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Faunsdale, AL | I would try it. They make aluminum soldering/repair rods that you can buy a pack of at tractor supply for $25. I’ve tried to repair a line I didn’t want to remove and it flowed great on the line itself, but the crack ran up under a cast aluminum piece that was swaged around the tube to make a bracket to attach it to compressor. I couldn’t get the stuff to flow under the bracket and so never could seal it completely. It looked great on the part of the line that was accessible.
A propane torch is about the amount of heat you want. I used acetylene and had to be very careful. Scraping the surface is a good way to prepare for the repair. Or use stainless steel wire brush or probably emery cloth would be fine just before you fire up the torch. If you’re afraid it might be too thin, you could make a patch but it would need to be prepped the same way. No oxidized surfaces remaining, only new bright aluminum.
You’ll need to disconnect the line somewhere so it cannot build up pressure. Don’t breathe the smoke/work in well ventilated area. No real danger of it exploding or flaring up. Ideally you would purge/flow nitrogen gas through it as you were making the repair, but I’ve brazed plenty of copper lines on refrigeration units replacing compressors etc without the purge and had good success.
Edited by ccjersey 5/13/2025 20:14
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A/c line-5/8 aluminum leak
