YORK OBA for less than $100...
04-15-2011, 12:43 AM
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YORK OBA for less than $100...
An onboard air system is a MUST for anyone that drives their Jeep to the trail, goes wheeling for the day, then drives that same rig home on the highway. When you hit the trail and air down, most people are too nervous to drop their tire pressure to an extremely low pressure due to the fact that they either (A) don't want to pop the bead because they have no way to reseat it, or (B) have to drive a considerable distance on the highway before getting to a gas station to fill up again. Then when said person finally makes it to the gas station, they have to wait for the air because their buddy got to it first, pay a crapload of money to turn the damn thing on, then stand in a kneeling position for the next 3 hours trying to fill up their tires because the compressor being used is so damn slow!
Enter Onboard Air Systems... There is a few different styles one could use:
A cheese-ball cigarette lighter pump will fill you up, but you might be retired before it finishes (if it hasn't overheated and seized by that time).
Then there would be the much better (and much more expensive) hard wired compressors like ViAir. These systems are much better and much more reliable. Some can run air tools, but most are just good for airing up tires. However, they can still be a bit slow. Unless you're going to run the dual compressor units, but those are even more pricey.
There is always the CO2 tanks. They are portable and fast. You can run air tools. You can help a friend. But what happens when the tank runs out? It becomes as useful as a giant empty bottle of beer. I had one of these when they first came out and the closest place I could find to fill it up was over an hour away. Every place I went wanted to trade me my $300 aluminum bottle for a crappy (absurdly heavy) steel bottle.
Then there is the YORK... This system, in my worthless opinion, is by far the BEST way to get compressed air on the trail. Its fast as hell, pumps endless amounts of air, very little maintenance, convenient, and will run any airtool possible ALL DAY LONG.
Some might argue that there is other systems out there that will do the same, but for a high cost. Some might argue that YORK systems are more expensive (upwards of $1200 actually) and more complicated than other 12V systems. Yes there are disadvantages... But there are disadvantages with ALL types of OBA systems.
Anyway.... Lets get to HOW I made my OBA for under $100, shall we?
I have run YORK's on all my older jeeps, so it was only a matter of time before I added it to the list for the JK. The only glitch I had with doing this on the JK is that there is not nearly as much room to put the compressor as there is on a TJ or YJ. With a little ingenuity, knowledge, and skills, you can put together this system for under $100. I did a TON of research online of what to get and this is what I came up with............
Onto the fun stuff!!!
YORK Compressor: eBay!!! Found one for $40 shipped on eBay (but you can find them at junk yards for about the same price). Both routs are a gamble. Sometimes you get ones that don't work, but for the most part they are pretty good.
MISC. Fittings: There is a TON of fittings and parts that need to be purchased. This is the expensive part..... UNLESS YOU HAVE AN I.Q. HIGHER THAN A CHINCHILLA!!! It's actually very simple. When I was researching this area and found that the parts were going to cost me 3-4 times the amount of the compressor itself, I realized that any compressor on the market is going to have every single one of these pieces. So I headed to the CL (that would be CraigsList for those that aren't up to speed with todays lingo). I found an excellent deal on an Ingersoll Rand 15 gallon compressor with a belt driven pump for $30. This supplied me with just about EVERYTHING I needed to start piecing together my OBA.
Air Tank: Now this is an idea that I have had for a LONG time and fortunately was thinking ahead of the game when I built my......... FRONT BUMPER! Thats right boys and girls... When I build my front bumper I used 2"X6" tubing and made sure that when I built it, it was going to be able to stay sealed so I could use it for an air tank.
Compressor Mounts: This is one of the tricky parts. I am a welder. Personally, I like a challenge! When I was looking into the mounting positions I found only 2 places to mount the compressor. Next to the alternator, and in front of the engine. Both companies that make complete systems wanted $200+ just for the brackets! HOGWASH I TELL YOU! This to me is asinine. I made my brackets out of ONE $8.50 piece of 3/16" steel. I ended up mounting mine in front of the engine due to the fact that mounting it next to the alternator forces you to (A) BUY a new A/C line because there is a little sensor that pokes strait up and is in the way, and (B) you have to PAY SOMEONE to put the new line in. You cant save money by doing this.
