I have a Harbor Freight Central Pneumatic air compressor that I would like to find a new oil dipstick for. Harbor Freight tells me it will take 6-8 weeks or longer to get one. Has anyone had any luck finding spare parts any place else? By any chance does anyone know if they are a generic part and could be purchased through another manufacturer?
TIA
Respk
Congratulations. This is what happens when you buy things made in China. What happened to the old dipstick?
Thanks for the proverbial 2x4 to the head.
The plastic threads have stripped.
I don't suppose you have an answer to my questions?
Respk
JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
You're welcome.
No.
i'm assuming that the reason you are asking the question is that the compressor will leak if the disptick is not tightened and you wish to use the compressor sooner than six weeks from now. What about using a bolt and copper washer (if the dipstick has straight threads) or a pipe plug (if it has pipe threads) to seal the hole while the compressor is running, and only use the stripped dipstick for checking the oil level? The threads will likely be Metric as as Joe implied, much of HF's merchandise is made in China.
good luck,
nate
snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:
Temporarily, how about a rubber stopper?
Bob
Good ideas. I hadn't thought of a bolt, but why the copper washer?
In talking with HB customer service it seems debatable whether one can be obtained at all. I just thought it might be quicker and/or easier to find a secondary source if one exists.
Thanks for the help.
N8N wrote:
I have tried one stopper but it keeps popping out. When it does the compressor throws oil all over the place. I am searching for another stopper that is closer to the right size but haven't found one just yet.
Long term I thought it might be quicker and/or easier to find a secondary source for the dipstick if such a thing exists.
Thanks for the help.
Bob F wrote:
You might want to try a trick that worked for my outboard engine, when I dropped the oil filler cap into the water. There were only 3 days left to my vacation - not enough time to order the cap. I called my dealer, who suggested buying some Reynolds heavy duty aluminum foil, crumpling some into a hard ball slightly larger than the opening in the motor, and twisting it into place as if it were the cap. Not only did the motor's threads sort of cut their mirror image into the ball of foil, but because I crumpled the foil hard enough, I was able to unscrew it and screw it back in.
because I'm just assuming that oil is splashing all around in there and the copper washer will seal the underside of the head of the bolt to the crankcase so no oil leaks out.
I also like the aluminum foil idea that another poster suggested. I hadn't thought of that myself, but it seems reasonable that that would work.
nate
I'm going to try that. Especially since it is quick and if I can unscrew it and use it over.
Thanks.
Respk
JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
Thanks.
N8N wrote:
Just keep an eye on the condition of the foil around the threads. Heavy duty foil shouldn't start flaking - and you don't want that in the oil. Make a new foil ball if it seems to be wearing out, and don't be constantly playing with it.
Another idea: Do the threads in the compressor seem to fall within the realm of "normal", like any kind of typical bolt you'd find in a hardware store? If so, and you can use a bolt to determine the thread size, then you can have a metal shop create something that'll put the K in Kustom. :-)
My Harbor Freight Compressor has a broken Glass viewer plug for the compressor oil level. I need a replacement for it too so please post your search results.
I would get a bolt and washer and just use that. If you really need to use the dipstick to measure the oil level, just remove the bold and use the dipstick and replace the bolt. Harbor reoght is not in the business of providing replacement parts (based upon the prices that they charge for them). And replace the air valve at the output of the compresor with a good one.
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