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Junk my A/C or fix it. Searched "OBA"-no results.

Nuke Proof

NAXJA Forum User
I know this has been talked about but I can't find the threads.

My factory A/C is shot. Leaks everywhere, broken hoses and the wiring needs work. The jeep is not my DD and I really question the necessity of having A/C when I can just drive something else on a hot day.

Even though I've pretty much answered my own question, I am really looking for a push in the right direction. If I yank the condensor, will it run cooler? (less air flow restriction)

Will the factory compressor hold up as an OBA compressor?

I know there are a lot of you that think converting the factory air to OBA is a mortal sin, but in my case I think there can be an exception considering the cost to repair it.

Thanks
 
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you can use the A/C compressor as an air compressor but it is internally oiled so eventually it will burn out I've used the stock a/c compressors for a while I just spray oil in ever now and then.
Whats the worst you spend $20 on a pressure switch.
Especially if you just use it for tires every now and then you should be fine.
If you start running air tools or filling up the entire club you will need a york compressor.

As far as the condenser it might run a little cooler but I would use the condenser as a trans cooler or steering cooler.
 
As mentioned I would use the stock A/C compressor as OBA and the condensor as a tranny cooler. With a proper oiler and oil/water separator on the system the compressor should last a good while. I don't think removing the condensor would give enough of an increase in airflow to be noticed at all.
 
NAXJA search engine requires 4 or more characters to find a hit, hence no hits on "OBA"

If you use Google, and search for "OBA NAXJA", you will find numerous articles to peruse.
 
If the condenser and compressor are still good, I'd fix the leaks and wiring. You'll probably still have to replace the dryer, but they're usually cheap. I think it cost me about $100 for a vacuum pump and another $40 or so for a cheap gauge manifold set with hoses. R134 isn't that expensive and can be bought off the shelf here. The system on my '00 model says it holds 1.25 lbs, so you'd only need two cans at most.

I figure for about $400 max you could have a working AC again, and that's only if you have to replace both the high and low pressure lines. It could just be the o rings leaking.
 
I converted my sanden ac pump to and OBA pump. Also made it lubricated by grease vs. oil. I just have to put a few pumps of grease in when ever I change my oil. Works great!
 
sounds great. Thanks for the help.

Mopar Maniac,
How did you convert it to grease? Where did you put the zerks?

As far as fixing the system, it would require new hoses and a complete rebuild. More money than I want to put in.
 
Basically what you need to do is star by getting an air compressor oiler and filter. Don't cheap out on the oiler if you want your system to last for a long time. This is the oiler/filter I use and have filled up hundreds of tires and my compressor is still running strong. To save money you can use your stock compressor hoses and barbed fitting with hose claps to attach the filter and oiler. Hook the oiler to the inlet and the filter to the outlet of the compressor. Make sure to keep the stock outlet hose as long as possible to help dissipate heat. From the outlet of your filter you will want to hook up a manifold like this one. On the manifold you would attach your pressure gauge, pressure switch, and an air pressure safety valve. Then get an air tank and run an air line from the mainfold to the tank. For the wiring you would hook a wire up to ignition power and run that to a SPST switch, run a wire from the other side of the switch to one of the wires on the pressure switch, and run the other wire on the pressure switch to the wire on your compressor. Then just hook up another air hose with a tire filler end on it to the tank and you are ready to start filling tires. This is in my opinion the cheapest way to go and have a safe, reliable OBA system. Let me know if you have any questions.
 
Here's mine, including the tank cost me about $150, but if you only build it to 125 psi you can find some of the parts cheaper.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1047419

Since this writeup, I've replaced the filter once (it cracked from heat), and moved it to the other side of the check valve. I've had to replace the few feet of hose under the hood once because of heat damage, but 5 feet of hose is cheap (50 ft costs $20, so I've got plenty laying around). And I've swapped the oiler for the large harbor freight compressor oiler, instead of a tool oiler, much higher oil flow and resevoir.

So basically if you use it regularly, you're looking at about $50 of maintenance every year. I fill up 4 36" tires from 4 to 35 psi every other weekend on average, and I've run air tools a few times on the trail.
 
more stable on the street, helps makes those bias plys just a little stiffer. But I run 4 or 5 psi on the trail, so they're nice and squishy out there.
 
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I've been thinking about this and was wondering if you could use the condenser as a cooler for after the ac pump? I hear alot about the heat problem with doing this setup and was just curious if this would be more of a PIA or not.
Thanks for the great info.
 
I know this has been talked about but I can't find the threads.

The search function on this site is no good when searching for a 3 letter string.
Read the sticky post on this forum about searching, and pay particular attention to the section on google search.
 
I've been thinking about this and was wondering if you could use the condenser as a cooler for after the ac pump? I hear alot about the heat problem with doing this setup and was just curious if this would be more of a PIA or not.
Thanks for the great info.

I am going to try this, so I'll let you know. It seems the heat is definitely worth battling.
 
I've been thinking about this and was wondering if you could use the condenser as a cooler for after the ac pump? I hear alot about the heat problem with doing this setup and was just curious if this would be more of a PIA or not.
Thanks for the great info.
I am sure the AC condensor would cool the air charge quite well. The question is how much pressure can the condensor handle? :dunno:
 
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