air compressor repair

[egchewy79]

off topic question
my smaller pancake air compressor stopped holding pressure over 25-50psi the other day.
I did a bit of research and read that the head gasket might be bad.
I removed the cover off the compressor and heard some air leaking from the compressor tank to the pressure gauge. The like is a "flexible" nylon and the fittings have what appear to be shark bite type fittings and can be released by depressing a spring. there was some air hissing from both sides of this line, but this isn't my question

There's a hard line going from the motor to the compressor. I had to remove one end of this to take a look at the gasket and notice that the other end of the line going to the canister was fractured.
Now if I did this while removing the other end or if this was the main reason for my inability to get higher pressure, I'm not sure.
The hard line is a piece of bent aluminum and there's a ferrule and brass threaded collar that holds the line to the male fittings.
Do you guys know where I could go to get a new one fabricated? I thought of flaring the existing broken end, but not sure if this would be enough to hold pressure given the use of the ferrule/olives press fitted on to the existing hard line.

I was thinking AC shop, but not sure where else to explore.

oh, and FYI both gaskets looked fine when it took apart the head.

[Al_C]

Does the new piece have to be aluminum? Do you have to have flared connectors? Would it be possible to use different materials and connections? If you have some flexibility, it could simplify the repair and save you a lot of searching for specific parts. Just trying to think creatively.

[edwardb]

I have a Porter Cable pancake compressor in my basement shop that I've used for a lot of years. It too wouldn't hold air. Took it apart and thought it was the seal kit on top of the piston. A reed type valve that opens and closes with the piston movement. Ordered new parts and replaced but that didn't solve it. Upon further review, it was a simple one-way valve on the outlet that had rusted after years of work. Simple replacement and all good again. My point is that I found basically every part available on-line. Porter Cable is a common brand. Don't know what your is. But you might find the part(s) you need are readily available. Even if you have to replace a larger assembly to get what you need, I found the parts prices to be surprisingly reasonable.

[egchewy79]

thanks guys
my compressor is a cheapo HF special.
I found some premade lines on ebay for super cheap, like $8.
I'll give it a whirl to see if these work.