Hello to all on the forum.

I have two flap kits to fix a common turbo issue.

maybe you all might interested in a comparison, or someone out on the internet who stumbles upon this thread via google.

1. by turbolabs and it does feature stamping
2. the other is the ol’ “eBay special” with no stamping


Turbolabs on top, ebay special is on bottom

 

 

Unfortunately, my caliper gauge is currently unavailable, hence the dime. Here are some of my observations comparing turbo labs and the ebay special i bought.

Price of turbo labs: roughly $52
Ebay: Roughly 28 (used one based in the USA)

The turbo labs features some welding to help mitigate some wear points.

The turbo labs mating surface (part of flap that seals against the turbo) has some flaws. Suspect this is due to casting. Numbers are not that great on it either.

The flap shaft also has flaws that can be felt. I would describe this as "rougher" than the ebay special.

Turbo labs actuator arm looks as though it is just a bent piece of metal (not being pejorative, this is just an observation).

Turbo labs flap shaft has more "meat" at the end for welding.

Turbo labs LOOKS as though the mounting point for the actuator arm (call it the actuator rod mount... the part with a hole), has less gap between the arm and the actuator rod mount


The ebay special has a SUBSTANTIAL amount more of play if you were to "twist" the flap. Dime.

The ebay special has less room to "flex." I mean this as; when it is properly seated against the turbo, the part that the mating surface of the flap mounts to has less space than turbo labs. (This is a situation where play or "flex space" is in fact needed so the flap can seat)

The ebay special's actuator arm, where it is welded onto the actual flap shaft is more of a precise fit. This will be welded anyways, you decide if it matters to you.

the ebay special looks as though it has a cast actuator arm. The hole for the "actuator rod housing" (part where the rod goes through) seems to have more "meat."

The ebay special actuator rod mount FEELS as though it has more play.

Note, the one i ordered on ebay, did not match the photos.


When my flap is removed, then I will do more: compare and contrast etc. and make my decision from there. At the end of the day this isn't rocket science, just putting this out there for any interested party.

Turbo labs did answer my questions, and get my package out in a timely manner. They were polite and professional. Ebay seller was also apologetic that the item received was not as shown in the pictures.

 

What was your end result with this repair? Which unit did you go with?

 

Hello!

I THINK turbo labs. I do remember that the removal of the old one was a bit of a challenge (the shaft that the flap goes into).


I think my mechanic had a bit of a challenge installing the new shaft. After it was installed it wasn’t perfectly round. Not a hard fix. You need to make sure the flap can move freely to open and close.