Outer Limits 4x4 Board

bare with me please - the air compressor was sounding like there was a bit of dirt in the main bearings so i ripped it out and stipped it down. Flipped the seals out of the bearing, degreased it, dried and repacked it with new grease and its now better than new.

So that got me thinking why not strip the whole unit down for a bit of a look/see for any more crap etc. So i did and all was good but i fully degreased everything anyway for the hell of it. Its construction is a sloped face that mated to a flat face with a super flat bearing in between. This flat face has 5 pistions hanging from the other side that swivel in all directions when removed. When its together it works via the sloped face spinning round the flat face thus causing the pistons to move up and down in a smooth motion like a crank shaft.

Now to my question - ive always pumped grease for unis (that dark blur/black colour) into it via the nipple on top every 10,000ks or so and thats exactly what i removed before cleaning so now im putting it back together i was wondering if it would be ok to run it on oil if so what type or stick with the same grease or different stuff. the compressor mounts on its side so a reasonable amount of oil would be needed i assume to be picked up and distributed around. If i should stick with the grease how much is really needed.

sorry no pics as im retarded at that stuff.

thanks in advance

I believe the people who sell the Endless Air comps recommend plain bearing grease. A few pumps of the grease gun every now and them is all thats required.

Why not call and ask them, they will point you in the right direction.

Oil is MUCH better than grease, BUT it will come out with the air, so you will need an air-oil separator (coalescer) after the compressor.

Since the compressor you have doesn't have a sump (the york type does), it is best to feed the oil in with the intake air - then you have a system like what happens in an air-con system (where there is oil travelling round the system to lube the compressor). You can do this either by using a tool oiler, or by running a capillary line from the bowl of the air-oil separator to the intake (a much better system IMO - as you don't need to fill up the oiler and empty the air-oil separator).

so aprox how much oil and what type should be in there at any one time.

So let me get this right - an inline oil air seperator is placed at the beginning of the outlet hose. The drain port on the seperator is them plumbed into the intake hose between the air cleaner and compressor and vacuum created by the sucking effect of the intake will recirculate the oil continiously.

I understand that its a 5 port saden wobble plate compressor.

bump......

Just use grease.
The oil seperates out anyway and should get caught ibn the bottom of your air tank.

Bazzle

guzzla wrote:so aprox how much oil and what type should be in there at any one time.

So let me get this right - an inline oil air seperator is placed at the beginning of the outlet hose. The drain port on the seperator is them plumbed into the intake hose between the air cleaner and compressor and vacuum created by the sucking effect of the intake will recirculate the oil continiously.

I understand that its a 5 port saden wobble plate compressor.

Engine Oil or Gear Oil - nothing special (or compressor oil if you have access to it). Don't need much - 10-20ml should be plenty - depends on the length of your loop - basically enough to make sure it is constantly circulating.

Yes you are correct - in-line separator after the compressor, with a line from the drain to just before the intake air goes into the compressor. If you want to be really fancy you can drill and tap the bowl of the separator just above the drain, and run a capillary line from there. This will mean that you can drain water off, but keep the oil circulating around.