The Belt Driven Air Saga

I'm constantly abusing my Viair on board air compressor with 33% duty- I've been careful not to damage it, which means throwing wet rags over it before I fire it up and air up more than two rigs worth of aired down tires.

This, coupled with a sub-par CFM, (Cubic feet per minute)
I need to upgrade. My next option was that badass ARB dual compressor
but
It pulls 60 Amps peak! which will vastly overtax my sPOD relay bay, and the damn thing is enormous, which will force me to move from an under hood mount to back in the rear quarter panel inside the fender.... ugly.

So, after months of searching for a belt driven setup on forums, blowing up suppliers, and asking any & everyone, I've discovered no such thing exists for a second gen.

In other words,
I finally got the balls to tackle THIS

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...ven-air-compressor-k-unlimited-board-air.html

So, here's my own build thread for the project.

the goal here is to buy all new components, CAD draw out all the brackets, get them laser cut, find a good air hose supplier to fab up the fittings going from that weird ass A/C thread to NPT with high temp hydraulic line..

then sell this damn thing. I figure when I make up an easy to reproduce, massive CFM unlimited air system that can run a rattle gun and reseat your tire beads, I know there will be at least a couple of ya I can help out with this (and hopefully recover some R&D cost on the front end of this project)

It'll be a long haul doing this, but I plan to have this done in the next month. Stay Tuned and wish me luck

 

so I've gotten a crash course in ac compressors
and
realized why so few have done this project...
nobody out there can search for a compressor by size- all of them are sorted by OEM vehicle fit.
I might have a good lead to a better compressor than that thread used, so the struggle continues...

 

Whoever tries this will probably find this handy

http://sanden.com/productlibrary/manuals/SD_Service_Guide_Rev_2.pdf

 

http://www.extremeoutback.com/product/91/ExtremeFlow+Belt+Drive+Compressor+SERPENTINE+BELT.html

???

 

Max where the hell were you six months ago.

After a couple more hours of digging I finally found the one Sanden model compressor that will fit
Then you come along with that damn link lol
I gotta find better specs to see if that one will fit but thanks man
Looks like I'm one big step closer!

 

I guess they don't say it but supposedly it's a sanden converted to run on grease instead of the oil bath. It appears a problem with the sandens is that they introduce oil to the air coming out, so you need filters etc... anyway... good luck, very worthwhile project and I applaud your efforts!

 

Haha I was gonna say it looked familiar
After all this damn research I'm pretty sure I know what model number that thing is too!

So now the question is
Buy that same compressor new for 220$ then convert it,
Or buy it for 500$ already done with a 1 year warranty from them...

 

If anyone tries this from scratch, save yourself the time! (second gen)
the compressor you'll need MUST BE WITHIN THESE SPECS:

-less than or equal to 225 MM deep (front of pulley to rear of compressor)

-Pulley must be less than or equal to 130 MM (entire diameter, not just where the belt touches)

-GREATER than or equal to 7 groove. Second gen stock belt is 7 rib- the ribs are generally an industry standard width/ angle, so the more grooves on the pulley, the greater amount of play you'll have in mounting. A 7 rib pulley means you must mount it EXACTLY in line with your motor pulleys. 8-10 rib will allow up to 1 inch of play front to back in mounting the compressor.

- the ports must be VERTICAL- horizontal will put the ports on the rear, subtracting from that 225 MM depth limit.

- The Sanden SD7H15 family of compressors are the most efficient for their size. With 7 cylinders, they pump out around 150+ cubic inches per revolution.

- the Sanden SD7H15 family is basically one uniform chassis. Different model numbers designate different ports/ pulley setups.

- The following models of Sanden compressors will fit:
4660
4665
4711

the only difference on these are wiring/ pulley ribs. size / output are identical.

extreme Air sells already converted sandens with a warranty, BUT, they do not fit this truck. they might, but a 500$ guess vs a 220$ guess with the sanden models listed? you decide.

 

One step closer to a complete parts list!

http://www.kilbystore.com/44760.html

 

Hey, just wondering if you have had any updates of your saga?

 

Well... Nothing yet. I do have a nearly complete parts list and it's basically a matter of buying it now
But alas my 65 hour work weeks have gotten in my way... It'll happen. Just not yet... Sorry for the delay

 

Nice. I've been doing research on this setup as well and have been coming up with a parts list. So far I have a compressor off a 95 Dodge Ram (same as 94-up Dakota/Ram and Durango) with the 6 grove pulley in good condition from a junk yard. I am slowly figuring out how to make it work.

