XJ: Project "Apache Resistance".

[ApacheResistance]

On board air is my current project. A/C doesn't work. (Hole in the evap coil) so instead of fixing that (i just go doorless in the summer) i'm using the A/C compressor to run on board air.

Have been getting the parts for it recently, and i should have it piped in by this weekend. I'll be sure to update with pictures, and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Waiting on the pressure switch and pressure relief valve and the check valve and the pressure gauge now.

Still need to find a tank that holds about 2-3 gallons. My air hose will be here tomorrow. I'll start putting all of this together on probably friday. Still have a few questions about how this is going to work, but they should get answered along the way.

[Jimmyb]

Great writeup!! Thanks for sharing with us on the other side of the pond.

[ApacheResistance]

Originally Posted by Jimmyb

Great writeup!! Thanks for sharing with us on the other side of the pond.

No problem dude! Glad you enjoyed it. I try to keep everything super detailed so others can follow my instructions if they want to.

I'm working on the on board air mod this weekend. I'll post very VERY detailed instructions on how to do that and a whole bunch of pictures along the way. I'm so excited to have OBA on the jeep. The thought of being able to air down on the trail and then fill my tires back up on the trail with my jeep is awesome. Oh, and i can run air tools off of it as well.

I'm starting to see how different things are over here in the U.S. I keep forgetting that aus jeeps are RHD and a bunch of the front steering components are swapped. Haha.

[Dustbowl]

Awesome write up mate!
Welcome to the madness.
I'll be reading your posts like mad now

Few quick questions, how much lift (it looks massive )
What rear diff?

Cheers mate

[ApacheResistance]

Originally Posted by Dustbowl

Awesome write up mate!
Welcome to the madness.
I'll be reading your posts like mad now

Few quick questions, how much lift (it looks massive )
What rear diff?

Cheers mate

Thanks dude! It's a nice warm welcome around these parts!

I'm glad to see someone is actually interested in my writings and my builds. Happy to see I can help someone out. Feel free to ask me anything or to clarify anything. Ill be happy to do so.

I'm going to update it again on Friday (I'm 16 hours behind you guys). My 3/8" air hose and the rest of the fittings will be here for my onboard air then. Should have it all piped in this weekend and have working on board air. I'm pretty excited.

Ask as many questions as you'd like.

That's a 4.5" Rough Country Long Arm lift it. It's sitting on 32x11.5x15 BFG KM2s. I think part of the reason it looks so massive is because of the trimmed fenders. I cut about 4" off the front and about 3" off the front so it could flex more, and in the process made it look more lifted.

I was actually thinking about upgrading to a 6.5" lift and running 35" tires.

The rear axle is a 1999 Chrysler 8.25. It's a 29 spline. All 1997- 8.25s came with the weaker 27 spline.

I upgraded the rear axle with disc brakes from a 95' ZJ. You can read about that near the top of my build. I now have disc brakes on all four corners of my jeep.

I was actually going to buy a front and rear D44 both geared at 4.88 and both locked with ARB air lockers, with OTK steering and alloy shafts for 1500$ (for both) (one locker cost 1,000 alone) but the guy sold them out from under me at the last second. I even asked the guy to hold them for me and I'd give him a Paypal deposit until I could get up there, and he told me that wasn't a problem and that'd he'd hold them, but he didn't. Needless to say, I was pretty heated for about a week. What can you do though.

Cheers dude.

[ApacheResistance]

Another update on my on board air progress. Got 20' of 3/8 air hose today.

The build thread i was reading called for 300PSI tube. I ended up with 1,125PSI hose. I guess you could say mine is a little bit stronger than his is going to be.

I also got an air filter and a pressure gauge that goes up to 160PSI. I plan on running my system at around 140-150PSI. Should of got a gauge that went to 200PSI, but whatever.

Also got (2) 3/8" Apollo ball valves. Going to put a dirt leg on the piping to get rid of all of the condensation in the system. This wasn't called for in the thread, but it's what you do when you pipe an air system into a shop. Figured i might as well do it.

