Ahh, the infamous Dentist Drill!

[old guy]

Well, after 105K miles my turbo decided to go “Dentist Drill” on me. I picked up a replacement turbo from PureMotorSport ($850 for the turbo, install kit and shipping). Kudos to Purems for their price and service. Total job took about 10 hours. That included changing the oil and filter, rotating the tires, changing out the slave cylinder rod and a lunch break. The job actually went better that I anticipated. I figured that after 105K miles everything would be corroded and difficult to dismantle. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how well everything came apart. However, my hands are beat to shit. There isn’t much room to work and there are a lot of sharp objects in the way.

Anyway, the ride is back up and boosting normal again.

On another note, I also recently replaced my headlights with some replacement TYC headlights I found on e-bay for $99 each. I had Joey modded my old ones but the lenses were so beat up with road rash that I couldn’t polish them out anymore. I figured I couldn’t go wrong wit replacements for $99. I was wrong. The projectors were made from polished metal instead of silvered glass like the OEM projectors and the light pattern sucked big time. I was able to remove the projectors from the OEM lights and modify them enough to fit them into the TYC housings and now they work OK. Just a word of caution that I’m sure you already know: You get what you pay for.

So anyway, Happy New Years to all and happy modding in '09!!

[AudiA4Turbo22]

Nice why didn't u get a turbo from ebay like an OEM one for like $300? or one from a wrecked new 2.0T for about $400?

[old guy]

Nice why didn't u get a turbo from ebay like an OEM one for like $300? or one from a wrecked new 2.0T for about $400?

I really don't trust a $300 Chinese knock off and I'm pretty sure one from a 2.0 would not be a direct replacement for the stock turbo. i wanted something quick and easy with minimum down time.

Cheers!

Old Guy

[absolutegtr]

oldguy is back!

Why not consider a k04?

[Kerschera4]

were you going to give your car to your son? or am i just pulling that from somewhere?
if so a car and maintenance from oldguy is a pretty solid deal lucky mo fo

[old guy]

oldguy is back!

Why not consider a k04?

I did consider a K04. However the time and expense would have increased considerably. I could have picked up a K04 with an install kit shipped for $950. But I would have to upgrade the software ($200) and add an intercooler ($900) if I really wanted to take advantage of the K04. Plus I would have had to pull the ECU and ship it out for the software upgrade. I really wanted to get the car up and running with a minimum of fuss and muss. I had planned on replacing the A4 several months ago but we ended up replacing the wife's car instead. For now I just want to keep it running reliably until I have time to get around to replacing it.

Cheers!

[old guy]

were you going to give your car to your son? or am i just pulling that from somewhere?
if so a car and maintenance from oldguy is a pretty solid deal lucky mo fo

I did give it to my son for a while. My knee was giving me problems and the OFE-SS clutch didn't help much. However, instead of me getting another car we replace the wife's car ('03 C230K) with an '08 C-300. I took over the C-230K for a while. The knee is much better now so i picked up another car for my son and now I am driving the A4 again.

[manhertm]

Can you give us a link to the auction so we can know which ones to avoid?

[old guy]

Can you give us a link to the auction so we can know which ones to avoid?

This one Clicky click However it works OK if you change out the projectors from the OEM headlight. You will have to modify the projector a little to get it to fit.

cheers!

[dougyfresh]

The knee is much better because you've been riding your bicycle . I don't know how mine are still holding strong after all the riding this week. Pisgah is pretty intense. Take Michaux's rocks and add in climbs that go on for hours. We climbed for over two hours today on very rocky singletrack. I think it was something like 3,000ft of elevation gain and I felt stronger and stronger as we crept up to the top (5,500ft)..


Glad to see things going smoothly. Car is running smooth? Did you check the oil lines while things were apart? I'm surprised the turbo died at 105k. Mine was still going strong at 115-120k. Then again, I was on stock programming for 115-120k...

[old guy]

The knee is much better because you've been riding your bicycle . I don't know how mine are still holding strong after all the riding this week. Pisgah is pretty intense. Take Michaux's rocks and add in climbs that go on for hours. We climbed for over two hours today on very rocky singletrack. I think it was something like 3,000ft of elevation gain and I felt stronger and stronger as we crept up to the top (5,500ft)..


Glad to see things going smoothly. Car is running smooth? Did you check the oil lines while things were apart? I'm surprised the turbo died at 105k. Mine was still going strong at 115-120k. Then again, I was on stock programming for 115-120k...

The riding has definitely helped. Let me know when you decide to ride the Blue Ridge parkway. I'd love to do a few hundred miles with you! I'm pretty close to the starting point and I grew up running my Healey's up and down the Parkway in the '60's. You will have to make accommodations for my Old Guy pace!

