What component sends unused gas back to the intake on a Ford 5.0 EFI and is it belt driven??

I own an 87' mecury cougar XR7...I'm not sure that "gas recirculation" is what it's for...on that particular car it is located under the altenator....anyways yesterday the pully on that component locked up and now it's trying to smoke of my serpentine belt... I need a little help...I know it isn't the water pump, altenator, A/C compressor, or the Harmonial balance. The part in question has a little air modulator valve attactched to it with a little plastic vacum line with runs up to the passenger side of the firewall and connects to a box. I just for the life of me can't figure out what is or what it is for I am braindead when it comes to an automobile, however, every verbal or written instruction I have ever received in regards to repair, I have had no problem following. So if you happened to own one of these cars back in the day ( I was 3), or just simply know your way around a FORD, PLEASE, read this twice before you leave it unanswered.|||it is called the air recirculation pump|||It's called EGR(Exhaust Gas Recirculation). At a certain RPM, some burnt gases are returned at the combustion chamber to be burned again to reduce smoke emissions.|||its the air injection pump .. it pumps air in to the exhaust to help burn the left over fuel in the cat... they make a kit that you can remove it and replace it with a pulley as long as you don't have a smog test every year..|||That is an Air Pump to shoot fresh air in the Catalytic Converter to burn the exhaust gases. They were more in to the California models but some other places in the USA they had them. Is part of the smog system in the engine. It will fail the Smog Check if you remove it.





The car ran a bit rich and that extra fuel was burned in the cat. The benefits were that you can run the car with cheaper gas since the rich mix will not ignite too quick causing a pre-detonation. Also the extra Hydrocarbons reacted with the pellets in the Catalytic Converter and burned with that extra shot of air.





Cars now these days does not have them, or if they do, I have not seen one in a very long time.