Hello:
I know that my previous dissertation may have seemed harsh to some, but I
believe it was rightly so. To elaborate on the actual circumstances is a
bit lengthy, so fair warning to those who weary at long reading.
Set #1: Constant leaking. The header tubes were welded on the gasket
side of the flange, supposedly "to allow a better bite into the header
gasket and provide better sealing." This was a reasonable response.
However, the welds were never ground flat with respect to each port.
When I layed a straight edge across them, none of them were in line. So
after several phone calls, I finally convinced the cust service technician
what the problem was. I sent them back to Hooker, and they ground them
all flat. Six weeks later, they arrived on my doorstep. After
reinstallation, they still leaked, even following the reps specific
instructions. So after several more long distance phone calls, I had to
ship them back again. Finally they welded the tubes on the outside of the
flange and the problem was resolved, but it took another six weeks to get
them back to me. Other than $75 extra for shipping and long distance
charges, extra gaskets, all the down time for my sole transportation, the
denial/argumentative attitude and phone tag, I guess it wasn't all that
bad (scoff!). The new stickers that came each time they shipped the
headers to me were cool though.
Set #2: Constant leaking, cracking, and rattling. These headers were
welded the same was as the first set, except this time they were all
ground flat. The problem this time was the flanges were warped. Even with
double gaskets, they still leaked. After several phone calls, I finally
had to ship those back. I did receive a good set after four weeks, but
they rattled like hell and they only lasted for about 2 weeks. They
cracked where the supercompetion plaque was spot welded to the tubes.
After more calls, those went back. Five weeks later, I installed the new
set they sent me. Two days later, they cracked at the flange. so those
went back. To make a long story short, this happened three more times.
They welded the same tube twice and two other twice. The rattle never was
resolved. So back they went. They welded the rattling tubes together,
which resulted in cracking at the welds after a few days. Instead of just
sending me out a new set, they kept fiddling with them. I cannot believe
the labor and expense they exerted, certainly more than a new set off the
warehouse shelf! I explained this to the rep and he was almost obnoxious,
definitely rude. Anyway, I was fed up and gave up. Again, I spent a lot
of money on shipping and phone calls, had a lot of down time (basically 4
months) for my only transportation resulting in hardship to get to work,
and the problem was never resolved. I now run a stock manifold; The
headers are sitting in a box at my house.
Hooker does not stand behind their motto "The best headers in the world."
Their headers were poorly engineered in terms of material selection and
heat treatment and they were poorly designed in terms of wall thickness
(for supercompetiton label, and I the regular ones were even thinner).
They were poorly manufactured followed by little or no quality control.
Outside of the poor customer service relations, the customer service
representatives were not willing to deal with the situation effectively or
in a timely manner, which resulted in undue expenses to me, the consumer,
as well as their own company. In addition, I have discussed similar
experiences with other hot rod enthusiasts and they also concur that "the
best headers in the world" is a misnomer and really should be considered
false advertising. Further more, any company that runs their business
such that their own employees are (in)directly sabotaging it, deserve what
it gets, which is certainly neither my hard-earned dollars nor those of
other enthusiasts.
As a last note, I sincerely hope that if any of you are considering
headers for your oletrucks (which I am for my 55-2nd) you will seriously
not consider Hooker. Nuff said?
Regards,
Greg St. Pierre
'55 Task 4x4ce
P.S. I have heard a "good" buzz about Heddman, any responses?
On Tue, 29 Feb 2000 JMungon@aol.com wrote:
> what was wrong with the hooker headers...give us some details...so we can
> compare
> with other suppliers.....what did they do that cheated you....thanks for the
> detailss....
>
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