The Great OBA Project (Done, with writeup)

[treeofliberty]

Well, I've waffled about an OBA solution for my Jeep for nearly 2 years. Back and forth, Viair vs. York. As recently as this week I had convinced myself to go with the simple solution of the Viair 400C and a tank. I finally went to the pick-n-pull and picked up a York F210 out of a 1980 LTD. It tested fine once I hooked it up to 12V via jumper cables. There's no turning back now.

There's a lot more work ahead of me, but I just couldn't resist the 10CFM that a York system produces. I'll be getting most of the other components from Kilby. I'll post up some pictures in several weeks when the project hopefully completes.

[nfunlimited]

I'm looking forward to it since I have been contemplating the same thing myself, but have no idea where to start.

[moneypit]

X2 on the I am interested. Walk us through your project. Its always nice to know a Guinea Pig.

[nfunlimited]

Nice to not have to be the guinea Pig.

Take a look at this article.


www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/york_tj/part1/index.htm

[surfnsnow]

That's pretty cool. My friends and I talked about a similar set up because $400 for the CO2 tank is too expensive. He did his with supplies from a diving store, tank and all.

[treeofliberty]

Here's a couple more writeups:

www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=295205&

www.stu-offroad.com/otherwriteups/oba/oba-1.htm

I'll keep you guys up-to-date. The big thing I want to accomplish is 3/8" hose and fittings all the way through the tank to the tires. Luckily, Kilby supplies all that stuff, although it costs a little more.

[treeofliberty]

All the parts are in and prepped. Now I just have to find the spare time to put it all together. The project took a bizarre turn yesterday. After spending considerable time cleaning and cleaning and cleaning the York, and then painting it, I filled it with 12 oz of motor oil, while it sat on it's side. Then I put the plug in, stood it upright, and watched the oil pour out. The case was cracked. I should have been suspicious because my attempts to drain showed that it was dry. Now I know why there was so much gunk on the outside.

The pick-n-pull honored their warranty and I pulled another, which was considerably cleaner than the first (and holds oil).

I also got all the materials to drill and tap my rear bumper for a tank. And finally, I plan to run the intake hose to my stock airbox, instead of buying a separate filter.

Pictures will be forthcoming, as I make some actual progress.

Lessons learned thus far:

1) Check the compressor for oil retention, suction/airflow, and clutch operation (if you intend to use the clutch).

2) Ace Hardware has an enormous selection of air fittings.

3) Your bumper may have more capacity than you think.

4) 1980 LTD's and Thunderbirds have the York F210 compressor, with the high 10 CFM flow. They are also easy to pull.

5) This is not cheap.

[nfunlimited]

So is it 12 volt or an engine belt driven compressor???

[treeofliberty]

The York is belt-driven.

[honaker]

Tim,

3/8 fittings is a good choice. When you shop for them be sure to look at the actual orifice size within the fitting itself. In a pnuematic system the smallest orifice will rule, that is to say that all the other over or appropriately sized components won't matter as the air flow gets choked by the one undersized fitting. I look forward to seeing your complete write up!

Jim

[treeofliberty]

Jim,

That's been one of my biggest worry beads. Imagine spending all that money on a York system and having one $2 fitting choking the airflow?

I got most of my fittings from Kilby, ensuring maximum flow to the tank.

I have everything in now, except the tank hookup. I hope to finish that part this weekend. Everything else works great, although I've not been able to pressurize to the full 150 psi yet. There's a mountain of pictures on my camera. Once I get a picture of the tank setup, I'll finish this thread off.

[treeofliberty]

Here’s a quick writeup on the OBA project, now that it is done. All told, it was around $650 for all the parts, including the York compressor, which I got out of a 1980 Thunderbird for $45. I had to replace the clutch, which added $140 to the price, but will give me years of service. I also stuck with 3/8 fittings for maximum flow.

Here are some stats up front. My bumper has a volume of 3.8 gallons. At idle, the system pressurizes to 150psi in 2 minutes flat. At 1800 rpms, it pressurizes in just 46 seconds. My 33x12.50x15 tires fill from 12psi to 30psi in 64 seconds, using my crappy air chuck. The impact wrench works great.

Here’s the compressor, cleaned up with the rotolock fittings and new clutch.



The gaping hole under the hood, with the alternator, idler pulley, and air box removed.



Two views of the Kilby bracket installed. This is a beefy, well-made bracket.

[treeofliberty]

Now the alternator is installed underneath the bracket, and the York is installed on top. The studs on the base of the York are used to add tension to the serpentine belt. Once the tension is right, you simply tighten the bolts under the compressor to lock it down.



Here’s a view with most everything put back together.



I decided to use the stock airbox as my filtered air source for the compressor. I used a hose mender for this, with a small section of hose on the inside to hold it in place.



www.kilbyenterprises.com/images/296.gif[/IMG]

A couple more views:

[treeofliberty]

The switch installed:



The bumper had one leak, through a pinhole in one of the welds. My brother-in-law has an EDM business and helped me fix the leak with his TiG welder.



Pressure testing the bumper:



Fully pressurized, although it’s hard to read from the flash. The system looses a couple of psi as the check valve stabilizes. It usually settles in at around 145psi.



Here’s the QD fitting. Don’t worry, I’ve rotated the cover around so it doesn’t hang down.

[honaker]

Sweet!