Hi, I've got a 2007 E-250 with the 4.6L v-8 gasoline with automatic trans.

I was wondering if there was an underhood air compressor kit that would directly bolt to the engine with a kit that would not require fabricating brackets and piecing together parts to make something work?

I have see the Vmax underhood kits for diesel trucks but nothing on their website or youtube videos suggesting anything for the E-series work vans with gasoline engines.

is there such a thing available?

I would prefer a ready to bolt on kit but if nothing is available only then would I be interested in piecing together something and fabbing brackets.

My main reason for such a thing is that I use my van for a mobile mechanic service and my air tank runs out quickly.
I could go with a generator and compressor, or just a gas compressor but I don't want to breathe gasoline fumes or use a power inverter with a small compressor as the inverters are not all they claim to be.

The ultimate deal would be a switched, clutched operated underhood compressor.

I'm suprised I have not found anything doing Internet searches given how many for E- series work vans there are out there that could benefit from such a device.

If anyone has installed or knows where I can get info on this, please let me know.

Thanks for looking.

 

A quick search shows that VMAC makes what you're looking for.

Let Me Google That For You (Click Here)

 

VMAC doesn't have a kit for the 4.6 or the "E" series.

 

Yeah I've seen the them for the diesels and the Triton, but not the gas v-8 engines.
Contacted them directly and I'm hoping they might have something in the works.

 

Sorry for the nitpick, but the 4.6L, 5.4L, and 6.8L engines are all Triton engines. Unfortunately none of the applications listed are for vans though.


Please let us know what they say!

 

well comanche, i use an older van for a mobile mechanic service, so i thought i might share what i've got in my van, and a few related thoughts.
to start with, i'm in an 87 e350 diesel, but thats not too important for us today. in short, i run an inverter system with good results. the long story is that i have size 4d truck battery mounted under the body, outboard of the left frame rail, isolated from the starting battery so i'm not afraid to run my compressor with the engine off. as you probably know, you can buy a multiple battery isolater for this exact purpose, mainly with RV applications in mind. i went to the extreme and mounted a second alternator for it, even though its overkill. i also went overkill on the wiring, running a 2/0 wire from the alternator to the battery, and from the battery to the inverter, which is a 2000w harbor freight model.

for compressors, i have a harbor freight 26 gallon 150PSI vertical unit mounted in the right rear corner AND a 6 gallon porter cable 150PSI unit mounted elsewhere. the two are connected by a hose so running one pumps them both up. i've found the porter cable to be pretty efficient in terms of power consumption, it draws 10 amps and pumps pretty fast. i can run it for several cycles before it runs the battery down.

i also thought about running an underhood compressor, the problem is you have to leave your engine running to pump air, and thats a lot of engine for not a lot of air. its just not efficient.

along those same lines, trying to run an inverter all day long runs the battery down to the point you have to run your engine, again being inefficient. thats where the next part of my plan comes in.
i plan to set up a pressure washer engine (engine only) driving an automotive alternator, with heavy jumper cables coming off it. i'm hoping to find a way to control the engine speed by the battery voltage of whatever its connected to, so it'll idle down when the battery is full, and rev itself up as needed. this unit will then be connected to my aux battery when i'll be working for a long time, and fired up as needed. it'll also serve to charge/jumpstart customer cars when they need it.

let us know what you end up doing

 

The VMAC stuff is almost an ideal underhood air compressor system---I've seen many a big truck tire service vehicle outfitted with something similar. Sadly as already observed no one makes such a system for our E vans.

I'm really hard pressed to see how or why VMAC believes their existing engineering experience couldn't easily produce something for our vans. Like most in the aftermarket though vans don't seem as sexy a potential sales opportunity. I talked to VMAC about this before, they're of the thought van owners don't need them so they're not going to do all the (imaginary) R&D to create the package for us. I politely suggested IF they had it, made a point of promoting it they might be pleasantly surprised at the reception. Think of all the cab/chassis or ambulance bodies that have been outfitted for on-road service trucks.

All that being said a company called ViAir makes 12 volt compressor systems that might be suitable for your needs Commanche. They won't power a 3/4" impact gun continuously but to my mind they have considerable capacities in pressure and storage volume for what they are. There are a few models with 100% duty cycles as well.

