Harbor Freight Air Compressor Head Gasket Replacement... Again!

We're back again with my 21 gallon Harbor Freight air compressor to once again attempt to repair it. Looks like yet another head gasket blew out of it. I went through some additional extraordinary measures to try to patch it back together... once again.
Video Links:
Ryobi 18v Die Grinder ► • Ryobi 18V Cordless Die...
First Head Gasket Video ► • Old Harbor Freight Air...
Cheap Upgrades For Cheap Air Compressors ► • Cheap Upgrades for Che...
Air Compressors/Air Tools Playlist ► • Old Harbor Freight Air...
Stuff Links:
M20 x 3/4 Adapater ► amzn.to/3EKg69j
Air Filter ► amzn.to/31Q71Ns
These "should" be the same head gaskets as what I used in the video ► amzn.to/3F3boq8
Want to contact me? [e-mail]

[@RussellYarnell]

My neighbor put one of these compressors by the curb. I picked it up and am ordering the parts now! Thanks!

[@TheBrokenLife]

You're very welcome. Good luck with it! 👍

[@jdprice3043]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP

[@TheBrokenLife]

Thank you for watching! 👍

[@tarstarkusz]

It is almost certain this is not the oldest or most repaired harbor freight compressor out there. There are a lot of people that keep their equipment long beyond what is normal. If you don't outgrow it and you're going to replace it with a HF unit, why not just fix the old one? As cheap as this one is, new ones are probably even cheaper. As long as the repairs are nickels and dimes, you're ahead of the game. I wouldn't buy a new motor or tank or head, but a gasket occasionally (every few years, not months) is probably not that big a deal and something the new one will start doing soon enough.

[@TheBrokenLife]

It's impossible to know who holds that record, but I'd put mine up for it. It was broken out of the box, but it was easier to fix it than return it. Ever since then its wanted some attention here and there every few years. All in all, I can't complain. But... I knew it was too small the day I loaded it into the truck and that I was going to work it way too hard and not feel bad about it. It's just the age old situation of buying the best tool you can afford so that's what happened. In fact, I bought it on credit so I couldn't technically even afford it. The truth is that it's been a far better tool than what I paid for. The amount of abuse I've subjected it to over the years, despite the failures, is mind boggling. As for cheapness, HFT appears to be fulfilling a prophecy I made a coupe of years back and is attempting to move their entire product line up market now that they've pretty much crushed all of their competition. Price wise, they've discontinued this entire class of machine and the replacement product is twice as much money. Is it also twice the quality? I doubt it... That's why I don't intend to buy another HFT compressor. When they're 80% under the competition it's sort of a no-brainer, but within 20%? No way.

[@tarstarkusz]

I would heavily clean those fan blades. Even a small amount of dust/dirt on a fan blade severely affects the air flow. I do my regular fan once every few weeks and by the time I do it, when I turn it back on, I'm always amazed at how much more airflow there is after cleaning it. The blades a much more aggressive on the compressor than a box fan, but I'm sure it is doing something and since you're having overheating problems, it's probably a good place to look.

[@TheBrokenLife]

The overheating is from my insane abuse. :) I think it's only rated at something like a 50% duty cycle, then I run it for hours continuously anyhow. When I know I'm going to be running it hard, I do try to put an auxiliary fan on the compressor as well. The internal fan is legitimately about to fail. The D shaped drive slot is going to soon become an O, then no fan.

[@tarstarkusz]

There's a drill attachment you can get for removing gaskets. James Condon YT channel (works almost exclusively on generators) has one. I think it's made by 3m. It really does a nice job by the videos anyway and without damaging the surfaces.

[@TheBrokenLife]

Are you talking about the 3M bristle discs? I've been wanting to try those for awhile, but they're kinda spendy so I haven't yet invested. I've been a big fan of the scotchbrite discs for ages though. All the same, I wanted to keep as much stuff out of the bore as I could so just going around it with a razor blade ended up working out OK.