Compressor Pulley: You can buy a serpentine pulley from a few different places online but the are going to cost you around $100...... We are on a budget here people! I could go out and find a serpentine pulley at a junkyard, but to tell you the truth, they are REALLY hard to find and I can be REALLY lazy at times and frankly I just didn't want to look. YORK compressors are generally going to come with V-Belt pulleys on them. The one I got had a rather small diameter one, which is good (I'll explain why in a bit), but most have a slightly larger pulley than the one mine has. The way I am powering the compressor is by one of the pulleys that is already on the front of the motor. I had a V-Belt pulley in my shop from a Chevy 350 that had the same 3-Bolt pattern as what was on this particular pulley already there (see photo's). Why is the smaller one better? Think bicycle.... I'll give you a minute to think that one over.............................................. ..... If the front sprocket is small and the back one is big, what happens? Your legs are working their asses off and the bike is barely moving! If the front sprocket is big and the back one little, your legs are barely moving and your hauling ass! Same happens with the drive pulley and compressor pulley. In this case the drive pulley is slightly larger than the compressor pulley, thus spinning the compressor MUCH FASTER at idle RPM's than normal and not needing to get a special idle control to raise the idle when airing up. This is okay because I don't run the compressor when I am driving and it is free spinning (not pumping).
Parts list:
YORK: $40
Donor Compressor: $30
Pulley: Free (laying around the shop)
Brackets: $8.50 for steel
Pressure Switch: $12 eBay
Intake Filter: $10 auto parts store
Oil/Water separator: $10 Harbor Freight
Misc. Fittings: ~$15
--------------------------------------
Sub Total: $125.50........ ISH
Sold the motor and pump off the compressor for $40
Sub Total: $125.50........ ISH
Sold Parts: -$40.00
--------------------------------------
New Total: $85.50......... ISH
Okay, I'm tired of typing, and I'm sure your tired of reading...... so I'm just going to post pics now and if you have any ?'s for me I will be subscribed to this thread and will try to answer whatever I can.
Completed brackets and compressor
Compressor mounting bracket all fabed up
How the bracket works
Since this part went into a 15 gallon air tank the check valve had to be covered somehow so I made this little canister. Which actually worked out well because I welded the mounting plate to it
Bracket installed on the motor and Chevy 350 pulley mentioned above
With compressor mounted. Its a VERY tight squeeze for the coolant overflow to fit in between the compressor and steering box
Underside shot of the compressor
Air line going into the bumper/air tank. If you look closely you can see the air chuck dangling.
Donor compressor. Took parts off and still made $10!
Schematic of how it all works
Thanks for looking! I'm sure most of you have skipped all the reading and went strait to the pics, but there is a lot of good info in there for ya!
Now get off your computer and GO WHEELIN!!!!
Enter Onboard Air Systems... There is a few different styles one could use:
A cheese-ball cigarette lighter pump will fill you up, but you might be retired before it finishes (if it hasn't overheated and seized by that time).
Then there would be the much better (and much more expensive) hard wired compressors like ViAir. These systems are much better and much more reliable. Some can run air tools, but most are just good for airing up tires. However, they can still be a bit slow. Unless you're going to run the dual compressor units, but those are even more pricey.
There is always the CO2 tanks. They are portable and fast. You can run air tools. You can help a friend. But what happens when the tank runs out? It becomes as useful as a giant empty bottle of beer. I had one of these when they first came out and the closest place I could find to fill it up was over an hour away. Every place I went wanted to trade me my $300 aluminum bottle for a crappy (absurdly heavy) steel bottle.
Then there is the YORK... This system, in my worthless opinion, is by far the BEST way to get compressed air on the trail. Its fast as hell, pumps endless amounts of air, very little maintenance, convenient, and will run any airtool possible ALL DAY LONG.
