jpmagazine.com OCTOBER 2019Write Us!
Got a tech question you’re just
itching to get answered? Send it on in to
Jp Magazine, Your Jeep, 831 S. Douglas
St., El Segundo, CA 90245, or email it to
[email protected].YOUR JEEP
Our first thought is that you should
verify what kind of bushing the springs
have, and also identify who manufactured
the springs if you can. Aftermarket springs
usually use polyurethane bushings, but
some use OE-style steel-encased rubber
bushings. Polyurethane bushings will
usually have a light press fit in the spring
eye, and there are shoulders on the
bushings to keep the spring centered in
the spring hanger. OE-style steel-encased
rubber bushings are typically molded
with an outer steel shell that has a very
tight press fit into the spring eye, and it is
this press fit—along with a molded inner
sleeve—that keeps the spring centered. If
the bushings are polyurethane, then most
likely the bushings shoulders have worn
away and the bushings themselves need
to be replaced. If the bushings are rubber,
then either the rubber bushing itself
has broken down or the spring eye has
stretched a little and caused the press fit
with the bushing’s outer shell to loosen up.
Regardless of the cause, the fix is fairly
easy with a new set of polyurethane
bushings. But this is why it’s important
to identify the spring manufacturer if you
can, because not all spring manufacturers
will build springs that match the OE spring
eye dimensions, meaning that a set of
polyurethane stock replacement bushings
may not work with your lift springs. At
a minimum, you’ll want to measure the
diameter of the spring eye s and c ompare
that with the dimensions of the bushings.
You should also pay close attention to
the poly bushing directions. Some poly
manufacturers build their bushings to fit
within the rubber bushing’s outer shell,
so you simply burn out or otherwise
remove the rubber but leave the shell in
place. Other manufacturers require you
to remove the outer shell, and the poly
bushings slide directly into the spring eye.
Even if the spring eyes are stretched a little
bit, the shoulders on new poly bushings
should keep the springs centered and
solve your problem.The Right Air Source
I’ve recently installed ARB lockers into
some 1-ton axles going under my rig, a
20 02 TJ. W hat is the b es t way to supply air
to them? Do I install a beltdriven compres-
sor under the hood? An electric compres-
sor elsewhere? Do I need an air tank? I love
driving this Jeep so it won’t be a trail-only
vehicle (thus my reason for the air lockers).
The engine has 200,000 original miles and
runs great but I wonder if the beltdriven
compressor would be too much for it? Any
help would be much appreciated.
Brian W.
Via emailIf you’re only concerned about air to
activate the lockers and maybe fill up a
tire occasionally, the easiest thing to do is
mount a small electric compressor under
the hood. ARB (arbusa.com) offers three
different compressors with different perfor-
mance levels and price tags, and since theyare designed to work with the company’s
Air Lockers, installation is a simple plug-
and-play operation. There are many other
electric compressor choices as well, with
various cfm ratings and price tags to match.
Running an air tank isn’t necessary for just
the lockers, but a tank is handy for filling up
tires. The ARBs themselves don’t require
a whole lot of air volume or pressure, so
even a small compressor is adequate if
you’re only worried about actuating the
lockers. Note that the smallest compres-
sor ARB offers is not intended for filling up
tires. The medium-size compressor does
an adequate job but doesn’t really have
enough capacity to fill big tires efficiently.
If regular air-ups are part of your plan, then
we’d spring for the company’s big compres-
sor. There are multiple other compressor
manufacturers, including Viair (viaircorp.
com) and Smittybilt (smittybilt.com).
If you want an unlimited high-volume
air source for things like running air tools
and filling up big tires, it’s hard to beat
a beltdriven compressor. Most of the
units you see in the off-road world are
converted air conditioning compressors,
such as a York or a Sanden. If you don’t
care about A/C in your Jeep, you can
convert the Sanden compressor that’s
already on it (assuming the Jeep had A/C)
into an air compressor, or you can easily
add a compressor using factory parts
sourced from a junkyard if your Jeep is
not equipped with A/C. The mount for
the compressor should already be there,
so you simply need a compressor that’s
compatible with the mount. Converting
the A/C compressor to an air compres-
sor involves either rigging up some sort
of oiling system or disassembling the
compressor and greasing the bearings.
There’s also a fair amount of plumbing
involved along with some wiring. We’ve
detailed this process in past issues.
Though a beltdriven compressor is a lot
more work than wiring and plumbing an
electric compressor, it’s hard to beat having
a portable high-volume air source. With an
air tank that’s a decent size, you can do just
about anything with a beltdriven compres-
sor that you can do with your compressor
at home. Even with a lot of miles on it,
your engine will be more than capable of
running a compressor.1,000’s of tire package deals on the Desert Rat website
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