ok basically i got off the phone with my local shop and they want 320 to install my o2 housing, their telling me their taking off the whole turbo setup to insure all the bolts are seated properly. Is this making sense? their also telling me to get a manifold or port my stock one while in the process, please help me out to see if this is legit as i am a newb!

 

I paid 228 for my install. They removed the radiator, manifold, turbo, and downpipe for the install.

 

well the price is kind of high, but I could see where they are getting it from... think bout it, if they are taking off your 02 housing, and one of the bolts decided to strip out... opps and then porting your hot side would be for controling the boost creep

 

Luckily I got no boost creep. But the price they charged me was for 3 hrs of work. Took them 6 cause they ended up causing a pin hole leak in one of my oil lines.

 

a couple things...

First off, swapping out an O2 housing is a real pain in the *** to do... so, yes - I agree that you should also do a ported/coated exhaust manifold at the same time. Some would even recommend porting your turbo's hotside, although gains from that are small.

Also, make sure the O2 housing you're paying so much to get installed is proven to make the most power - Ebay, Megan Racing, Buschur coated - all of these should make around 10whp/10wtq on a bolt-on Evo...

As far as labor prices go, I had all my parts installed at VIP Garage in Sterling, VA, for an excellent deal...

 

definatly worth not doing it yourself

 

yes its a pain. but if you work on cars and/or have patience, its not the worst thing in the world. its just a a few bolts in a tough spot. but other then the pretty straight forward.

 

To bad your not on west coast, i would do it for $100 bucks. I do all my own work, i just dont trust any one else.