Guys, I got a bit bored so thought I'd do a very brief write up on installing my new ARB dual motor air compressor in the engine bay of my Golden Eagle TJ Wrangler.
I had considered installing the compressor in the storage system I built for the rear, but the idea of lengthening wiring harnesses to reach and using up more of the valuable space in a small Jeep didn't appeal to me. So going along with my theory of keeping everything tidy and out of the way I decided to install it in the engine bay.
To do this easily the way I have you need to remove your standard airbox, but I had already done this when I installed my Spectre CAI so wasn't an issue for me. This leaves a gaping hole of space (some people even put a small tool box there) which seemed perfect for me to mount my compressor.
I considered mounting an piece of flat plate on an angle across the guard and leaving it at that, but that wouldn't really be "tidy" now would it. So I went down to Bunnings, bought some very cheap "make-a-bracket" panels and started bending them to mock up a proper looking base for my compressor.
This uses all existing holes from the standard airbox, along with some which are just there for some reason, so no drilling of the guard was necessary. Always a plus!! The flat panel mounts to the guards in 5 different locations, which may seem like overkill, but this is a reasonably heavy compressor and I wanted the weight spread as evenly as possible to avoid cracking the guard when spending extended periods of time on corrugations or rocky tracks.
From there I went to a friend with plenty of welding experience and some scrap steel laying around (Thanks Sudu) and he recreated my crude mock-up in a more functional, sturdy way. We incorporated a splash guard on one side to provide basic protection for the air filters from the worst of the spray that comes up through the engine bay. You may notice that from my original mock up we actually dropped the height of the flat base so it sits almost flat on top of the highest bolt point. This gave me extra clearance and made for a slightly easier welding job.
Welding and bending of the panel complete I went home with a couple of rattle cans of paint and set to work making the new creation look more like it 'belonged' in the engine bay.
I painted the entire bracket with galv primer, before giving it plenty of coats of black semi-gloss engine enamel. The temperatures in a TJ engine bay come close to those found at the core of some planets so I didn't want to risk bubbling or degrading of normal paints.
I also lined the edges of the panel with rubber to stop myself scoring a whole new bunch of pinstripes into my arms when working around it in the engine bay.
From there is was a simple job of mounting the compressor to the flat base, running the wiring as described in the compressor instructions, and routing a cable through the firewall for the switch. I located my switch near the drivers left knee, as some considerate previous owner had already drilled a hole there at some point in time and I didnt see any point in making more...
The final result in the engine bay, IMO, looks very tidy. It seems to be protected well enough from most of the elements, but I don't know how well it would take to deep river crossing...
06 TJ - Installing Dual Motor ARB Compressor Under Bonnet
