On-board air from an a/c compressor

nc88yotaman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2008
Location
North Carolina
i have an 88 toyota pickup. it is air conditioned and i was wanting to turn the compressor into just an air compressor so i can have on booard air. i would like to run it to a tank somewhere on the truck to store air. i have heard of this being done i just wanted to get some opinions on how to do it and how different people have done it. i know i would need a pressure switch on there so it wont run all the time.

thanks in advance for any input!!!
 
I dont know about your stock AC compressor but a York compressor is what most of us use. Mine is a York 210 and it came off of a junkyard Wagoneer. You will need several things. Google search for "on Board Air". Iknow there are several write ups with pics, diagrams, and instructions.
 
My understanding is that most any A/C compressor is able to accomodate our needs for On-Board Air. I'm not going to guarantee this, but many of us Zookers have used the stock pumps for just that with very good results, and they are among the smallest of pumps on the market. :)

The York is probably the most favored of them all, as they make some killer air and have nice CFM ratings, but they are also rather large and recquire special made brackets that a stock pump wouldn't. ;)
 
Also, the York compressors run in a seperat oil bath, so no periodic oiling of the compressor required. Some comressors don't have this and will require about a teaspoon full of oil in the intake every so often to keep them lubricated.
 
thanks guys! so running my yota comp. i would need to put an oiler b4 the intake or just dump some in from time to time?

also pics of anybodys setups would be great,thanks
 
nc88yotaman said:
thanks guys! so running my yota comp. i would need to put an oiler b4 the intake or just dump some in from time to time?
also pics of anybodys setups would be great,thanks
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maybe. I'm not familiar with the toyota compressors.

You shouldn't need an oiler. Just remove the air filter and spoon it in there every month or so. Just make sure you have a filter on the other end or you will get a lot of oil in the tank/lines/exhaust of tools, etc.
 
Used to be common to put an oiler in the intake of a sanden/sanden type compressor but as of late people have realized that the oiler does more harm than good. Either convert it to run using grease or just oil it every once in a while. I use the stock sanden in my xj and have less than $20 in the whole setup, the 50' hose is the "tank". plenty of people on the board have seen it run an impact or air up tires many times, if it does die one day, they're about a dime a dozen.
 
My compressor is still hanging on my motor not hooked up. '92 4.0ho. I've always thought about doing this but never looked into it. Are there any write ups floating around on how to do it?
 
SPOA87YJ said:
My compressor is still hanging on my motor not hooked up. '92 4.0ho. I've always thought about doing this but never looked into it. Are there any write ups floating around on how to do it?
Click to expand...
PM Joel on webwheeling. He's done it with a sanden compressor.
 
sanden style is easy. As mentioned either use a small inline oiler (the size you'd install directly to a tool) OR squirt some oil in every so often. Then have a small filter on the output to catch it all. I used a small zuke compressor for many years with no oiler. squirted oil in maybe 2x a year. Worked great. Then ended up using the compressor again on an AC system. Still worked fine... I have a york on the jeep now and it pumps a ton of air, but honestly using the stock AC pump has its advantages, one being fitment, belt selection, easy/cheep replacement. etc..
 
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