Detoxifier?

[hattymender]

I got a 24G V8 a week or so ago and have just spent a happy evening with a tin of gunk and a stiff brush cleaning 20 years of crud off it.

It's got some extra plumbing that's got me stumped. A 'detoxifyer' system according to the book. Steel pipes from each of the back six exhaust ports running forward to a chamber on each side then to carb inlets.

I guess the clues in the name but what does it do and how does it work? Why the back six ports and not the front two? Is it a good or a bad thing?

Rich

[David Sparkes]

I would guess at secondary air injection, an attempt to clean up the exhaust emissions simply by diluting the toxic gases from the combustion chamber, thus the pipes go FROM the inlet TO the exhaust, not as you suggest, from the exhaust to the inlet. :-)

With that clue, I'll let you read up the manuals. I understand that nowadays the system is junked, possibly with the aid of some blanking plugs.

You might find an air pump somewhere, or it might have gone before you got the engine.

OTOH, I could be wrong :-)

[simonr]

Or it could be a form of EGR - Exhaust Gas Recirculation.

This just allows a certain amount of exhaust in to the inlet where it is burned a second time. The idea is that some of the hydrocarbons un burned in the previous trip might get burned this time.

I believe it works - just not that well.

Si

[Fatboy]

I think David hit the nail on the head. Sounds like Pulsair to me. I believe it was developed specifically to lower the % of harmful emmisions coming out the tailpipe. Works by diluting with fresh air from the inlet. Bit of a cheat really.

Best thing to do is rip it out and put blanking plugs in the holes.