Air conditioner to on-board air?
 

I'm looking for a cheep way to convert my '87 XJ to have on-board air. I do not have an air conditioner, but I have no experience with the a/c system, I could use some background and maybe some howto info on making this happen.

I saw a great write up on this a while back but I forget where. possibly naxja

It's a great idea for an off road rig, I can't knock it. I like my AC though so I picked up a small oxygen tank I plan to covert for compressed air use. Fill it up and it will be ready to go whenever I need it. I don't see myself needing to fill more than the 4 tires on my truck so it should be more than enough air.

Between me and my trail buddies, it's nice to have the air available should the need arise. It also saves tires some wear and tear should you air down at all. I don't have an AC and it doesn't bother me that way, so I figure I have the perfect space for an A/C compressor.

FWIW, I checked out the air flow coming out of my A/C compressor the other day, and it flat puts it out. I was in the process of pulling all of the unnecessaries involving the A/C system in my rig out, because I plan on doing the same thing with mine. I made contact on the wire that engages the clutch, after I'd pulled the lines off, and was surprised how much flow it actually puts out. You have to set up an oiling system on it, as it uses the refrigerant as a lubricant.

whats the over all cost of converting the AC to a compressor? i ask because i know compressors for mini trucks are pretty cheep and i heard the ones you buy from a 4x4 catalog are expensive
heres just one of many airbag sites
http://airbagit.com/index.php?cPath=198_200

Really everything that you'd need can be bought at a hardware store. You need some fittings, an inline oiler, a small air filter, a pressure switch, and some air line. I think that'd be about it, give or take a few items. I plan on using my bumpers as air tanks and setting it up to shut off at a certain pressure.

What's this bit about oiling it? On my serpentine line, I have an idler pulley on the passenger side of the engine, right up about the same height as the top of the block. Is this where the a/c compressor goes?

do you have to purge it first? i agree that it would be a nice to have OBA but at the same time it gets hot here and i like to have the option of AC on some days, especially having my XJ as my only vehicle. if i had another vehicle i wouldn't be as worried about it because it wouldnt always be my DD.

from what i've seen it doesn't look too expensive to do, i guess it depends on the tank and the particular setup your looking for.
http://www.rubicon4x4.com/product_in...84038cab13a539
http://www.4wd.com/productdetails.as...6&partID=14192

i think with that second one, you can take it out of the vehicle and use it elsewhere if you want.

Yes you have to purge it.

Also, would it be alright to run an air jerk from the output line and use it as a direct compressor to fill up tires with?

the inline oiler is simple, it's just like one you would use for air tools in the shop. It goes on the intake side of the compressor to keep it lubed since there is no AC oil to do so when you make it into an OBA compressor.

I would set it up with a tank and pressure switch. With a 5-10 gallon tank I imagine you could run air tools off of it for emergency use. It would be just like a shop compressor, kicking on when the tank is getting low and kicking off at a set PSI. You can get a lil 5 gallon air tank for 30 dollars at home depot that maxes out at 120-140 PSI.

most important
oiler on the intake side
and water and oil separator on the out side
you don't want any oils and junk going into your tire

Good point!!

Whenever I get a chance to do it, I will be doing a write-up on mine.

I would recomend using a Sanden or York compressor, I've made brackets for both in the past, Both do need some kind of oiler to function properly. Sandens are found on Mazda pickups, Yorks are on late 70s Ford trucks and Volvos to name a few, Both are used heavily as air compressors, atleast in the minitruck world, I was thinking about a York on my Toyota, but stuck with a Viar for now. Plenty of info on Pirate4x4 and most minitruck sites :)

Oh and a York 210 can fill a 5 gal tank in less then 30 secs, And PLEASE stay away from Airbagit.com, Never a fan of those DC series compressors, I sold my old Viar 450 for $100 this last year and I have seen alot of them go cheaper then that, PM me if you need some good sources as well as diagrams of compressors converted etc. Thats my thang!