Some might argue that there is other systems out there that will do the same, but for a high cost. Some might argue that YORK systems are more expensive (upwards of $1200 actually) and more complicated than other 12V systems. Yes there are disadvantages... But there are disadvantages with ALL types of OBA systems.
Anyway.... Lets get to HOW I made my OBA for under $100, shall we?
I have run YORK's on all my older jeeps, so it was only a matter of time before I added it to the list for the JK. The only glitch I had with doing this on the JK is that there is not nearly as much room to put the compressor as there is on a TJ or YJ. With a little ingenuity, knowledge, and skills, you can put together this system for under $100. I did a TON of research online of what to get and this is what I came up with............
Onto the fun stuff!!!
YORK Compressor: eBay!!! Found one for $40 shipped on eBay (but you can find them at junk yards for about the same price). Both routs are a gamble. Sometimes you get ones that don't work, but for the most part they are pretty good.
MISC. Fittings: There is a TON of fittings and parts that need to be purchased. This is the expensive part..... UNLESS YOU HAVE AN I.Q. HIGHER THAN A CHINCHILLA!!! It's actually very simple. When I was researching this area and found that the parts were going to cost me 3-4 times the amount of the compressor itself, I realized that any compressor on the market is going to have every single one of these pieces. So I headed to the CL (that would be CraigsList for those that aren't up to speed with todays lingo). I found an excellent deal on an Ingersoll Rand 15 gallon compressor with a belt driven pump for $30. This supplied me with just about EVERYTHING I needed to start piecing together my OBA.
Air Tank: Now this is an idea that I have had for a LONG time and fortunately was thinking ahead of the game when I built my......... FRONT BUMPER! Thats right boys and girls... When I build my front bumper I used 2"X6" tubing and made sure that when I built it, it was going to be able to stay sealed so I could use it for an air tank.
Compressor Mounts: This is one of the tricky parts. I am a welder. Personally, I like a challenge! When I was looking into the mounting positions I found only 2 places to mount the compressor. Next to the alternator, and in front of the engine. Both companies that make complete systems wanted $200+ just for the brackets! HOGWASH I TELL YOU! This to me is asinine. I made my brackets out of ONE $8.50 piece of 3/16" steel. I ended up mounting mine in front of the engine due to the fact that mounting it next to the alternator forces you to (A) BUY a new A/C line because there is a little sensor that pokes strait up and is in the way, and (B) you have to PAY SOMEONE to put the new line in. You cant save money by doing this.
Compressor Pulley: You can buy a serpentine pulley from a few different places online but the are going to cost you around $100...... We are on a budget here people! I could go out and find a serpentine pulley at a junkyard, but to tell you the truth, they are REALLY hard to find and I can be REALLY lazy at times and frankly I just didn't want to look. YORK compressors are generally going to come with V-Belt pulleys on them. The one I got had a rather small diameter one, which is good (I'll explain why in a bit), but most have a slightly larger pulley than the one mine has. The way I am powering the compressor is by one of the pulleys that is already on the front of the motor. I had a V-Belt pulley in my shop from a Chevy 350 that had the same 3-Bolt pattern as what was on this particular pulley already there (see photo's). Why is the smaller one better? Think bicycle.... I'll give you a minute to think that one over.............................................. ..... If the front sprocket is small and the back one is big, what happens? Your legs are working their asses off and the bike is barely moving! If the front sprocket is big and the back one little, your legs are barely moving and your hauling ass! Same happens with the drive pulley and compressor pulley. In this case the drive pulley is slightly larger than the compressor pulley, thus spinning the compressor MUCH FASTER at idle RPM's than normal and not needing to get a special idle control to raise the idle when airing up. This is okay because I don't run the compressor when I am driving and it is free spinning (not pumping).
