Air Compressor Worth Fixing?

[whatamidoin]

Hi All,

I have an older (10-20 yrs old) Craftsman air compressor specs are: 230 volt, 30 gal (I think), 5HP ( I know really like 2.5) belt driven compressor.

I bought it from a ******** of craigslist a while back and stupid me trusted the guy without listening to it run. Well the motor seems to run fine and it pumps air quietly and quickly until around 50 PSI and then it starts to make lots of noise, run real hot and not pump much air. I think I need a new cylinder I was thinking about replacing the whole pump with this one: t

https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2009092820415124&item=4-1762&catname=air

Questions are: for the price of the pump is it worth it, will this be fairly straight forward? I originally paid $200 for the compressor and I am willing to do another $120 - $140 but no more.

What would you do???

Thanks.

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

If the tank's decent, i would invest another $150 in it.
Can you post any pics of it?

 

[whatamidoin]

Unfortunately I do not have any pictures (broken camera) but I think the tank is ok. There was some water in the tank when I first got it but it does not leak and is in good shape from the outside.

 

[whatamidoin]

I guess the real question is has anyone done something like this and is there anything I should know before the undertaking?

 

[Motley]

If the check valve at the tank is bad, when it starts building pressure it can start doing what you are describing. It could be working too hard against the tank pressure. I would let it build up as far as it can then shut it down. Crack the line between the head and the tank and see if there is pressure there. If air keeps coming back up out of the tank, you know that valve is bad. I would check that before replaceing the pump.

 

[kbs2244]

I am with Motley on this.
It sounds like it was a pretty HD compressor to start with.
I would check out all the valves and controls before jumping into a whole new head.

 

[whatamidoin]

Thanks alot for the replies all. I will look into the valve first.