I checked the oil lines and they were fine. The car was chipped at 1,200 miles and the last 30K were with the FXK03 file so I'm not surprised that the turbo went out. I checked it out and found about .100" of lateral play in the shaft. I also had a bent turbine blade. Don't know where that came from.

Cheers!

[dougyfresh]

I will definitely keep you posted when I decide to embark on that ride. It'll be a good pace and nice to have people join me for a day or two. I don't think I would want to compete for setting a new record on the fastest. I'd rather take my time and take in all the sights. Most likely with multiple gears too, unlike this day.


That is a lot of play in the turbo. How did the FXK03 file contribute? Is that the more 'aggressive' file?

[old guy]

I will definitely keep you posted when I decide to embark on that ride. It'll be a good pace and nice to have people join me for a day or two. I don't think I would want to compete for setting a new record on the fastest. I'd rather take my time and take in all the sights. Most likely with multiple gears too, unlike this day.


That is a lot of play in the turbo. How did the FXK03 file contribute? Is that the more 'aggressive' file?

Wow! Looks like one hell of a ride! The toughest one I did on the Parkway was a century ride from Lynchburg out 501 to the Parkway, up Apple Orchard Mountain (4,200 ft), down the other side to Peaks of Otter, back through Bedford and returning to Lynchburg. It about killed me.

The FXK03 is the big injector file. It peaks the boost out around 20 psi. I'm sure it decreased the longevity somewhat.

Cheers!

[sean1.8t]

Nice why didn't u get a turbo from ebay like an OEM one for like $300? or one from a wrecked new 2.0T for about $400?

the 2.0t turbo's(k03, k04) have the manifold and turbine housing cast as one peice. in addition to the DV being integrated to the compressor cover iirc. i don't think that the manifold would fit our block. but if it would it would have not been a direct replacement anyways

here's a pic to illustrate:



you can't really see the integrated DV though

[dougyfresh]

Wow! Looks like one hell of a ride! The toughest one I did on the Parkway was a century ride from Lynchburg out 501 to the Parkway, up Apple Orchard Mountain (4,200 ft), down the other side to Peaks of Otter, back through Bedford and returning to Lynchburg. It about killed me.

The FXK03 is the big injector file. It peaks the boost out around 20 psi. I'm sure it decreased the longevity somewhat.

Cheers!

That was a lot of climbing that day. Today was pretty wild. 2.5hrs of climbing on very rocky singletrack in the woods. Its so nice down here.


20psi. wow. Guess that is how my KK03 was fine at 115k seeing as its whole life was on OEM programming.

Enjoy! I'm off to start my travels up north.

[sambrody44]

So does this mean Old Guy is back for good?

Good to see your still wrenching, also good to hear that you are a biker. Congrats on the knee feeling better!

[gdawg'05a4]

Old Guy, how long have you been FXK03'd? I've got 107k on my K03. GIAC flashed at 14,500 miles then FXK03'd at 82,000 miles.

[A4SoftWalker]

Old Guy, how long have you been FXK03'd? I've got 107k on my K03. GIAC flashed at 14,500 miles then FXK03'd at 82,000 miles.

U prolly missed Old Guy's post above included below: (he swapped out turbos @ 105k now I'm running scared 102k with 10k chipped 1+)

... The car was chipped at 1,200 miles and the last 30K were with the FXK03 file so I'm not surprised that the turbo went out. I checked it out and found about .100" of lateral play in the shaft. I also had a bent turbine blade. Don't know where that came from.Cheers!

[gdawg'05a4]

I did completely miss that! We've got almost the same amount of chipped and BI mileage.

[A4SoftWalker]

I did completely miss that! We've got almost the same amount of chipped and BI mileage.

That is ominous, I wonder if a test pipe/HFC would help prolong turbo life by letting it breathe easier

I do have a rebuilt K04 and ATP manifold ready to go in just incase I have to find out b4 I can build my motor for BAT... hehe

[sean1.8t]

turbo's are not created equal guys.

i've seen some stock map'd k03 car's blow their turbo at 40k. and a chipped car run for 150k+ miles with no turbo issues.

when your time is up, it's up. no sense in worrying about it

[A4SoftWalker]

turbo's are not created equal guys.

i've seen some stock map'd k03 car's blow their turbo at 40k. and a chipped car run for 150k+ miles with no turbo issues.

when your time is up, it's up. no sense in worrying about it

True words indeed sean1.8t and with The Economy the way it is some of us are ill disposed to catastrophic, unplanned, unforeseen turbo failure. Its always good to have some idea of when it may be time to bite the bullet. I may be able to work on my car but with no formal training and going by "internet instructions" I still take 2-4 times the duration for every job I perform on my whip not to mention hrs and days spent doing research, getting parts, tools, and torque values all lined up.