4x4Wire Reviews Kilby Enterprises' York Compressor Kit

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Kilby Enterprise York Kits

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Short Cuts

By: Jeff Yokomura- 12/2000

Here are all the parts that came from Kilby Enterprise. Notice how everything in individually packaged or boxed.

The Ultimate in Onboard Air

Only a few years ago it was uncommon to see a rig set up with onboard air. Today, just about everyone's rig has it. Back then there were only a couple of options: a Thomas electric compressor from Currie or a York compressor from Ready Air. Today, with increases popularity of onboard air, there are a lot more options. ARB adapted their small electric compressor that used to be used just for their lockers -- it now can be used for filling up tires. Sun Performance came out with their Quick Air and Quick Air II compressors that are bigger than the ARB compressor but still compact. The king of the electric compressors is the Thomas compressor sold by Currie. This compressor goes under a few other names, but it's basically the same compressor. All of these electric compressors work fine for tire inflation but none produce the volume of air needed to run air tools or set a tire bead.

At the time, there was only one company that supported this, Ready Air. Ready Air was one of the first companies to sell engine-driven air conditioner (A/C) compressors for use as an air compressor. These units were used in many cars for A/C during the 70's and 80's. Ready Air had a contract with Therold Industries to build brackets for Jeeps. This was the ultimate set up; it produced enough air to rival small shop compressors.

Solberg makes a variety of air filters and silencers. The silencers will not only filter the incoming air but also make the compressor run quieter.

A few years ago the owner of Therold Industries retired and Brad Kilby bought the left over stock and tooling and starter making his own kits. Under the name Kilby Enterprises, Brad produces brackets for multiple different applications. He now sells kits for 1987 to Present Wranglers along with some Cherokee kits. Kilby Enterprises carried different kits for applications with A/C as well as those without.

We ended up buying a kit for our 1992 2.5L Wrangler without A/C. Our Wrangler already had an onboard air system in place. Because most of the hardware needed to run an air compressor was already in place, we didn't have to buy much to get the York compressor working. The old compressor was a Quick Air II with 2.19 CFM at 0 psi. This meant that at 80 psi, it produced a mere .99 CFM. With Sum Performance's 2.5 gallon tank, this set up allowed use of air tools -- but only for short bursts. Filling up all the tires took up to five minutes, depending on their size. The York compressor produces 4.3 CFM at 90psi and 1200Rpm (at the compressor). This is a huge jump in usable air volume.

Since the availability of a York compressor in a junkyard here in Hawaii is almost zero, we decided to but a brand new unit from Kilby Enterprises. These units are new -- not rebuilt. This compressor was from a company called CCI which specializes in heavy duty compressors for mobile air conditioning. A new clutch came with the compressor. All the parts were grouped and packaged with their own instructions. This made putting together the compressor an easy job. Everything was either boxed or packaged in sealed bags. Even the bolts were separated so there was no confusion on which bolts to use where.

Here is a list of all the components we bought.

CCI York Compressor
Main Mounting Plate
Serpentine/V-groove pulley
2 York Flange Fittings
Upper support bracket
Adjustable pressure relief valve
Gates V belt
Solberg Intake Filter/Silencer
80-100 Pressure switch

Because the compressor sits on the passenger side of the engine, some clearance problems may occur. A body lift, engine mount lift, or transfer case lowering kit can place the compressor too close to the inner fender. In this case there might be a need to bend or cut the fender for room. Our Jeep had a 1.25-inch JKS body lift and a transfer case lowering kit installed. This brought the compressors too close to the fender. The driver side engine mount was broken, lowering the passenger side of the engine even more. Everything on the passenger side inner fender was removed to make way for the compressor. Later on, we'll install a JKS/Currie 1-inch motor mounts and then remove the transfer case lowering kit -- that should give us plenty of room but for now it clears, though just barely.


Before installing the compressor, make sure you have enough room on the passenger side wheel well.	The brackets are galvanized in zinc, so rust shouldn't be a problem.	Here is the adjustable pop-off valve and the four springs. We used the silver spring which pops at 150 psi.	The top view of the York compressor. Notice the O ring. When the caps were removed, some air escaped under pressure.

Here is the York waiting for the rest of the hardware to be attached. Note: the fitting on the top are half-inch NPT.

The compressor uses a V-groove belt for power. Included in the kit is a combination serpentine/V-groove pulley that needs to be bolted to the alternator. Before doing this, be sure to disconnect the battery. Unbolt the alternator and remove it from the Jeep. Use an impact wrench to remove the bolt that holds the stock pulley on. The impact wrench is able to twist the bolt off before the alternator starts to spin, without it, the nut will turn with the armature. The brackets are easy to bolt on, as is the compressor. Brad recommends running 30W oil in the compressor but I've heard that just about any oil will work. You will probably want an oil separator to be sure that there isn't oil in your air lines. Many people attach a return line from the oil separator back to the compressor so the oil is recirculated.

We were impressed with this kit. It had just about everything you need. Kilby Enterprise has a limited supply of compressors so it's best to contact Brad beforehand to see if he had any in stock -- otherwise you'll have to wait for his next shipment. Kilby Enterprise also sells nice air tanks that would supplement the York compressor nicely. The compressor inflates all four tires in no time. For those who have a electric compressor and want an upgrade -- here it is -- this is the ultimate in compressors. Kilby Enterprise also sells kits for Sanden compressors. These are the same rotary-style units that late-model Jeeps use as A/C compressors. If you don't have A/C then you might want to consider ones of these. Otherwise just get the York... you won't be disappointed.

Contacts:	Related Links:
Kilby Enterprise 1847 N. Keystone St. Burbank, Ca. 91504 Phone 818-848-2900 Fax 818-848-2974 e-mail:brad@onboardair.com	Extreme Outback's New "Big Red Plus" Air Compressor JeepWire JeepTech

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