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Part I Four wheel drive enthusiasts pride themselves on being self sufficient. Most trails are miles away from the nearest town or major road. Decreasing tire pressure helps us get much better traction on the trail, but when it becomes time to drive home, 15 PSI or less makes your rig sluggish (well, more than usual). There are a few options to get around this problem. They all have their ups and downs.
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On several trips during the summer of 2001 I called on York compressors mounted under the hood's of other Broncos in our group. When their tank was full, I'd have a tire from 10 to almost 30 PSI in less than a minute. When drawing off of the York alone, it still took only a little more than a minute to get to street pressure. I wanted a York, but the bracket was the piece I needed.
Several months ago, Mark brought a new company to my attention called Bronco Air. Initially it was the quality of the bracket that drew us to the product. After further consideration, their design put the York compressor in a much better location. By putting the compressor above the power steering pump and next to the AC compressor, the York takes up space that would otherwise go unused. Another benefit is that it is unobtrusive and you do not notice the compressor since it is hidden below the air intake tubes. Another reason that attracted me to the Bronco Air setup was that it came in kit form. I do like hunting down parts at the junkyard, but if I can save time by getting everything in kit form, all the better.
To identify the York's model number, the easiest place to start is the metal York (not Motorcraft) ID tag bolted to the front of it. There is a number on the tag that looks like "F2XXY", where:
These are simply some basic things to look for in a junkyard. I will post some helpful links at the end of this article where you can obtain more specific information about selecting the right compressor. Anyways.. back to the install.... After removing 20+ years of grime from the York, I set out to start on the project. First, I went by the parts store and picked up a pulley remover to pull the power steering pump pulley. It was under $20 and was designed specifically to remove the Ford C-2 power steering pump pulley.
I have a fairly stock 351 engine in my Eddie
Bauer. My only concern was how tall the York would be as I didn't see any
pictures on the Bronco Air site with the intake tubes installed. They were
removed to show the York. I also have a K&N FIPK and found that this
modification actually simplified my install.
I would have to say the most difficult part of the entire project is the removal of the power steering pump's pulley. I ended up having to take the arm that the power steering pump is mounted to, off, in order to get the new pulley on. My advice would be to remove the pulley after you have removed the entire arm that mounts the power steering pump.
After the bracket is in place, the next step is to slightly bend the AC line that runs near the bracket. It is pictures in the picture on the far right, above. Bend the line a bit straighter by where it passes over the power steering fluid reservoir. Its best try and get an extra inch of line so the bracket does not pinch the line between it and the power steering fluid reservoir cap. Once the line has enough room, tighten down the bracket. Now you're ready to bolt your York on to the bracket. Slide the York in place and put on the belt. Before starting the engine, take the supplied zip tie and secure the high pressure power steering line down and out of the way from the V belt. I ended up using two zip ties for peace of mind.
To get your Bronco equipped with onboard air, the best and easiest path is by heading on over to BroncoAir.com. Chris will take good care of you and send out everything you need to bolt up your York for only $210. I have fabricated similar parts in the past and once you factor in buying the materials, trial and error, and all the time involved, it is a pretty outstanding price. The workmanship and construction of the bracket is also outstanding. It looks like a part made for exhibition in the local car show. Like Damon wrote in his article: This is a fun project that you can do for under $300. You'll learn a lot of make many new friends in the process of filling up the tires of fellow four wheelers. There are many other great articles concerning adding a York to your vehicle. Here is a list of resources that we have found to be most helpful: Kilby Enterprises
www.onboardair.com Thanks to Don and Damon who have gone down this road before. Thanks to Mark for helping me pull the grimy York at the junkyard.
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