Crying Spilled Milk over LC Engineering's customer "appreciation"

Hey guys,
I am reposting this from the 4 cylinder section of the forums. Wanted to share my thoughts with he 2nd Gen crowd!
Just wanted to share my experiences with LC Engineering. I drive a 2013 Toyota Tacoma 2tr 4x4 5 speed truck that has a mild lift, stock drivetrain, 255 85 17's, etc. I have an LC Engineering header on the vehicle that has approx. 60+k miles on it, and it recently cracked at the collector, where the 4 pipes merge. I was happy when this header worked properly, but not too pleased I got the mileage I did out of it. Being as this product has the equal length headers, and reading the Doug Thorley vs. LCE thread for the 5th time, I reached out to LCE to purchase another header. I used to be able to use a coupon on LC Engineering's website, (USA for 10% off), but that no longer works. I called LCE to ask if they would be willing to apply this 10% off coupon or perhaps they had a TacomaWorld members coupon I could make use of. The salesman repeatedly told me that they wont even let customers know if there is a sale occurring in the next month, let alone give us any discount. Anyone remember LCE's response when approached for a Group Buy on these headers'? Less then helpful is putting it mildly....So please take all this into account when choosing parts for your vehicle. It is not always about price...sometimes we just want to feel appreciated. End Rant!

 

Hey everyone, I found Rick, he's the OP

 

why not just weld the crack?

 

I did...they helped out quite a bit. Wish they made a flywheel!! I can't weld the crack because its sort of inside everything. It is where all 4 pipes come together......

 

I'm am not gonna bad mouth LCE, but from my personal experience, I can assure you they are definitely having quality control issues with their headers. They have went above and beyond in the customer service dept however, even 2 day airmail replacement headers, witch must have been crazy expensive.

 

Thanks for commenting Bell214b!! If you don’t mind me asking, what was the original failure for your header? Mine was at the collector, where all 4 pipes merge into 1. My purpose for this post is to amuse folks like TacomaMike up there...in addition to the amusement I am providing for window lickers like TacoMike, I also wanted to share my experiences with the community, in an effort to help other members and maybe to show businesses like LCE that they only exist because of the customer. No one has to provide us with discounts. That is certainly up to the business. However, we as customers do have a platform where we can share our experiences and inform other members with how we feel we are being treated while shopping with these businesses.
Thanks guys!!

 

The only reason they would have a sale is to bring in business. They are pretty much the leaders in older Toyota 4 and 6 cylinder performance. I bet they stay pretty busy without having sales or discounts.

When I install mine, i am going to put a clamp around it so I can re use the support that goes to the transmission. I am no engineer, but I am pretty smart, and my guess is that clamp is there to stop vibrations. Not only as a whole, but each tube would vibrate independently as well, which would result in cracking in or around the collector weld.

 

That is a great point. I have looked at that damn bracket for years now with questions about purpose. However, with this most recent failure, I could certainly see why that bracket should be used.
And I get that LCE is leading the 4 cylinder market; However, that does not mean that as customers we should just sit back and allow a bigger business to step all over us. As the DT vs LCE header argument is so close when it comes to pros and cons of each, I would think both companies would want to put the best face forward they can possibly afford.

 

I would put the OEM exhaust manifold back on and throw the LCE header in the metal scrap bin, if they are putting out such expensive headers they should at least be as long lasting(or better) than the OEM exhaust. there seems to be others that are having the same issues as u are with the LCE headers durability, not worth the money and work to install a product that wont outlast what comes from the factory even for a few more HP