Kooks header failure

Bad weld or not, if you have a crack or pin hole in an exhaust part.. especially a header and don't fix it... It will get bigger. Heat and vibration are not your friend; metal fatigue will happen.
Bend a paper clip enough time and it will snap like a twig.
Not trying to sound like a jerk, its just the way it works.
 
97MarkJA said:
Bad weld or not, if you have a crack or pin hole in an exhaust part.. especially a header and don't fix it... It will get bigger. Heat and vibration are not your friend; metal fatigue will happen.
Bend a paper clip enough time and it will snap like a twig.
Not trying to sound like a jerk, its just the way it works.
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Oh no man, not a jerk statement at all. That's exactly how it happened. It was at the back of my mind to call my mechanic and have him fix the exhaust leak, but I had no idea that a header bung on an $800 set of Kooks would have been the issue so I put it on the back burner for too long and it bit me in the a$$.

On a side note, Mark, can you fit a welder on the front passenger's side primary and get a patch on there for me? Just curious as I have seen that you are no newbie when it comes to metal work. Not trying to sound like a mooch. I always am willing to make monetary donations. :p Sounds like a piece of stainless and some 308 filler would be the ticket assuming it is accessible. It doesn't look roomy though. :(
 
KStromberg said:
Oh no man, not a jerk statement at all. That's exactly how it happened. It was at the back of my mind to call my mechanic and have him fix the exhaust leak, but I had no idea that a header bung on an $800 set of Kooks would have been the issue so I put it on the back burner for too long and it bit me in the a$$.

On a side note, Mark, can you fit a welder on the front passenger's side primary and get a patch on there for me? Just curious as I have seen that you are no newbie when it comes to metal work. Not trying to sound like a mooch. I always am willing to make monetary donations. :p Sounds like a piece of stainless and some 308 filler would be the ticket assuming it is accessible. It doesn't look roomy though. :(
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You are never going to get a TIG torch in there and the filler rod(thats 2 hands) at same time and work the foot pedal at same time. They make MIG SS wire also. Does look like you could fit that in there.
 
Right on the Mark said:
You are never going to get a TIG torch in there and the filler rod(thats 2 hands) at same time and work the foot pedal at same time. They make MIG SS wire also. Does look like you could fit that in there.
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+1 I looked at mine, no way I could get my hands in there with a tig torch and filler rod; I don't think I could get my mig all the way around it in the car. My luck I'd blow a hope in the worse spot to get to.
J
 
97MarkJA said:
+1 I looked at mine, no way I could get my hands in there with a tig torch and filler rod; I don't think I could get my mig all the way around it in the car. My luck I'd blow a hope in the worse spot to get to.
J
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Whats funny is some times I have had to arc weld because the rod is 12 inches long(thin) and you can bend rod all different ways to fit in tight spots that are far away.
 
Good idea!!! Before that though, I am going to give Kooks a call on Monday.At the very least, they are going to know how pissed off and unhappy I am.
 
I don't think you will get anywhere with kooks, bill has exclusive rights to the headers. Kooks won't even sell them direct.
 
ford nut said:
Junk.
Fits in with the other stuff Bill sells. :)
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I agree. If this has been an ongoing issue(which it sounds like I'm not the only one), then I view it as his fault for continuing to sell them. That may be the issue with a lot of the things he sells. I hear about crappy suspension parts, yet he still continues to sell them too. Vendors need to go through their inventory and re-evaluate the parts they are selling especially when there are numerous complaints, not continue on and be stubborn about it.
 
wow that blows. that colorado rust. your not gonna get enough of a weld in there to go all the way around, a patch maybe. saturn5 has the simplest temp solution. who knows bill might do something for you tell him to pay for the repair.
 
KStromberg said:
I agree. If this has been an ongoing issue(which it sounds like I'm not the only one), then I view it as his fault for continuing to sell them. That may be the issue with a lot of the things he sells. I hear about crappy suspension parts, yet he still continues to sell them too. Vendors need to go through their inventory and re-evaluate the parts they are selling especially when there are numerous complaints, not continue on and be stubborn about it.
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Remember you generally only hear the complaints on any product. There's many, many more satisfied customers who you almost never hear from.

As far as the Kooks headers, if SCP did not make the deal from Kooks long ago, there would have been no aftermarket headers available for these cars.
 
+1, Sorry if others have had problems with SCP but I've bought quite a few things from them with no complaints. It's got the most high performance parts available on one site for FN10 & MN12 so its a good starting point. I never bought suspension parts though.
 
driller said:
As far as the Kooks headers, if SCP did not make the deal from Kooks long ago, there would have been no aftermarket headers available for these cars.
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You're exactly right. I still need another set of headers for the supercharged 97, and I would still buy another set. BUT, before they are installed I will have my mechanic check the welds and even perhaps add some more 308 filler to the headers if possible. I'm thinking ahead already.
 
I bought LCA's from SCP and didn't have a problem but have only put 9000 miles on em so far. However at the same time I got a set of UCA's from AutoZone and they are not only completely different arms but the MOOG one has already lost it's ball joint boot :mad:
 
driller said:
As far as the Kooks headers, if SCP did not make the deal from Kooks long ago, there would have been no aftermarket headers available for these cars.
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For me, I wont buy a set of these, from SCP.
Which means there isn't a aftermarket.
I Hope Temple Performance comes through on the long tubes for the mark community.

I know I am not alone in my desire to stay away from SCP.

Only advice I would give KStromberg for his new ride is go cobra, or fix your kooks and put them on your new car, or hold out for Temple Performance long tubes.
 
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ford nut said:
For me, I wont buy a set of these, form SCP.
Which means there isn't a aftermarket.
I Hope Temple Performance comes through on the long tubes for the mark community.

I know I am not alone in my desire to stay away from SCP.

Only advice I would give KStromberg for his new ride is go cobra, or fix your kooks and put them on your new car, or hold out for Temple Performance long tubes.
Click to expand...

+1
I've purchased a few things from SCP with mixed results.
Door seals seam to be good.
Upper/lower control arms and sway bar links seem to have premature boot failure also had a ball joint go bad after 6 months. In all cases all shipping cost were my responsibility.
I understand he's a one man show and some of the parts you can only get from him. That being said when he goes on vacation you have no warning until you place an order... Then you wait.
I try and stay away from SCP and if I need something I always call first to make sure he is there and everything is in stock.
 
bend your patch to fit the header then clamp it in position with a hose clamp then tape your tig torch with small head to a wodden handle use a long filler rod to make the weld. if you have to you can put a mirror to see the bottom. just and old pipefitter trick. jd
 
JDS353 said:
bend your patch to fit the header then clamp it in position with a hose clamp then tape your tig torch with small head to a wodden handle use a long filler rod to make the weld. if you have to you can put a mirror to see the bottom. just and old pipefitter trick. jd
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He's got it all under control.

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