On Board Air (HELP)

[C.]

I am installing the kit from Kilby Enterprises (www.onboardair.com). I seem to be having a tuff time.



In the attached pic notice how the compressor touches the over flow bottle on the radiator. What have you guys with this set up done to cure this?



And notice the v belt on the compressor, it is loose. Did I assemble everything correctly? It looks to me like I need to find a shorter belt. I measured around the 3 pullys. I came up with 29 inches. The supplied belt was 31 inches long.



I have the Bosch Alternator if that helps.



Any help with this would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[EricBu12]

Bummer on the comp. hitting the bottle, you might be able to dent in the bottle to keep it away... .



I don't have this but I was to assume the small pully is the adjustment for the tightness of the v-belt. might be a bolt with 2 nuts, right? If so, that is the adjustment bolt...



I was tinking about this setup as I have the bosch alt. he made a special kit for it, is that what you have?



If you get this all going good, let us know how it goes.



One little bit of a suggestion, paint the compressor black to give it a clean look. Just remember to mask off the openings.

 

[C.]

I solve the belt problem with a 29" belt.



I tried out the compressor. It took 36 seconds to fill a 4 gallon tank at idle. I still need to to gather a lot of small parts to finish this project.



EricBu12- Yes that is the kit from Kilby enterprises for the Bosch alternator.

 

[tgbol]

Try taking a heat gun to the water bottle and push it in for clearance.

 

[rubberneck]

I have the same set up on my truck, and all you need to do is heat the corner of the overflow tank with a heat gun and dimple it in slightly. As for the belt, the idler is adjustable man, just rotate it outward to tighten it up.

 

[C. Harlan]

I was looking at their website, but it only shows that they make them for the ISB's... do y'all know of anyone who makes them for the 6BT's??? I want to get one, so I can run my train horns...



-Chris-

 

[Kilby]

C. like rubberneck said, you have to pivot the adjustment arm outward to tighten the belt. Loosen the bolt holding the aluminum arm to the steel bracket. Use a wrench to put tension on the belt and tighten the same bolt. The 15305 belt should have worked just dandy.

 

[Straight6Jeff]

I heated the overflow bottle and made the dimple. The Supplied belt worked just fine and has plenty of adjustment. Just curious, is taht a different mounting bracket for the Bosch? I had originally had the Bosch, and it missed the mounting hole bya bout 1/2 inch. I knew that it might not work going into the project, but Brad Kilby was great at helping me get the issue resolved. His customer support should be noted as top notch. To top it off, the products he sells are all very high quality.

 

[Kilby]

Straight6Jeff, the ND and Bosch rigs take the same bracket. The only difference is the alternator pulley. I don't remember the circumstances with your install off hand but we haven't been having any fitment issues between the two. <shrug> The Bosch guys will have to trim a couple of fins off the alternator to get it to fit though. No biggie. Thanks for the support too.

 

[Straight6Jeff]

Brad, it's easy to have positive feedback on your system, you have a great product. Yep, I had both the pulley issue and the fin issue.

 

[Clinton]

Yo Brad, still keeping up with this thread? Any developments on the 6BT (12 valve) motor? Thanks.

 

[Kilby]

Nothing yet. I haven't had a 12V truck in my shop for awhile now. We're working on some late model Chevy stuff right now so when that stuff is done, maybe we can locate a 12V'er.

 

[rubberneck]

My dad just built a bracket to put this system on his first gen (It bolts straight up on a 2nd gen 12 valve also, but the overflow tank was way in the way and would need relocation) Anyway, after seeing my set up that i got from Brad, he had to have one. Unfortunately, they haven't had the opportunity to get a 12valve truck in the shop to fab up a system. So my dad built his own bracket, and bought the tensioner and double pulley from Kilby. First off let me tell you that Brads kit is the only way to go for the 24 valve trucks, and hopefully soon the 12 valvers also. I cant tell you how many hours my dad had in fabbing up the bracket. For what Kilby charges for their kit, its a steal. All the work was worth it though, because the engine driven system kicks buttt over the 12 volt driven york style my dad had been running for several years. I will try to get some pics of it and post them. Brad, maybe you can use the pics for some ideas when you finally get a truck in the shop.



On a side note, one observation i have had after several months of running the system on my truck. Get the oil return kit that plumbs in to the bottom of the coalescing filter and returns the oil to the compressor. Draining the bowl manually and pouring it back into the compressor gets to be a pain after a while. Now that i have the return kit, i just have to crack open the ball valve, and the job is done. You will not believe this system. I can run air tools off of it just like the home system. This is one of the best bombs i have put on my truck...

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Just curious.....

I like the principle of onboard air but was wondering how much that compressor unit's presence in the engine bay will be a hindrance when changing the oil filter, which will be shoehorned just behind... ??? Any chance of a picture from behind or the side to see what the clearance is like please?



Cheers

 

[Straight6Jeff]

The compressor sits up high, above the alt, forward of the oil filter, so it does not interfere with the Oil filter access at all. Then again, i have a 6 speed so I do not have the heat exchanger lines in the way of the filter access either. The alternator is relocated about an inch further southward, but that is about it.

 

[ImagesThatSing]

Well Isn't This Unit Just Sweet!

I just bought an air compressor to run off my portable generator I carry for boondocking, have to change the air pressure on Friday before going up to the mountains, and then reduce it when I get there, then fill again before I come down. It takes a while to fill the rears from 40# to 72. 5#. If I had known about this product I would have made that choice, ti looks like a much better solution.



Anyone have any idea about the loss in mpg from drag if any?



This is just sweet!

 

[tgbol]

I haven't noticed any change in mileage. With the small size of the pulley on the alternator and the large one on the compressor you have a pretty good mechanical advantage.

 

[mschoenheider]

I have not noticed any difference in my fuel mileage after installing my York.

Mark

 

[TBrennan]

So any word on the 2003 kit? I know Kilby has a 2003 so it can't be too long now can it?

 

[C.]

???

C. like rubberneck said, you have to pivot the adjustment arm outward to tighten the belt. Loosen the bolt holding the aluminum arm to the steel bracket. Use a wrench to put tension on the belt and tighten the same bolt. The 15305 belt should have worked just dandy.







The aluminum arm supplied in the kit has a whole drilled and tapped in it that is larger than the 7/16" bolt that the idler mounts on. The instructions call this an eccentric. So how do I tighten this up???



Do I have the correct parts?