replacement turbos? stock v. k04's what should i know...
 

looks like i have to replace the turbos on my a6 2.7t quattro. i've seen k04 kits on ebay for $1500 and looked at other speed shops online for double that. this is my first car with turbo's so i'm not sure as to what i should be looking for and what would be a good after market turbo kit this vehicle.

if i upgrade to the k04 what kind of other things need to be replaced in order for that system to work properly? (chip, blow off valve, etc.) what else should i look into doing maintenance wise when every thing is apart?


lowell
120,000 miles

In order to replace the turbos, you will have to pull the engine. While the engine is out, if you have a TIP, replace the converter seal. AS for the turbos, K04s only do you good if you chip the engine, so that is a minimum. There are exhaust and intake pieces that need to be changed to fit the K04 turbos. Be sure to change the timing belt, cam seals and etc. while you have the engine out where you can get to it. Spyder pipe as well. Get rid of the secondary water pump. Upgrade the intercooler hoses.

Sounds like fun!!!

Bob

Check AWE and ECM websites for kits. I've been thinking about the same project for over a year, but my turbos are still fine. I think the kit with turbos and injectors makes sense, but the intake manifolds are very expensive for little hp gain. Since I have a GIAC chip from AWE, I'll probably go with their kit as they will upgrade my chip at no additional charge.

My question is whether it makes sense to replace the head gasket when everything is exposed (concern about extra pressure of the K04s)?

Bob,
My mechanic friend said i'll be needing to change out my secondary water pump soon. Right now, it looks like there is a loose stack of orange-pink papers under my intake. He thought it was a sign of the pump leaking. What do you mean by get rid of the secondary water pump?

I just bought a pair of knockoff k04's on ebay for $800 shipped. I'm in the process of removing the engine and almost done. It's a lot of work and isn't that much fun. to bolt on you only need to buy the turbo inlet pipes for an RS4, they're usually $200 on ebay everything else bolts right up just the inlet pipes are 2" instead of 1.5". While your in there i'd upgrade the DP's as they're restrictive. Also clean your engine and change your plugs. You won't see much of an increase until you chip it and unleash the power available with the turbos but that's a simple ecu flash for about $600.

Justin, Ive heard scary things about those Ebay Turbos. Did you get any kind of a warranty with them? Good luck with the install and keep us updated on how they perform.

They cam e with a 1 year unlimited mileage warranty. they look solid and built just as well as any other turbos. I would much rather have borg warner turbos and the ebay guy i bought from sells the actual k04's but they're 3x the price which is out of my pricerange. Wish I had the engine out to compare the 2 but I work fulltime and im in college fulltime so I can only work on the weekends and it's becoming a long process. I have just about everything out and ready to pull the engine out just my driveshaft rusted to the transmission and it's not comming off. I planned on taking the tranny out with the engine but i'll have to rebolt the tranny and only takeout the engine.

Hey!
 

Just out of curiosity how are those turbos holding up