As with anything that has ever been manufactured, there is always a chance of some sort of problem. Most problems are prevented by simply following directions. If you are a hammer and pry bar mechanic with the patience of a two year-old you will have considerably more problems than a patient installer with the correct tools.

You Have Flange Gasket Leaks

One of the most common complaints about headers is gasket leakage. The flange bolts work loose and the next thing you have is the persistent ticking sound of an exhaust leak. Checking the tightness of the flange bolts should be considered part of the routine maintenance of your vehicle, and it is easy. When you change your oil, check an air filter, or any basic maintenance in the engine compartment, go ahead and check your header bolts. Of course the use of 3/8" thick flanges has reduced the ability of the bolts to come loose, but it is not perfect. Sanderson's patented gasket-less flange design has also helped. If you made the mistake of installing a gasket on the raised-flange Sanderson headers,you created the leak because the design will buckle the gasket. We have had customers call and complain about Sanderson Headers leaking, and then we find that they have tried two or three gaskets at a time to try to fix it, when all they had to do was read directions and only run a bead of high temp silicone. But there are other concerns to be aware of.

• Is your exhaust system secure? If you have the exhaust pipes swinging in the breeze you are going to put add strain on those locations that are supported, mostly the header flange and collector flange.
• Are the bolt threads in the cylinder heads in good condition? If you have worn out threads in the cylinder head, there is a greater chance the bolts will work their way loose. The same holds true for fasteners that are worn out.
• Using low quality stainless steel flange bolts? The use of most stainless steel header bolts is not recommended because the material can become soft and will work their way loose. If you must use stainless steel header bolts, use a quality set from ARP.

Your Ceramic Coating is Cracking, or the Welds are Cracking/Separating

You probably won't like the answers here, but all we offer is the facts. The most common cause is that your engine is out of tune. Yeah, you can argue that your the best tune-up person in all of North America, but it is poor tuning that ruins ceramic coatings, peels off chrome plating, and busts up the welds on your headers.

If your EGTs (Exhaust Gas Temperatures) exceed the stable range of the material or coating, there is nothing that can save them. Both a too lean condition (not enough fuel) and a too rich condition (too much fuel) have the ability to raise the EGTs beyond the capacity of the header. Vacuum leaks, clogged exhaust, incorrect valve adjustment, carburetor/fuel settings, timing settings will all affect EGTs. It is your job to make sure everything is correct, and sometimes it takes having the right equipment (air/fuel meter, 4/5-gas analyzer, etc) to know for certain. Plug reading, knowing how to use a vacuum gauge, looking inside the tailpipe, and using common sense helps too.

You can also cause weld failures if you are trying to stuff too much engine through primary tubes that are too small. What this means is that you have too small a primary tube size for the engine size or horsepower output of your engine. You may think you are only restricting horsepower, but you're also exceeding the thermal capacity of the header. When this occurs you will generate very high temperatures through the header, but even higher where the primary tubes merge at the collector. This is more of a problem on very short headers. On applications where your only choice is a short header, size selection becomes more critical. You must ensure that the header you select has the correct primary tube diameter for the engine size, operating RPM, and power output of your engine.

Can't I Use A Thermal Heat Wrap (Tape) On My Headers?

Again, being blunt ... sure, go right ahead. We'd be happy to sell you a new set of headers every year.

Thermal wraps work great, but they destroy your headers. There is not one header manufacturer that will warrant a set of their headers if the customer installed header tape on them, period. When circle track race teams were using these tapes, at the end of the race the only thing holding the headers together was the tape.

So, in a simple terms ... DO NOT USE HEADER WRAPS if you want your headers to last. We have more detailed information on this issue in theTech Zone section of the website. Using these tapes will void your header warranty.

The Headers Don't Fit No Matter What I Try

The first question we will ask is if you ordered the correct headers? Did you first compare the images and dimensions listed on the website with the available room in your engine bay? Did you make sure you specified which cylinder heads you are using? (on engines that have numerous aftermarket cylinder head offerings)

There will be occasions where no one makes a header for your application, and purchasing a plain steel Sanderson Header and modifying to fit your vehicle is the most cost-effective solution. Custom headers are expensive the build, usually starting at over $1100.00. If you see an application that looks close to what you need, and you have the ability to modify the header, go for it. But remember, as soon as you start cutting, pounding, or tweaking the header you will not be able to return it.

Sanderson Header Warranty

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