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no air pump, bad for the cat conv?

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tweety

tweety

Jedi Trainee
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I finally got my 79 midget to pass smog, it took a new exhaust manifold and a catalytic converter. It went from a "gross polluter" to cleaner than most cars on the road.

Problem is.... it's a slug!

I removed the belt that drives the air pump in hopes of regaining some power... I got some power back.

<span style="color: #FF0000">I just want to be sure that this will not hurt my new catalytic converter. My hunch is that it will not, but I want to be sure.</span>
 
I think it will allow extra HC to saturate the catalytic converter and shorten it's life. But I'm just guessing.

Is the catalytic converter welded in or clamped in?
 
The air pump helps burn non-combusted hydrocarbons leaving the exhaust thus also providing a bit of a hotter exhaust for the converter. Converters like to run hot. I don't think removing the pump will give you much more performance. Except that you don't drive the pump all the time. A bit of timing or mixture might help a bit, but I would suggest having the pump back on if you were to do that. Otherwise it really might hurt the converter. I guess that's the breaks living in So Cal. I'll trade riding my bicycle in the cold, dark, wind and rain anytime for driving a sluggish car in the warmer climate there.
 
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