Cat 3406B Air Compressor

real easy three nuts and a few airlines and off it comes you will have to take the drive gear off and put it on the new air comp a good 1/2 drive impact can do that. oh yea dont forget to drain the antifreeze. one more thing if there is any age on the water lines and oil line replace with new dont reuse the old ones. they get brittle with age.

 

I did it years ago- if I remember right, instead of draining the coolant, I took off the radiator cap and pinched off the coolant lines to the compressor head with vice grip pliers. (Got to be careful you don't split the hoses.) And, I remember using red hi-temp silicone instead of the stock gasket.

Here's a tip if you can use it- compressors are rated by flow. I've always installed the highest flow units possible. To me, it's worth it- my last truck was an FLD with a Detroit- installed a 1,200 cfm unit in that truck and was very satisfied with it. Under a load (with manifold boost), it would build pressure and exhaust in three seconds. And it handled every air leak these old rusted trailers had.

Some drivers claimed large volume compressors use more fuel- but there is no difference in fuel mileage, just more air faster.

Anyway, always do it yourself, take your time, do it carefully- and you'll probably only need to do it once.

 

yea i did that once 1 day later sitting along side the road calling myself a dumb ###. sometimes it works sometimes it dont.

 

When draining the coolant if you have a water filter put a five gallon bucket under it usually you can hook the handle of the bucket over the bracket then unscrew the filter, when it drains dry then it's down below the water level of the compressor, and save having to crawl under the truck and draining the entire 15 gallons. Sometimes when going back with the new one it won't line up with the gears, just turn the compressor gear a little with your hand. If you want you can also label each line with masking tape and a pen.