pipe coming out of exhaust mani

Ok so i'm trying to replace my head gasket. There is a pipe coming out of the top of the exhaust manifold, what is it for exactly? I think it is part of the smog equip, I live in a nonemissions state so can I just cut it off? The issue is that it is rusted in so bad that it won't come out. I've soaked it about a hundred times with pb blaster, deep creep, and MMO, and i have bent 2 wrenches, a large crecent wrench, a large pair of vice grips, and a breaker bar. i am running out of tools to bend on this thing... So long story short, can I just cut this thing off and just cap it when I put it all back together?

Hi Hampton123,

The pipe from the air cleaner to the exhaust manifold is ab emission control device. It uses a reed valve to let the exhaust pulses pull air into the exhaust manifold for lower emissions.

Yes you can cut it off. Be sure to leave enough of the pipe above the manifold so you can bend in closed or you will have an exhaust leak.

John

Cool thank you. Eventually I will be getting rid of all the smog equipment, so any info I can get would be greatly appreciated!

I removed mine completely. sized up bolts at auto parts store, plugged'em right up. Make sure to get exact size, and not too long. When you take that pipe off, there will be a set of bolts below it going into the exhaust manifold., remove them and the rods that go into the manifold, Nor drop in the bolts. That's a temp fix for me until I get a header.