Folks Of Interest SANDERSON HEADERS are junk, who else had problems?

Have to jump on the "I hate Sanderson" wagon. Some years back I purchased a set of their headers that were a specific fit for a 350/350 combination in a 35-40 Ford running GM Power Steering. I foolishly had them HPC coated before I got to the point of being able to test-fit them. It isn't that they didn't fit the specific application, the driver's side unit could not be installed because it hit the bell-housing, and not just barely either.
I called Sanderson and was told " beat them with a hammer to gain clearance" I didn't consider that to be a particularly professional approach to the problem and told them so. I gave the pieces of junk to a friend with a SK drag boat, he swapped them side to side and mounted them upside down.
That was a $600 education (including the wasted HPC coating), I've never purchased another product from them and have no plans for that to change.

 

I wouldn't run stock style Chevy motor mounts like yours with them because they allow the motor to move too much causing issues at the exhaust hookup. I always run the the early Ford biscuit style (like from Chassis Engineering) for a more secure engine mount. I have also heard of quality issues with the Limefire header in years past although I have never owned a set.

 

Nothing good from Sanderson here... bought a set for my DeSoto hemi, NONE of the flange holes lined up, all 1/4" or more off in different directions, it looks like they TRIED to drill them right but had zero quality control on them. Down in the collector area there is welding wire that they didn't clean up that sticks out like a sore thumb, VERY piss poor quality. They even ceramic coated right over all these probelms. I talked to them at the NSRA nats in Louisville this year and they claimed them check them all before they go out... AHAHAHAHAHA my ass they do.

At this point I'm going to make my own headsrs since we just picked up a tubing bender

 

Don't know if this is a recent trend with quality, or just a problem with the limefire headers, but I've had the same pair of Sanderson sprint-car style headers on the T-bucket for almost 25 years. No problems at all, except that I've just about worn all the chrome off from polishing them.

 

so, now i need to change my motor mounts. well damn, i thought it was a header problem. i'm confused now, but i still think sanderson sucks ass

 

It's not Snaderson's fault...

 

I have them on two of my rods, and I was not "overly impressed" with the finish. Both are ceramic coated, the one on the hemi had welding slag that was coated over, and both get pin hole size rust spots that have to be kept up with. The walls on the limefires is so thin, I was warming my car up for about 5 minutes and the headers were GLOWING RED all the way to mid-pipe, and I even coated them with VHT on the inside before the install! Plugs indicate correct carb settings.
Also I ordered them with the turn outs, and they didn't arrive for almost two weeks after I got the pipes. They kept saying they would send, but damn, two weeks?
They were nice enough on the phone, and I dig the look of the pipes, so I dunno, I may buy from them again (some people never learn).

 

why not

 

Have a buddy that has an early Nova with a sbc... His Sanderson's cracked and they told him the same thing "it was running rich" This was 5 years ago. Maybe he put a thousand miles on it. He BOUGHT another new set and made sure it wasn't running rich.. And the new set cracked. I think he gave up and put a set of rams-horns on it.

 

I have a set of their headers, they work fine, but they were such awful people to talk to, in my opinion, that I'll never use them again.

They're unbelieveable.

 

I have had great service from my cast sanderson headers on my sbc

 

I tend to over build everything. No problems. I understand your frustration when they are high dollar. Guess it's time to go back to fabbing your own huh? I cringe when I have to buy this cheap stuff anymore. It's a lot of work (fun) to build some of this stuff anymore, but, hey ain't that what hot rodding is all about? When you build stuff yourself you have no one to blame but you. Lippy

 

Running a set of Sanderson center dump block huggers coated on my '31 with flathead and no gaskets between flange and block, no leaks and have had 0 problems in a little over 5000 miles, building another flathead in a '30 pickup, using another set of their headers, time will tell but so far I am happy with them.

Vergil

 

Originally Posted by Hyway Hauler
Any Lakes style pipes arent the way to go on any rod unless you don't drive your car! It's just a bad design, and most people don't know how to properly mount an exhaust system! It's not Sanderson that's the problem, it's just that style of headers!

Yes it is true, if you do not build a satisfactory exhaust systeme, these style headers WILL ALWAYS fail!

 

Wow I am surprised at the bad feelings towards Sanderson. I have used them several times and always been happy with the product. My flanges have not been warped and never had to repair them. I always have my headers coated locally so I dont know how Sandersons coating holds up. Maybe I have just been lucky, but I have no reason not to buy from them again

 

Either that or use a short piece of flexible tubing between your header and exhaust system. To check your motor mounts, rev it up quick and see how much the motor torques over to the right, or put in gear and put a little torque on it to see if it moves. I wouldn't want it to move more than 1/4" - 1/2" at the top of the carb. Another easy fix would be to switch to solid or high performance urethene motor mounts by Energy Suspension like these at Jeg's:

http://www.jegs.com/i/Energy-Suspension/355/3-1114G/10002/-1

 

I only had one set, for a 5.0 Ford. The flanges were pretty rough but they never leaked. You''d think they'd use machined ones instead, eh? - or clean them up better somehow after welding. I did have a gripe about them being too close to the block as the dip stick was nearly impossible to fit. I had to fab one up out of parts from 3 others I purchased. You'd think they'd leave enough room for a Lokar to fit (as fat and ugly as those are) so at least OEM ones would slide in with no problem. Duh.

When I called them out on it the next time the NSRA show was in town, the very same guy who sold me those headers response was, "Oh, yeah, we known about that problem for years." Double Duh. Never again. Gary

 

If you guys are looking for an alternative to lakes style headers for oddball applications, then contact Matt at www.lakesheaders.com (saltflatmatt here on the HAMB), the guy is freaking awesome, treats people like they should be treated, and makes some GREAT headers...

 

This is for Ratster......

Pics of the Headers I had to repair...

 

I have a set of his Lakes Headers on my Hemi........

 

Yep, Sanderson were the worst experience I ever had on headers - 327 and the block huggers were so bent out of shape that the collector flange was gouging the block and yet there was a 1/4" of daylight between the exhaust flange and the block, even when tightened down as much as phsically possible - they were never going to fit as the curve was way to sharp. This was after they 'lost' the first pair that were allegedly sent for coating and four months and many phone calls later the replacements eventually show up. Now officially renamed as Sanderson Blockhitters...

 

Properly mounted or not, any weld on a tube shouldn't crack right next to the weld bead. The first picture shows the entire bead on the bottom dump cracked completely all the way and the crack follows the bead contour.

Poor header construction is at least part of the problem.

 

That link is getting me know where!

 

Regardless of Ratsters issues Donna is still far from a good customer service person. Rhymes with itch. And she happens to OWN Sanderson. We were dealers at the shop and got treated like shit several times by her.

 

I've got lake headers on my list of improvements for my T and this guy came HIGHLY recommended. I called them and just from the conversation I wanted to give my credit card number. When I'm ready, he'll get the call again.

I had also heard good about Sanderson, but the price wasn't right. Now this.... hmmmm. I hope this was an isolated problem.

 

You just had to scroll down a bit, but here it is:

http://www.lakeheaders.com/Headers.html

 

Try this...

http://www.lakeheaders.com/

Jay

 

Donna was the lady i talked to.

 

I would have never know this guy existed without the HAMB, great site thanks guys!

 

Saltflatmatt just made a set for my build. I've heard nothing but good thing about his pipes.