I have the Kleeman long tube headers since 2006. Friday afternoon I noticed all of sudden a loss in power and loud exhaust noise. Got home and checked around under the hood and noticed the crack in the passenger side header. Contacted Kleeman about suggestions on how to handle the problem. This morning brought to car to the shop and they took care of it. They had an experienced mechanic and welder. The whole job (taking off, welding and re-installing) took less then 1 day and for less then $400.00. I am sharing this info and attached pics b/c I know a lot of people have the Kleeman headers and want to pass along my experience. I am very happy with Kleeman and how helpful they were when I had this problem.

 

Great to hear that you got it fixed so quickly but shouldn't the header be covered under warranty? I would think there's some type of workmanship limited lifetime warranty.

 

always good to hear a reputable vendor taking care of their customers

 

Thats one hell of a crack. For such an expensive product, I would expect better to be honest.

 

No, not so lucky. Kleeman only offers a 1 year warranty.

 

Anyone ever have their Evosport shorties crack? Just wondering if that's something I get to look forward to.

 

Yes, there at least 2 people that I know of that had their evosport headers either crack or leak. It's always good to keep an eye out for these things just in case.

 

Thats ridiculous. First off, I would NEVER drive with a cracked and re-welded header. Its just silly.

The fact that you also had to pay for the repair also bewilders me. I would expect more from Kleemann.

Edit: That's not even a crack, its a full-on BREAK!

 

Wow! I believe they have a known problem with this cracking.... right? Maybe it would be in their best interest to sell them with some type of coating that will help prevent the cracking.

Pretty shady if you ask me. I wouldn't even consider purchasing the headers with a known problem like that, especially if they won't warranty it outside of a year. I hope they step on and replace instead of repairing with a band aide.

Price for the repair is 25-30% of the product....doesn't sound to good to me.

Do other companies have the same problem with stainless steel headers or is the SS grade of Kleeman's headers just cheap?

 

I hope that does not happen to mine.

Are you located where mother nature can affect the headers?

 

I am in the Southwest.

 

 

Why would you not drive with a repaired header? Lots of parts on cars have welds, including lots of headers.

To the OP: are the Kleeman headers stainless? Coated?

 

Me personally, I wouldn't like it. Especially when you pay a premium for a name brand product and the buyer is responsible for the repair. I could be totally wrong on this but if it's a know problem it should be addressed and warrantied. JMO.

 

My point was that all headers have welds on them. If done properly there isn't an issue. How do you think you join the flange with the tubes? Tubing into the merge?



As far as the manufacturer, should they provide a lifetime warranty with every part? Don't you think that would increase the cost significantly? He's had the headers on for at least 3 yrs - how would Kleeman know if he ran into something that tweaked the exhaust and damaged the header?

He bought the headers knowing he had a 1yr warranty.

 

did they warranty the repair?

And I agree that I wouldn't mind driving around with a re-welded header, the weld is most likely stronger than the original weld.

 

I do not believe the headers were stainless steel. I believe they were mild steel but not coated.

 

No, they did not. Their warranty is only for 1 year.

 

I guess lifetime would be to the extreme and not very cost effective on Kleeman's side.


Is it typical for SS headers to crack? When they do crack is it in the same location? Could it be the type of grade they are using to save cost? Have any of the newer headers had this problem or was it the earlier ones? Probably all good question to ask when purchasing.

Not taking anything away from Kleeman because they are a kick a$$ company! I'm just curious if the newer manufactured headers are still having these cracking issues. Other than that

 

All these guys saying kleemann should warranty these aren't real familiar with what the "lifetime" really is on uncoated mild steel. It really ain't that long, and he's already had these for over 3 years...

 

I know of no tuner that sells "uncoated mild steel" exhaust parts. At the very least, it would be aluminized mild steel, and even that's shady IMHO. In any event, Kleemann's headers are full 304 stainless-steel.

You won't have a problem with an exhaust manifold cracking, but headers are known to crack from time to time. Agree with some above posts - if it's 3 years and who-knows-how-many miles after the original sale and install, that really isn't too bad... just get 'em rewelded and you're good to go.

 

I believe they use full 321 stainless, which is why they aren't coated.

 

Sure doesn't look like stainless in the pics he posted...

 

Cory

 

That wasn't even the craftsmanship that failed, the actual tubing failed. They shouldn't have charged you in my opinion.