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One school of thought is that using quality parts (OE or OEM) to begin with, might help to at least minimize that (and the frustrations).I suspect I will always be paying to have something repaired or replaced for as long as I own it.
I appreciate the fact that it may be a false economy. "Penny wise, pound foolish" and all that. Not suggesting it's for everyone or even a stable long-term solution. It may just be a band-aid to get you back up and running in the short to medium term. Plus, I have been looking at videos on DIY replacement of the compressor unit and it looks like the kind of thing that any generally competent person could manage with a few regular tools and the willingness to struggle a bit through the process. If so, just a guy (like myself) could do the repair if they bought the genuine Hitachi unit and did a self-install for about the same price as it cost me to have an independent install the cheap Chinese one.
Having done it, and now with the hack, what's your thinking on if this could be done in the field on a prolonged excursion should a compressor fail and you're carrying a spare? Sounds like it could be fairly possible, maybe a half day, but won't be stranded if out in the desert for example.In full disclosure, I just replaced my cheap Chinese suspension air compressor last night and this morning with a replacement the Chinese company covered under warranty. The original one gave out at the start of the week and I was showing "Only Normal Height Available". Just finished up the install. Seems to be working (at least for now). They sent me the new one and didn't charge me a dime. One of the first real mechanical jobs I've done on the LR4 (or ever). I watched all the videos and went real slowly, carefully. It wasn't too big of a deal and now that I have done it and know what is involved, I can see it being a pretty routine swap out in the future. I understand I should go OEM or with the genuine Hitachi and I will once this one dies. For me, it was an opportunity to do something myself on my own rig, develop some mechanical competence, and a sense of accomplishment and ownership that can only come with "sweat equity". There is an impossible hidden bolt high up on the mounting bracket that attaches to the frame and I took the advice of one video mechanic and slotted the mounting hole to allow me to slide it over the started bolt. That was great hack and I never would have been able to get that bolt back in without that tip.