Oh, and i asked a friend who is currently working on this as well how to connect all of this to the a/c compressor and he goes "cut the metal tubing off square and slide your air hose over it and hose clamp it on". Of course, i don't like this, as i think it sounds hack.

Instead, i'm going to cut them square where the red lines go across, and weld on a 3/8" nipple to each side. This way i will have something to thread into, and i don't have to "slide the air hose over the metal and hose clamp it on". Will look better that way i think.

I'll keep you all updated with pictures.

[ApacheResistance]

Did some reading today about converting a Sanden A/C Compressor into just a compressor. Turns out they're a bit more complicated than i bargained for. Since they depend solely on the oil in the freon to remain lubricated, (i will not have any freon in the system) i would need to do one of two things. I would need to run an inline oiler on the supply line to supply constant oil to it, and the run a water/separator on the outake and pipe it back into the inline oiler, or instead of using oil, pull the compressor apart and grease the hell out of it, and hope it doesn't work.

This didn't seem too bad. I then went on to read that no matter what you do, after a year of use or so the compressors freeze up regardless of what you do. That's a total bummer for me. I don't think it's worth it at this point to use my stock sanden compressor.

I, however, am not a giving this up. They make(or made they're old compressors) york A/C compressors. These are a lot bigger of a unit. The upside to these is that they have an internal oil system. I do not have to do either of the mods above to get this one to work. It will remain oiled if i rev the engine up to 2,000 RPMs and run air tools all day off of it. Needless to say this is the better option.

The downside to this is that it's a LOT bigger of a compressor. My plan is to pull out my stock compressor, make a custom fabbed mounting bracket, and mount a york 210 A/C compressor where the stock one was and pipe that up. I'm hoping it will squeeze between the battery and the engine. If it doesn't i'm going to move the battery to a different location.

There are two huge advantages to this setup though. One is that this thing never needs oil, and can pump A LOT more air than my sanden would of been able to. Just to give you a number, the york i'm going to use will pump 3.2 CFM (Cubic feet per minute) in and fill a 2 gallon air tank (0-100 PSI) in 34 seconds @ idle.

If i rev the engine up to 3,000RPMs it will pump out 9.1CFM and fill that same 2 gallon air tank in 12 seconds. I can't even begin to believe these numbers are correct. That's crazy.

I looked up "endless air" as i've been reading about it a lot on this forum. That dude wants 450$ for his CHEAPEST setup. The york 210 i'm buying is going to cost me about ~$150.

The rest of the stuff i got for free. All of the 3/8 fittings, and air hose, and air/oil separator, and everything else i already had. This project will cost me about 150$ total. Not too bad really.


__________________________________________________ _______________

Ironically enough, last night my actual air compressor at my house broke. Someone stepped on the piping (used it as a ladder) to get into the cabinet above where the air compressor is located. It was piped with 1/4" and the 3" long 1/4" nipple snapped right off and broke off in the Tee.

I took it all apart and just repiped it from the tank forward. It's now all 3/8" piping, so it probably throws off a lot more air than it did when it was piped with 1/4".

Used like (4) 3/8" Stainless Steel Tees, and like (5) 3/8" Stainless steel bushings and nipples, along with a ball valve.

The regulator was 1/4" so i needed to get rid of that as well. I put a tee with a 3/8"x1/4" bushing on the branch with a pressure gauge on it. I then piped a ball valve into the other run, and then after that piped another tee into it with another pressure gauge off that branch. This way i can cut off the ball valve a little bit and adjust the output pressure. I can now see the input pressure and the output pressure on the gauges. Might not be the right way to do it, but hey, it works, was free, and honestly looks good.

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. It looks good.

__________________________________________________ _______________

Right now, i'm rebuilding my Transfer case linkage. Just got the paddle cut out of 1/4" plate, and am currently in the process of removing the front driveshaft so i can get the linkage installed. It will be way stronger and more efficient and simpler than the stock linkage. I'll be sure to write up an article on how i did this so anyone who wants to do it can follow my instructions. Needless to say, i've been busy.

Here are some pictures. You can see my piping job on the air compressor. You can also see the broken regulator in my hand. It's all 3/8". I think it looks nice.

Will post some more pictures later tonight once i get the transfer case linkage in.