Parts list:
YORK: $40
Donor Compressor: $30
Pulley: Free (laying around the shop)
Brackets: $8.50 for steel
Pressure Switch: $12 eBay
Intake Filter: $10 auto parts store
Oil/Water separator: $10 Harbor Freight
Misc. Fittings: ~$15
--------------------------------------
Sub Total: $125.50........ ISH
Sold the motor and pump off the compressor for $40
Sub Total: $125.50........ ISH
Sold Parts: -$40.00
--------------------------------------
New Total: $85.50......... ISH
Okay, I'm tired of typing, and I'm sure your tired of reading...... so I'm just going to post pics now and if you have any ?'s for me I will be subscribed to this thread and will try to answer whatever I can.
Completed brackets and compressor
Compressor mounting bracket all fabed up
How the bracket works
Since this part went into a 15 gallon air tank the check valve had to be covered somehow so I made this little canister. Which actually worked out well because I welded the mounting plate to it
Bracket installed on the motor and Chevy 350 pulley mentioned above
With compressor mounted. Its a VERY tight squeeze for the coolant overflow to fit in between the compressor and steering box
Underside shot of the compressor
Air line going into the bumper/air tank. If you look closely you can see the air chuck dangling.
Donor compressor. Took parts off and still made $10!
Schematic of how it all works
Thanks for looking! I'm sure most of you have skipped all the reading and went strait to the pics, but there is a lot of good info in there for ya!
Now get off your computer and GO WHEELIN!!!!
04-15-2011, 02:45 AM
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Great write up, would you consider manufacturing the bracket for us folks that lack 
the equipment and skills to fab one? 
the equipment and skills to fab one?
Last edited by Dragline; 04-15-2011 at 10:04 AM.
04-15-2011, 06:13 AM
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That's awesome! Lol that last picture has crap going everywhere. Wish I had the know how to do all all of that. You had those brackets cut with a plasma cam didn't you?
04-15-2011, 08:19 AM
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I would love to help other inmates out and do a cheaper bracket. However, since most of the pulleys are different that come with the YORK's, you would have to send me your pulley so I could install it on my compressor (since they all mount the same) and either make sure this bracket would fit or modify the bracket a little bit to make it fit. I would probably charge someone about $100 to do it (plus $ to send the pulley back). Now that I have the templates made it wouldn't take me a full day to do it like this one did. This is still over $100 cheaper than the others. And you dont have to buy the $100 serpentine pulley and extra belt tentioner. All you have to do is go to a junkyard and pull this same pulley from a motor for $5
Last edited by Dezertjeepin; 04-15-2011 at 08:26 AM.
04-15-2011, 10:08 AM
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I would love to help other inmates out and do a cheaper bracket. However, since most of the pulleys are different that come with the YORK's, you would have to send me your pulley so I could install it on my compressor (since they all mount the same) and either make sure this bracket would fit or modify the bracket a little bit to make it fit. I would probably charge someone about $100 to do it (plus $ to send the pulley back). Now that I have the templates made it wouldn't take me a full day to do it like this one did. This is still over $100 cheaper than the others. And you dont have to buy the $100 serpentine pulley and extra belt tentioner. All you have to do is go to a junkyard and pull this same pulley from a motor for $5
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04-15-2011, 01:06 PM
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A couple of questions..
How much for a set of templates, specially the engine mount and wouldn't it be just a matter of getting the correct belt length?
Once again, great installation..
How much for a set of templates, specially the engine mount and wouldn't it be just a matter of getting the correct belt length?
Once again, great installation..
04-16-2011, 12:13 AM
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A good way to get the right belt length is to get the pulley and compressor installed and use zipties to make a "belt" and that will give you the length. I cant remember off the top of my head what length mine was. The most important part about building the bracket is to make sure the 2 pulleys line up with each other almost perfectly. Make sure that the entire bracket is just tacked together when you install your ziptied "belt" for the first few times incase you have to make changes. Mine was slightly out the first time so I had to cut off the bracket and shorten it 1/8"ish.
PM me if you're interested