[@tarstarkusz]

@@TheBrokenLife Yes. The one he uses is the white one.

[@TheBrokenLife]

@@tarstarkusz Yessir. A perennial member of my Amazon saved items. haha I'll probably order some before I split the tractor. I'm going to have to do some cleaning inside the hydraulic system and wires/scotchbrite fibers in there wouldn't be the best idea.

[@jjmccloud]

Mine has a completely different head, gasket and reed, it used the 2 feeler gauge looking reeds. Maybe an updated version 🤔 its about 5 or 6 years old. I've replaced the reeds twice so far lol

[@TheBrokenLife]

When I was originally looking for parts I discovered there are at least 10 variations of this sort of compressor. There's even a version that uses parts that look almost identical in pictures, but around about 20% smaller in reality. 😆

[@timothymccarter9404]

Just use some 1184 on the new gaskets , won't have to do all that sanding , plus , it'll never leak or blow out

[@TheBrokenLife]

I'm not sure how well any kind of sealer might work out in that application. Those gaskets have some sort of a wax coating on them from the factory. If I'm honest, I didn't really mind the sanding. 😆One thing about making videos is that you end up spending very little time "alone" in the shop, so, moments where I can put on some music and do a thing for a little bit are kinda nice from time to time.

[@TheBrokenLife]

As luck would have it, it _just_ popped the head gasket AGAIN. I have nothing left to lose since it's next stop is the trash can. What exact "1184" are you talking about? Threebond?

[@bjcouche1]

@@TheBrokenLife I don't know what 1184 is either, but what I would try is Permatex RTV silicone gasket maker. I would suggest the Ultra Black type because it's oil resistant. They do make many different types and the ultra red is better for higher temperatures but doesn't list for oil resistance.... This gasket maker is commonly used on many modern car engines from the factory. I've seen it on small diesel engines too. Never on head gaskets, but just about everywhere else. An engine head gasket has way more than 150PSI, so maybe this stuff will work on an air compressor head...... The trick to getting a good seal is to A: have the flattest mating surfaces possible, and B: wait for it to cure overnight before placing any pressure to it. You don't need a thick bead, just enough to fully coat between the mating surfaces... My HF compressor sounds like it has the same issue, it takes forever to get from 90 to 115psi, so I'll be trying this shortly. Also note, you can't use the gasket maker if the original gasket thickness was required as the gasket maker will squeeze to thinner than most cardboard gaskets. you can get the permatex gasket maker at most auto parts stores, and even Walmart.

[@TheBrokenLife]

@@bjcouche1 I've been thinking this over for the past week or so and I think I'm just going to use hi-tack on it, mostly because I already have some. My compressor simply is not worth any additional financial investment at this point.

[@jamesworful787]

Where did you find your gasket kits. Mine is a Steele products air compressor. But your gaskets look the same.

[@TheBrokenLife]

What I actually bought came from Walmart's website via a 3rd party Chinese seller and it's been so long ago that I wouldn't trust it to be right anymore. The link below on Amazon "looks" like what I have and they're advertised as being from the same brand. amzn.to/3F3boq8 Also, I _think_ in the video linked below I provided some rough measurements of the gasket size: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYfSZpWlg5aMiLs

[@jamesworful787]

Well, it’s a starting point. Thanks for the reply. Great video by the way!

[@TheBrokenLife]

@@jamesworful787 Thank you! Good luck with it! 👍

[@TheKeithrg1972]

Where do you get the gaskets?

[@TheBrokenLife]

They're linked in the description. 👍

[@TheKeithrg1972]

@The Broken Life thanks, I saw that afterwards, mine won't get over 80 psi suddenly and I'm hoping it's the gaskets because the reed valve looks fine.

[@TheBrokenLife]

@@TheKeithrg1972 I agree. It's probably the gaskets.

