Hello, Is this under warranty? (450C goes boom...)

[VIAIR]

When you buy a VIAIR compressor, you will note that there are bolts that hold the front cover (intake, air filter side) onto the compressor motor.

When you realize that you want your compressor to be mounted upright on a surface that is perpendicular to the ground - please - build a mount for the compressor!

Removing the bolts and swapping the mounts to the backside, is a nifty idea - but there's nothing to hold the front cover on!

Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. It happens all too often.
The cure... call AVS and get one of their smokin', cool, nifty compressor mounts. Here: http://www.avsontheweb.com/product.p...325&bestseller


The remains:

[Xonair]

So they are using the same bolt that is orignaly to hold the housing to the body? I know this would be the wrong solution, but wouldn't you think that they would use a longer bolt to account for the bracket they are relocating to the compressor?

[VIAIR]

Yes, they didn't check to see if the front cover was threaded. Since its not, the compressor basically blew itself apart.

Besides disassembling the pump and voiding their warranty, this could have been avoided by using a proper mount. They could also have used a longer bolt, and a ny-lock nut on the back side rather than reversing the bolt into nothing...

[shave05]

now would be a good time to tell people which way the compressors should be mounted since people always mount them sideways. just clarify it for them. vertical? upside down? sideways? which is best

[Xonair]

see I never took one apart to notice that the heads aren't threaded, but I am sure I would have looked into it first before putting it back together. lol.

now know the head isn't threaded possibly how long did they say it lasted before it blew?

[97gmcextcab]

Yikes...I did this on both my viair 400's...been running them for a year like this...I didn't swap the brackets to the back side though, the bolts still go through the same way. I believe I filed a bit of the bracket to make it still fit on the front.

[Kontrol Phreaks]

Originally Posted by shave05

now would be a good time to tell people which way the compressors should be mounted since people always mount them sideways. just clarify it for them. vertical? upside down? sideways? which is best

You want to keep the compressor mounted so the head is pointing up towards the sky, or down towards the ground. By mounting it this way you can also extend the life of the pump vs. mounting it sideways. With the compresor piston traveling straigh up and down the piston ring will ride evenly on the cylinder wall.
When mounted sideways they'll tend to wear one side of the cylinder soon as gravity pushed debris downward. You can purchase new replacement cylinder walls through KP, along with all the Viair rebuild parts, but properly mounting the compressor will prevent/delay the rebuild.

Clint

[Toolman]

Good info here! Thanks!

[cuddcountry]

this is good stuff. lets keep this going. what are some more does and don't for compressors

[Kontrol Phreaks]

Originally Posted by cuddcountry

this is good stuff. lets keep this going. what are some more does and don't for compressors

I don't suggest allowing the compressors to run without the vehicle running. Reason being is that when the vehicle is running it "excites" the alternator and generate 13.8 - 14.1 volts which is required to charge the battery. Most compressors are designed and rated to have a minimum of 13+ volts supplied to them while running. If the vehicle is off, then the compressors are drawing off 12 volts only that are stored in the battery. This will make the compressor run on lower voltage which is hard on the electrical motor, and pulls a serious load through the power supply.
Ever notice on vehicle how the lights are a little dim until you give it the gas. That's when the alternator is "excited" and the amperage kicks up on the alternator output.
This is the same with the compressors. You can clearly hear a difference between a compressor that's running when the vehicle is turned off, vs. when the vehicle is running. The compressor RPM will kick up when you supply it with full power and run to it's potential.

Hope some of this is helpful.


Clint

[VIAIR]

Head-up installation is always preferable, whenever possible.

Never mount upside down if you can help it…

Heat travels upwards… upside down installation keeps all of the heat in the motor housing. It will never migrate through the head and dissipate through the heat sink incorporated into the head assembly.

Sideways is better than upside down, but remember - you can’t overcome gravity and everything has a weight associated with it and therefore also has a weight bias. The side of the piston seal closest to the ground will wear sooner than the opposing side.

[shave05]

Originally Posted by Kontrol Phreaks

You want to keep the compressor mounted so the head is pointing up towards the sky, or down towards the ground. By mounting it this way you can also extend the life of the pump vs. mounting it sideways. With the compresor piston traveling straigh up and down the piston ring will ride evenly on the cylinder wall.
When mounted sideways they'll tend to wear one side of the cylinder soon as gravity pushed debris downward. You can purchase new replacement cylinder walls through KP, along with all the Viair rebuild parts, but properly mounting the compressor will prevent/delay the rebuild.

Clint

stop eating jelly beans and playin on the internet and get to work clint
let lance do his job lol