I've done a bit of reading on the "proper" way to delete the Sai system, but havnt seen much about the effects of the "improper" approach.

I don't have inspections in my state and noone in a four state area that is in to four wheel drive vehicles gives a damn about emissions systems so resale isn't a problem either.

My question: if I rip all the hardware out and plug the holes in the head, besides a warning light, are there any effects such as the computer not being able to tune properly?

Also, it's my understanding that thre computer only checks for load on a certain component, has anyone simply tricked the computer to avoid the warning light?

 

Its good that you have no inspection in your state. As for tricking the warning light, its difficult enough to get everything correct with all proper parts installed in this truck and you still get all sorts of codes. Im sure you can plug it and it will still run but effects could be like running 6 miles per gallon.

 

That's what's I'm trying to determine. On an older vehicle with Sai, the computer doesn't monitor or tune based on the Sai functioning or not functioning (at least in the case of American vehicles) so I would hope that this would be the same case but yeah... British... complicated... for emissions.... I.e. no reason

 

If you wanted to be halfway legit about it, get a different ECU from a 2001,02 D2 that is non-SAI.

 

Yeah, not going that route. Just put a new computer set in and if Ill be damned if I'm reaching under that dash one more time..

 

My truck doesn't have SAI but I have used SAI heads on it and plugging them is simple. As I understand it, SAI is only used at startup when the coolant is at a low temperature, and it is emissions BS--an unnecessary complication and expense when it goes awry. If you don't care about the dash lights I don't think it will make any difference.

 

What method did you use to plug the heads? Pinch the tubing and weld the end?

 

Cut off the corrugated pipes, use the threaded fitting with a copper, aluminum, or brass slug and tighten into the pipes coming out of the heads.

 

I like Abran's theory better. I just cut the pipes and filed them with welding material. Took a full stick each. I did that because I couldn't find the right size plug.

The only problem with the original ends is that they are just large enough to block access to the adjacent head bolts without a tricky socket extension. But the are soft (brass?) and can be beaten out of the way.

Then I found the right size plugs that had been put on from the factory on a spare set of heads, and were just sitting in my garage. Sigh.

 

I have first hand experience with plugging the SAI ports, sort of.

I did a head gasket job on my truck just over 60k miles ago. Got the heads off and took the to a trusted machine shop to have them decked, cleaned and valve job. When I got them back I noticed some epoxy in the SAI ports. Now when I took the heads off there was no evidence of the truck being equipped with SAI. I asked the guys at the shop about it and they showed me a port on the other head that they had blasted some of the epoxy out of and there was a freeze plug jammed in the port. At this point I was freaking out thinking I was going to have to buy a new set of heads. These old timers assured me that although it certainly wasn't the best way to deal with it ( the best way would be to buy non SAI heads) but if they blasted more exopxy out of the ports and I resealed them with, yes you guessed it, JB WELD that they would be fine. They blasted as much out as they could get, left the freeze plugs in and I filled the ports with JB WELD and let it cure for a week. I installed the heads and never looked back, again it's held for 60k miles. I forgot what kind of JB WELD they told me to use and I think that they gave me a couple of tubes.


I don't know if my truck was originally equipped with SAI and a previous owner deleted it as the only evidence is the ports on the heads and a bracket on the firewall where the SAI pump would bolt on OR if a set of SAI heads were swapped in at some point.

Anyway, after all that. Freeze plugs and JB WELD worked for me. Runs great, no codes.