Central Pneumatic compressor 38898 has a leaking gasket

by Larry
(Allendale MI)

My compressor was leaking air.

Took off the cover that says DO NOT REMOVE. NO OWNER SERVICEABLE PARTS. It is the switch compartment. Found a gasket had a hole in it. It was easy to get at and the gasket should be replaceable.

Where could I find a replacement gasket ?? I would hate to throw the compressor out just because of a leaky gasket. That is all it needs to get it back working again. HELP !!!!

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Larry, just had a couple of questions similar, so I wrote a blog entry that addresses that issue.

Recognize first of all that a compressor pump head gets very, very hot in operation. Yes, you can burn skin with the heat generated, so any gasket material has to be heat resistant.

What some visitors to this site have done is as follows.

They acquired gasketing material. They disassembled the pump and located all the gaskets that were present. They then either removed them to use as a template to make new ones, or used the surface where the original gaskets were installed as a template, if the gasket was beyond removal in one piece. With the old gasket template as a guide, they marked the new gasket material appropriately, and cut the material to suit.

If your air compressor won’t build pressure past a certain point, the most frequent causes seem to be either the intake or high pressure reed / flapper valve is failing, or a gasket is letting go. You may, nor may not, be able to see the failure point if it is the gasket. Yet, once you have the pump apart, you might as well eliminate that as the potential problem, by installing new gaskets.

If you can’t buy them, you can make your own.

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Service Manual for #38898
by: The Webhunter

I have the same compressor.
Did you ever get your gasket info??

This link has a downloadable manual that lists a sku# for some gaskets in a kit and has an exploded view of the compressor.

powertool.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/harbor_freight_tools/38898.html

Not sure if it is the gasket you need.

Here is the Harbor Freight Customer Service #
1-800-444-3353 if the kit has what you need.
Later!
The Webhunter

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