The biggest issue is going from the auto A/C to NPT fittings to run the air lines. One can do as RockGecko did and make the fittings fit inside the head ports and seal with JB Weld. Another option is to order a set of NPT aluminum weld bungs from an auto parts supply and weld them on. I sourced a JD style head for Sanden SD7 with vertical ports to go from there. The JD head is common to the 4660, 4665 and 4711 that you have listed. It has #8(3/4-16 JIC) and #10(7/8-14 JIC) male fittings. All heads for SD7 are interchangeable.

There are not commonly available adapters from JIC to NPT. Only a select few are out there I found. Grainger part numbers 4VPT6 and 4VPT7 are what I came up with to get from JIC to NPT. Another option is to go to a custom hose builder like Hose-Man and have them make a high temp hose with JIC to NPT fittings.

Lastly, you can just call extreme outback, the guys who make and sell the converted Sanden already greased up and with NPT fittings. They sell their custom fittings made specifically for this purpose for $40. The fittings swivel so you can direct hose in any direction. The fittings are not listed on their site so you will have to call them. This is the best option since it's all bolt on with the least amount of fittings.

I'd be interested in what you've come up with for a parts list. The best option would be to go with a 4665 since it's a 6 grove, outback mounting plate customized to fit Taco, Outback fittings to go to NPT. From there the rest should be pretty straight forward. That's what I've come up with so far.

Nate

 

If they make fittings, BUY EM.
Don't get a compressor with that weird ass one piece thing that the other guy JB welded (I'm too much of a perfectionist to have that)
I'd say any of the ones I had listed up there^ if you go look on the sanden website and find their schematics on those models I believe they are the ones with two JIC male connections.

Since my truck is new, I planned on going with all new parts- replace that clutch and bearings on yours if you put it under the hood.

I work with hose man regularly for work and while you may have had luck, I don't trust those people as far as I can throw them. Great (kinda) for bulk orders of basic things, but even fairly simple one-off items have been effed up by them at several different locations.
However, I do have another hose guy next door that I trust can make me anything I ask correctly the first time.
I'll go ask if he'd make up some lines using high temp hydraulic line.
male NPT one end, female JIC the other.

Parts list
One fitting on the intake line that'll mount into the wall of the truck's airbox
1/2 or 3/8" high temp airline jic female to NPT male - same for the intake side
One in line check valve with a high enough air volume capacity
At least one ( I plan on doing two or 3) air tanks
One blowoff valve
A 12v pressure kill switch
More air line to leave tank to air chuck
(See my build page for my on board air setup)
And
One tricky bracket custom fabricated to hold that compressor perfectly in line.

 

The more I think about this, the more I'm leaning towards just buying outback's compressor and fabbing up a bracket on my own- the cost comes too close to even once you factor in the issues that come with converting your own, used (new bearings, clutch etc) or new to a grease fitting vs a 1 year warranty on one already done.

I spoke to outback directly about this project and they do not and do not plan to make a setup for our trucks. Nobody does. No company that makes on board air will consider it. I've found ALL of them at this point at they all will not help. Someone please prove me wrong on that.

I also spoke with a couple people from polar bear inc about this project and they have been extremely helpful- give em a call if you've got any questions. They said converting would actually probably work pretty well if done correctly and had a low duty cycle.
So there are several ways about this- looks like we're actually closer to defining the options for us

 

is there a reason you have not researched a york compressor? They are easily found in junkyards and rebuilt....they will need an oil separator inline but thats not to big a deal...plus they have a crankcase and use motor oil....I have a york compressor i am going to be trying to fab up a system for...i am using it for my air ride setup and i don't wanna deal with 12v compressors. I would love if someone made a bracket kit for the 1gr to fit a york compressor

 

I had a york that I really wanted to make work but couldn't. They are the superior option in my opinion. The biggest problem was the fact that the compressor is fairly tall and bulky, and there's not much room to mount it in the orientation that it's supposed to be mounted in. Even with a small body lift, I couldn't get it to work within reason.

 

This ^^

Agreed a York would be great, the only compressor that will fit with good output are the exact model numbers listed above. Spent lots of time researching & those couple models listed are all that will work.

I think I'm gonna get back into this project after Christmas.

 

i figured that may be the issue....i guess I'm gonna have to fab my own bracket and not wait for something mass produced. Since i went the other way with my 4runner i have plenty of room in the engine bay with a new chassis, inner fenders and relocated battery

 

Sub'd. Nice work on the research!

 

Have you gotten around to installing the compressor yet?

Jesse