Smog Pump

[Guest deathtrap]

My smog pump or what I think is a smog pump is completely coroded the bottom is rusted out and where the hose connects to it is rusted off as well. The small paper filter inside it is full of rust and particles and is black, and falling apart, there is not much left to it. I can here it putter and make the noise of it trying to either push air through or suck it out. I am wondering if I need this, I haven't seen the part anywhere. Has anyone had this problem??? It is mounted on the drivers side fender towards the front. Behind the headlight and vapor canister. Can I remove it completely and connect the two hoses, or will this create more problems??? Thanks for help in advance , I figured if anyone would know you guys would.

 

88 Nissan Pathfinder 220,000 miles

Have owned since last winter and never did anything to it till now, just changed oil and filter(blackest oil I have ever seen).

New spark plugs and wires, cleaned MAF, new air and fuel filter.

Have never done anything to the transmission, but top it off with Dexron III, local shop is having a special on transmission service for $49.95 do you guys think it will help??

Can you guys think of any other small things I can do to it, that I could handle myself. Other regular maintenance?

My ignition module is coroded and cracking and the part that connects to the ignition module is cracked and coroded out to(that the spark plug wire connects to from the distributor). Should I be concerned about this it still starts fine?

Thanks again, for any knowledge you can lend.

[Guest deathtrap]

Here are some photo's from of the description.

Smog Pump

Another shot

Ignition coil?

Edited October 25, 2005 by deathtrap

[Guest deathtrap]

Are the pictures showing up?

[SC88Pathy]

Yea I see pictures. And all I can say is that I'm glad I live in California.

I do believe that is an ignition coil. Hmm not exactly sure what that is. I'll take a look at mine and figure out what it is. (looks like it's right in front of washer fluid container right?)

[Guest deathtrap]

Yeah it's in front of the washer fluid container and vapor canister, in front of the headlight on the drivers side fender, and the ignition coil it's the spark plug wire that comes from the distributor.

Edited October 26, 2005 by deathtrap

[madhatter_xe]

That is your AIV assembly...mine was all corroded and stuff back in the day, I thought it was causing problems. Paid like $150 for a used one and it changed nothing...turned out to be plug wires. Anyways, I'm not completly sure what it does, but I think I recall 88 saying he removed the whole assembly and it didn't change anything.

 

But I also found this on the web, it gets confusing and unless you care about how the whole system works skip down to where it talks about the AIV:

The lambda sensor, or O2 sensor, measures the oxygen in the exhaust of your engine. It then sends a signal to the ECU to regulate the fuel mixture to an "ideal" stoichmetric 14.7:1 ratio to be delivered to your engine. When it isn't properly working, you may experience bad gas mileage, a rough idle, or the engine dying when stopped. If it is in closed loop, the O2 sensor usually lies between 0 and 1 volt with a higher voltage suggesting a rich mixture (little oxygen in the exhaust) and a lower voltage, a lean mixture. It should oscillate between 0.1v and 0.9v 1-2 times per second at idle and 4-5 times per second while revving or driving. This cycling occurs because the sensor is sending different pulse widths to the ECU adjusting the air fuel ratio, allowing the cat to reduce the emissions blowing out your tailpipe. A cat is around 60-90% efficient meaning it cuts emissions by 60-90%. Too rich a mixture can damage your cat, a typical reason for failing smog tests. Some Nissans are in open loop at idle and will register as either lean or rich with a higher or lower idle mixture value. Cars with an AIV system run rich at idle by providing extra fuel to keep the cat operating efficiently. Nissan discontinued the AIV system on cars made after 1993. Without the AIV system, the car to runs lean and the voltage will not fluctuate at idle, such as how you described on your car. The 1999+ cars are in closed loop at idle.

Edited October 26, 2005 by madhatter_xe