Can a cracked aluminum head from an air compressor be fixed by a welder? It is cracked on the compressed air side, not the exhaust side. I don't know what happened, but when I was putting the head back on after replacing the o-ring gaskets and tightening it down it cracked. Thanks for your time...
The best scenario might be that this type of repair qualifies as a "definite maybe". The part would most likely need to be held tightly to a flat plane to assure that it will be flat when it cools. Otherwise, it may require quite a bit of machining, which may remove enough material that the part would be weaker than the original part. The best choice would be to obtain a new replacement part if it's available.
I suppose the possibility of repair mostly depends on why and where it cracked. There are numerous other repair considerations of withstanding pressure and high temperature, thermal cycling/expansion and proper sealing everywhere.
WB ................
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