HTH

 

Excellent responses fellas.
Sorry about the limited knowledge on what engines are triton and what not...I thought the v-10 was the only Triton they made.
See I know Mopars inside and out but still learning on ford stuff so forgive me.

Josh, I like your set up with the inverter powering your compressor and to tell you the truth I would probably not need more than that as I don't have a real big demand for air and could probably get by with a small pancake compressor.
I don't use impact guns for wheel bolts, just torque wrenches and breaker bars since I mess with high line cars and their wheel bolts are picky as are the customers.

The most air demand I have is for topping off tire pressures, blowing debris from residual oil leaks and dust out of cabin filters......things like that so a small air tank usually suffices but there are times I wish I could fill it up or had a small compressor.

If I could get an inverter that will run a small pancake compressore that would be fine but the idea of the underhood compressor is very appealing.

I wonder if more and more people contacted them about making the kit for the E series vans if they would finally change their mind.

From what it sounds like is that they make enough money selling them for the trucks that they don't feel like bothering with the limited space under the hood of the E series vans, I/E waste of their time.

At this point it's been two days and I still have not had a response back from contacting them but I will share any info they give me if they do respond.

 

since you're just using it for an inflator, a $60 harbor freight pancake compressor could easily run off an inverter, and be cheap. mind you those baby units only put out 100PSI, which won't support my impact guns for very long, but would support your needs pretty well i think. just choose an inverter whose continuous load rating is bigger than that of your compressor, run large enough wires to it, and you'll be good to go. its pretty simple to calculate - watts = volts * amps, so my compressor is 120v * 10a = 1200w. so 1200w is the smallest inverter i could use with it.

good luck, and let us know what you end up doing

 

Seems to me that you're looking for something that's out of the way, and for that I would highly recommend something like the Viair setup that was mentioned above. Check out this thread: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ir-system.html

 

Oh yeah---great small, powerful and not too crazy priced either!

I've considered one for myself but for no more than I need or use air under pressure its somewhat a needless expense. It would however give me a perfect excuse to get one of those 140 db air horn systems that sound like a train. Talk about a traffic mover!

 

Yeah that would be cool of I could use it to fill up my portable air tank.

I already have fat cables ran from the battery to a AC delco power inverter but I will probably need another one since this one popped a 60 amp fuse trying to run my shop vac the other day.
Think It's a 1500 watt rated power inverter.

I'm gonna do some more searches on the Vlair set up and from what I've seen it would not be a problem to install it inside the cargo van where I could fill my air tank at will.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

a lot of shop vacs suck a lot of power. many are labeled 15a @ 120v, which would mean 150a @ 12v, so yeah, that would pop a 60a fuse. a 1500w inverter would draw 125a at full load, so a 60a fuse is too small

 

He said that their R+D department really has no interest in making kits for the E series van and believes they are being discontinued.
Okay...I can see they have no interest but I asked him if he could talk to some of his engineers or tech guys and ask if one of their kits can be converted or adapted to work.
He did not seem interested in getting into that...I don't blame him since their kits are not officially designed for this so I can see some CYA going on....good enough.
BUT....he did refer me to this link and if you scroll down you can see they make belt driven compressors...Hmmmmm....Interesting....and much cheaper.

Their portable units, similar to the VIAIR compressors look pretty interesting also.

Check it out.

Products : Extreme Outback

 

My latest reply from extreme outback about the under hood compressor.

Maybe you guys can shed some light on the compatibility of the two engines mentioned.

Reply:

We do have a belt drive kit for the 5.4 van of your year, I’m pretty sure the 4.6 is the same on the front half of the motor and I need to confirm that. The belt drive kit with compressor, mounting brackets, belts, pressure switch, heat hose, etc is going to run about $975.00. Like I said, we need verify that it will fit on the 4.6 V-8.

We can use either our ExtremeAire or ExtremeAire Magnum to fill your existing air tank. The difference between the two is horse power, ¾ hp vs 1.5 hp. Both are continuous duty with fan cooled motors.

Give me a call when you get a chance to discuss various options I can offer you.

Thanks,
George Carousos
Extreme Outback Products
866-447-7711 toll free