Well there is something to be said about taking two steps forward and one step back.
About two years ago I was looking for a hardmounted compressor idea for my Jeep. I had a portable Viair in my previous two Jeeps and it worked flawlessly other than a pain to dig out after each trail run. I had looked on many of the various Jeep forums and the majority of people running JK/JKU's were mounting their compressor in the engine bay next to the master cylinder/brake booster. My first thought was the enourmous amount of heat soak it would suffer from and potentially shorten its lifespan and diminish the compressor's performance. Upon inquiring no one had these heat issues so I opted to mount mine in the same place. Although it did make spark plug access much more difficult and overall stuffed an already tight engine bay.
I ordered a kit that came with the compressor, mounting bracket, remote air tank, manifold and all related pressure switches and wiring. All in all it was a very nice kit but it still wasn't giving me the warm & fuzzies about mounting it above the left exhaust manifold with all of that heat and just coming off a trail to rely on a heat soaked compressor motor.
On a hot day I could easily get up against the thermal cutout and have to wait for the unit to cool down. This happened twice over the past two years until last week when it happened three times in one week during mine and my wife's annual wheeling trip to Ouray, CO.
I had enough of it and Monday night removed the entire OBA (On-Board Air) system. The tank in all honesty is useless for filling up tires because halfway through the first tire the tank is depleted of it's reserve and you are running only on what the small compressor is putting out anyways. I like the York engine driven compressor but my budget being what it is ruled this out. I also had no issues with the small portable one I had used previously and the same one my son is STILL using in his LJ.
I looked long and hard trying to decide on a location to mount the compressor and I opted to have an open system and not run a tank. This will keep the system much less intricate and reduce some weight in the Jeep. I finally decided on a location just forward and above the right rear fender wheel inside the rear cargo area. With my tools and equipment loaded there is a nice sized void in this area where I opted to mount it. I did not want to drill into the tub of the Jeep and mount it but I also did not want it to interfere with either my soft top or my hard top.
I think I came up with a nice compromise/solution to the mounting. I started with a piece of .250"x2" strap to fasten to the tub rail using exisiting hard top mounting locations and a piece of .188"x4" flat stock to mount the compressor on welded at an angle to clear the carpet and tub so there is air flow all around the compressor and it is not touching anything. It is also far enough away from seatbelt and the plastic that houses my sub-woofer. Although I did use the sub-woofer box as a mounting location for my switch and air port location.
Here is what I started with yesterday after work.
Drilling the holes on the mill and getting the bolt pattern accurate.
Mocked up so I can get the angle of the dangle.
Bracket completely welded and ready for a trial fit to decide on how to mount the air leader hose with check valve.
Bracket welded onto the mounting bracket to support the check valve and leader hose.
Bead blasted, painted semi-gloss black and assembled on the bench ready for installation.
I removed the sub-woofer box and ran the air outlet out near the bottom where it will clear my tailgate when closed.
This picture may be harder to see but I ran the poly air line up from the air fitting to a small hole I drilled at the top of the sub-woofer box for the air line to connect with the compressor assembly.
I have read where some people use the existing power outlet in the sub-woofer box but it doesn't have enough current protection so I ran an isolated 12-gauge wire from my auxiliary battery through an inline fuse back to a 30 amp switch. I used the type of switch that has the safety cover over it to prevent it from accidently being turned on. I mounted it so I do not need to unzip my soft top or open the glass on my hardtop. I merely need to open my tailgate and reach up to the right side to turn the compresson on and hook up my hose to the air connector also located right at the sub-woofer box.
Completed. Compressor mounted, sub-woofer box reinstalled, all of the related wiring is zip-tied along the floor kick panel along with the factory wiring and the mess vacuumed up. This view is from the right rear door looking back into the cargo area and the mounted compressor.
This picture is taken from the tailgate looking into the cargo area.
And she's done. I finished her up late last night and gave her a quick detail so she is ready to go.
Mike.
