Beware of Perrin Headers....

To be clear, I want to let everyone know that the intent of this thread is not to trash a reputable company, just provide information to those who currently have Perrin headers or those thinking of purchasing them.

 

I recently discovered that my 3rd front O2 sensor over the course of about a year's time was damaged and not communicating with my ECU anymore. Since I have Perrin EL headers, which the front O2 mounts to, I had a pretty good hunch that this problem was related to my headers. (Prior to this issue, I had an exhaust leak around the header's slip joint that had slipped too much. To solve this problem, I had the slip joint welded together.) So I looked into things by pulling up old threads on Perrin headers and front O2 sensors. I came across some mention of the Rallitek skid plate damaging the O2 sensor wires. I don't have a Rallitek skid plate, and there was nothing visibly wrong with my front O2 sensor or wiring. So I decided to call up Jarrad from PDX Tuning because he has been very helpful and free with information in the past. He informed me that he has seen several cases of people with Perrin EL headers burning through front O2 sensors due to the orientation of the O2 sensor bung on the headers.

 

If you look at the stock LGT headers, the wire end outside the headers is pointed upward. My wire end was pointed slightly down from horizontal, meaning that the nub end inside the headers was pointed slightly up. Apparently, when the front O2 sensor is oriented this way, water and moisture inside the exhaust/headers is able to get trapped inside the sensor like a cup and consequently damages the heating element connected to the wiring. If the nub end is pointed down like with the stock setup, gravity prevents water and moisture from being trapped in this manner. Another point to note is that your front O2 sensor can be on its way out and not functioning properly well before any CEL appears. In my case, I only got a CEL one of the 3 times I discovered my sensor was bad.

 

I talked with Perrin about the issue, and they agreed to pay for the shipping of my headers to and from their shop and re-weld the O2 sensor bung so the wire end would be pointed in the proper direction. I was glad they were at least amenable to doing this for me, since apprently my headers were "out of warranty". To me, however, this problem should not have fallen under a "warranty" category at all, but rather a "design flaw" which existed when my headers were built. Perrin's willingness to re-weld the bung for me and give me a discount on one of their parts certainly did not come close to my aggrevation and cost for replacements sensors, diagnostic work, mechanical work, and tuning troubleshooting on my car. I now have everything put back together and so far so good. My front O2 sensor seems to be holding up now. Perrin says they are now placing the O2 sensor bung on the newer models of their headers to a higher tolerance level. I hope that's the case, but to anyone who is thinking of purchasing Perrin headers, beware of this concern. If you already have Perrin headers and have had problems with failing front O2 sensors like me, I hope this thread has been helpful.

 

Special thanks to Jarrad from PDX Tuning for helping me discover the cause of the problem.

Interesting- I have a Perrin EL header purchased in June. I have not had any problem so far. Did you take any photos? It would be great to see the before and after...

Interesting- I have a Perrin EL header purchased in June. I have not had any problem so far. Did you take any photos? It would be great to see the before and after...

 

Here's a before picture showing how the sensor/bung is pointed up in the wrong direction...didn't take an after photo, but its just the opposite. Nice avatar btw....is that your girlfriend?