Replacement turbo question

[Mudman78]

New here. I have a Flex with the 3.5 Ecoboost. I couldn't find an answer on the Flex forums. F150 Ecoboost isn't transverse mounted, so I found myself here since there are many similarities. I'm replacing my turbos. New OEM is no longer available, so I went with Ford reman (Motorcraft TC65 & TC66 / AA5Z-6K682-E & AA5Z-6K682-F). They are identical except for the exhaust housing. The originals each have two ears for bolting support brackets to the block and the new turbos don't have these ears. My question is: Is this something Ford eliminated as unneccessary or did they send me the wrong turbos? I got them from Rock Auto, so I doubt they would be of any help, but I cross referenced the numbers with Tasca Ford and the part numbers are correct. Is it safe to just leave the support brackets off?

 

[Mudman78]

Pics for reference.

 

[Texas Marauder]

Yes, the support bracket was eliminated in later years. IIRC, the early engines had a different exhaust manifold and the bracket was probably extra support for that.

 

[Mudman78]

Thank you. I feel better about continuing now. I don't hot rod it, so hopefully the original exhaust manifolds will hold up.

 

[Mahu24]

I think those ears were for a heat shield in the earlier years

 

[Mudman78]

All the heat shield holes are still there. They were rotted, so I replaced them. Those ears are for thick stainless steel angle brackets that bolt to the block for added suppport.