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Selecting
the Correct York
by Dan Dohrn
Why On Board Air?
Airing down your tires is often a requirement of many off-road adventures. Airing down is the easy part, it’s getting the air back in that becomes the challenge. There are a few options out there, such as 12v compressors, a Power Tank, or a York air conditioning compressor run by your engine. A Power Tank holds a limited amount of air and takes up a large amount of space. A 12v compressor is small, but
simply does not live up to the task of providing enough air. That leaves the York. If set up with an auxiliary air tank, the York will provide a very impressive amount of air. Enough to air up your tires in a matter of minutes and run air tools.
Where to Find a York Compressor?
So, where does one get a York compressor? Fortunately, York compressors are readily available at a reasonable price at almost any junkyard. There are a few different kinds of York compressors out there. There are mini
Yorks, which work, but are not the best for an OBA setup. You may also run across older style cast iron
Yorks. I don’t know much about these, but I would avoid them just for their considerable weight. That leaves us with the more common standard York compressor, which is what you are most likely to find at the junkyards.
Which vehicles should you look on for a York? I would start with AMC vehicles (Eagles, Concords, Jeeps, Gremlins, etc). Yorks can also be found on many Fords, Volvo’s, some VW’s, and some other makes and models. Look for an engine that matches what you are putting your York on, that way you can grab any brackets and idler pulleys you may need as well. If you can’t find one on an
AMC, then make sure to check the “offset” of the pulley (how far it sticks out from the compressor body) on any others you may consider. If you are going to custom make mounting brackets, then this really isn’t an issue, but if you plan to use the stock mounting brackets or Kilby’s kit (www.onboardair.com) then the pulleys will have to be in the stock AMC location in order for the belts to line up properly. Another consideration is finding a pulley with the correct belt type. There are both V-belt and serpentine belt pulleys out there, make sure you get the one that will work for your engine.
How to Identify different Yorks?
There are a few variations of the standard York compressor. Although they will all work for
OBA, the most desirable is the 10ci displacement model due to it’s ability to move more air. There are two ways to identify the displacement of the York. First, and easiest, is to look for a small metal tag attached to the front of the compressor. The displacement in cubic inches is displayed in
the model number.
There are exceptions to this. AMC and Ford often attach their own plates to the front with a company specific part number that does NOT display the displacement of the compressor. So how do you determine the displacement if the tag is missing or is a different manufacturers tag? Luckily there is another way to identify the model. To do this, you need to remove the clutch/pulley assembly from the front of the York. You will need to keep the clutch from spinning while you remove the retaining bolt in the middle of the pulley. I’ve heard of others using channel locks or vice grips to hold the clutch from spinning, but I choose to use an air impact wrench instead. Once the retaining bolt is removed, then you need to drive the pulley off the shaft by threading a 5/8” coarse thread bolt into the pulley. A few turns of the bolt should pop the pulley off the shaft. You can then examine the shaft to see which model it is.
How to Test the York Compressor?
Before you leave the junkyard, you should test out the compressor to make sure it works. If you turn the clutch (or shaft if the clutch is removed) by hand, you should be able to hear or feel some air being sucked into the intake and forced out of the discharge outlet. Keep in mind that turning the outer v-belt pulley will not do anything since the electro-magnet clutch has not been engaged. Next you need to test the clutch. To do this, all you need to do is ground the case of the compressor, and hook a 12v + lead to the clutch wire. You should hear a click and the pulley and clutch should now turn together. I decided to take a chance on mine and test it at home since I was in a hurry when I bought mine. I just used a set of jumper cables hooked to my CJ-7’s battery to test the clutch.
To see the Installation of a York OBA system on the n2jeepn.com project Jeep, go
here: H8PVMNT York OBA install
n2jeepn.com
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