anything new about the (possible) upcoming changes in the emmisions testing program?
My 300 has passed the test repeatedly, usually at about 1/2 the limits.

One disturbing thing I've noticed is that the "limits" keep DROPPING! I have all of my old test results ( we're supposed to keep them in the vehicle) and I've noticed that, over the years, they've expected my engine to burn cleaner as it continues to get older. They're apparently trying to legislate it off the roads.

I've looked into switching the Bronco to a Farm Truck designation, which it appears I can do because I have a beekeeping side business. That would exempt it from the CURRENT emmisions testing, but I'm concerned that the proposed changes might make the effort "all for naught".

broncr

 

[Anonymous]

i saw on some muscle car site some info, that wasnt too well explained, about a Cuda that couldnt pass air care and so they put a fuel cell in the trunk and ran it that way for air care (at least thats how i understood it, but looking at the pics it had a big engine under the hood and a fuel cell in the trunk.)

heres the link if u want to check it out.

http://www.sdweb.com/musclecars/73cuda.htm

 

[Anonymous]

Trueslayer: you're right about the changes, and will see a power increase. The one thing that will help considerably is switching from NO vacuum on the distributor advance to using Port Vacuum, but you probably won't pass emissions if you do. When the engine decelerates or accelerates with port vacuum, the advance jumps up (more on accel than decel, and sometimes not at all on decel, depending on where the spark port is located in the carb). When the advance jumps up, so do the hydrocarbons, faster than the cat can respond. You get these 'spikes' of hydrocarbons in the test, which might not pass.

Broncr: yeah, the Colorado politics of air. The limits for my 1979 Fairmont/T-Bird are now equal to those that USED to be called 1988 limits. This happened last year! I got so tired of trying to make sense out of it that I'm converting all my vehicles to the 5-year license plates as of this year. Then you can buy plates for 5-years at a time and you don't have to go for emissions tests anymore: they call it a 'classic'. The only test you must still pass is the 'visible smoke' test: you can be pulled over, ticketed and forced to go to emissions testing if they see you smoking down the street. I keep mine in good condition, anyway, so it fits the image of the 'classic' license plates you get for 5-year plates. I've been told that if your car is just a total wreck that they won't grant it 'classic' status, but so long as it doesn't smoke, I've never seen anyone get turned down. Just tell the guy at the emissions station (when your car is 25 years old or older) that you are going for the 5-year plates. They have a special 'finalized' test they run, which is the last test that goes into the state's log for that car.

 

[Anonymous]

i just changed my vacuume advance to the manifold and i definitely like it more! so when i need to test my emmisions again i can just swich back to no vacuum and the "spikes" of hydrocarbons will dissappear?

 

[broncr]

Broncr: yeah,... I'm converting all my vehicles to the 5-year license plates as of this year.... (when your car is 25 years old or older)... They have a special 'finalized' test they run, which is the last test that goes into the state's log for that car.

I'll probably do that in 3 years, when the ('82) 'lil mule hits the big two-five, but for now, she's going back to the farm.

Got my vin-verification "status:truck/utility" done yesterday - $9 & 2 minutes. Now I just need a certified weight ticket & they'll re-title & give me those lovely ( if you're a Packer fan) Green & Yellow tags.

Thanks, the hijack is over...

broncr

 

[Anonymous]

with my vac advance hooked up to the manifold i get a quiker off the line responce and i accelerate just as fast, but the engine actually feels more sluggish than when i have no vac advance, is this more noticeable because of my stock components (exhaust, 1bbl carb) restricting the extra amount of flow that i should be getting?

I wanted to see just how much better off the line it was and i ended up spinning my tires for about 3-4 ft. ( clear across the 4 way intersection and the ground was mildly wet) my car before i could never get more than just a chirp (and thats also on the mildly wet gount), im begining to wonder if the mechanic did just a bit more than a stock rebuild on the engine!

 

[Anonymous]

Broncr: good move!

Trueslayer;
Using manifold vacuum is good for MPG if you drive gently, like lots of in-town, below-40 MPH stuff. But, it fades quickly above the 1/8 throttle opening.
If you use spark port vacuum instead, you'll find the same low-end you had before, but it gets stronger in the midrange instead of fading away, as you now describe. It makes little difference at full throttle, but most of the time you're not driving that way, anyway.

If you have the Holley/FoMoCo 1946 carb, the spark port vacuum is the one coming out of the carb on the passenger side, near the bottom of the carb. It's probably hooked into a short piece of rubber hose, then splits in 2 small plastic hoses that go to other places. Look for this connection. The easiest way into this system is to use a short (2" long) piece of rubber hose from the carb's port, into a new tee, then connect one end of the new tee to the distributor and the other back into the original system.

You will have to undo this little tee when testing. The hydrocarbon spikes will go away when you do, just like the power.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks MarkP. yea i do a fair bit of driving below 40 mph so the extra mileage should be nice, any idea how mush metter the mileage would be or would i have to do a test? i have a carter YFA carb but the spark port is still on the passengers side near the bottom but the stock setup never had a tee it was just hooked up directly to the distributer, would i have a tee going from the distributer to the spark port and the manifold or does it go to something else? thanks again for your info guys its greatly appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

Trueslayer;
I have not seen an emission-controlled car that came with spark port vacuum on the distributor. Usually, late 1970 to mid 1980 Fords had a 3-hole thermal valve in the thermostat housing (or on the heater hose from the block) that interrupted the vacuum to the distributor after the engine warmed up. Typically, they had spark port vacuum when very cold, none when in normal temperature, then manifold vacuum when overheated (to help cool it back down). The distributor was hooked to the center hole, the manifold to the top and the spark port to the bottom hole of the valve.

A few only had the manifold vacuum hooked up, to a 2-hole thermal valve. These would supply manifold vacuum only when overheated, to cool it back down. Many V8s had spark port vacuum when cold, then none ever after when warmed up.

I'm not sure how yours was originally connected, but if you go straight from the spark port to the distributor, then you've certainly got it. And, you will get better MPG with any sort of vacuum on the distributor: I get about 1.5 to 2.5 MPG better with spark port and 1 MPG better with manifold vacuum. Manifold vac makes it idle faster, which can be a pain on slippery mornings here in Colorado.

An extra way to get some more MPG is to use the Yellow-grommet Duraspark module. I'm currently experimenting with this on mine: watch the post "Need opinions - I know you've got one" for updates. It can add up to 15 degrees of advance when the engine is lightly loaded, which will NEVER pass emissions, but will definitely improve mileage and acceleration in stop-and-go driving.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks MarkP. I dont even have the thermal valve on this engine, but on the last engine i had a 2 hole thermal valve. it origionally was hooked up to the carbs distributer port and straight to the distributer, but when i took off the hose there was no change in RPM's so i figgured it wasnt doing what it was supposed to, then i switched to the manifold vacuum.