[@TheKeithrg1972]

@@TheBrokenLife gaskets fixed it, dirt dobber had air filter hole stopped up, so maybe that's what caused it, idk thanks for the video

[@TheBrokenLife]

@@TheKeithrg1972 I would have never guessed that a dirt dobber nest would have been able to survive the vibration and suction of an air compressor inlet. Wow... Glad it's fixed! 👍

[@m3chanist]

You have sanded a surface that was previously machined flat... with a 2x4.....words fail me. You think your hand sanding with a piece of wood has more planar accuracy than a milling machine? Really..FFS. Those wee machining marks are a non issue, they pale into insignificance compared to the importance of it being planar across the entire face. Humour me, put some blue on that surface, a piece of thick glass will do in the absence of a surface plate, I hope you like rolling hills or the surface of the moon and more repeat maintenance.

[@TheBrokenLife]

I think that was the 3rd gasket it let go of for reasons unknown and sanding it a bit certainly wasn't going to make it worse... and it didn't. Whatever happened on a mill in China 25 years ago really doesn't mean anything today. It's not as if I'm going to spend $100 having the cylinder head of a $150 compressor surface ground. 🤣You can be as offended by that as you like.

[@m3chanist]

@TheBrokenLife I'm not offended. Why would your bungling offend me? Not my circus, not my monkeys, I'm just in the audience, watching the spectacle. Your attempted rationalisation re old Chinese mills vs your precision 2x4 are amusing, though. Another spin on the old chestnut, The poor workman tries to blame another's tools, but not his own. Well done ! Edit to add: spotted this comment of yours from year ago below "As luck would have it, it just popped the head gasket AGAIN." Contrast that with the above, " sanding it a bit certainly wasn't going to make it worse... and it didn't." So the question is, who do you think you're fooling? Some commenter on KZbin? Or yourself? Is denial just a river in Egypt? Is learning anything so much less important than pride? Go buy a new victim, fixing this one isn't an option for you. I'm sure it will take a while before its replacement succumbs to your charms.

[@TheBrokenLife]

​@@m3chanist It wasn't a rationalization about an old Chinese mill. I was telling you this compressor is _decades_ old so whatever [poor] surface it left the [Chinese] factory with makes absolutely no difference now (despite it being visibly rough in the video.. but, whatever...). If the head is warped, so be it. If I can sand it out with basic stuff laying around the shop, great, if not, then I guess you get to whine about it. I'm not going to put an endless amount of resources into a junk compressor that I already got my money out of 10 years ago. Maybe you would..? Awesome. You can make your own video about it... Everybody starts somewhere! Good luck. It didn't make it any worse. It lasted just as long as the one before it. Again, you can be just as angry and insulted (and insulting) by that as you like. There's something up with this compressor where it's popping gaskets and I didn't do anything to effect it in either direction. I'm not trying to fool anyone. Trolls forget that _I'm_ the guy that makes the videos... I could tell any story I want and make myself and my projects appear to be anything. I don't have to be honest with anyone... but I am. You think I left that comment on accident? You think I don't know that a block of wood isn't a surface grinder? You think I've never resealed a cylinder head before and had success? 🙄 Ultimately, it's for those reasons that I really don't care what you think... because you didn't. If you don't like the video, cool... Thanks for the click, the comments, and the promotion in the bigger KZbin picture. If I'm lucky you even thumbed it down, giving me the perfect tri-fecta of viewer interaction. 👍

[@m3chanist]

@@TheBrokenLife An endless amount of resources..good grief. One tube of Permatex Ultra copper or Loctite 587 would have broken the bank would it? I'm glad you are counting your KZbin pennies, you'll need them to buy all that new landfill in waiting. " just popped the head gasket AGAIN" --> "certainly wasn't going to make it worse... and it didn't." It's a river then, riiiiiiiiight. Now I'm angry and insulted!? Ha, chuckles the clown strikes again. You are obviously as skilled a mind reader as you are a mechanic.

[@TheBrokenLife]

@@m3chanist Thanks for watching! 😂 K