Replacing turbo, advice needed

**Mister** · 03-03-2014 10:43 AM

My turbo is leaking oil and causing some issues. My cat is f****ed and I have oil literally in my exhaust. It's drivable for now, I still get some boost but my oil level needs to be at a minimum. Anyway I don't have a lot of $$$ to drop on this thing in the coming months, but the turbo will need to be replaced and I would love some advice. I'm not big into mods but TBH new K04 turbos are selling less then the K03, I can find them for around $300-$400 on ebay. My local junk yard has a refurbed K03 off a 2000 or 2001 passat for $300. Can I use a K04 turbo w/ exhaust mani without having to change out my injectors and get chipped?

**Dubsport Inc** · 03-03-2014 10:47 AM

Oops sorry... edit!

**Mister** · 03-03-2014 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by Dubsport Inc

You will definately need a tune/injectors for a k04 upgrade!

Yeah, was a long shot but just checking. So again I'm not into upgrading my horsies, I guess the $300 junker is my best bet for now. I just can't justify spending 5-6 bills on a new replacement Dorman or cheap ebay brand.

**ECS Tuning-Audi** · 03-03-2014 11:10 AM

Actually you can bolt up a K04 and run stock tune and stock injectors no problem. If you want to optimize the K04 you would need to chip it and depending on the tune, run different injectors.

As long as you are running stock boost levels you can use a K04 on the factory programing. A K04 is just slightly larger than the K03 and has a slightly different compressor wheel design. In terms of air flow it wont push much more air than the K03 at stock levels.

Jason

**texasboy21** · 03-03-2014 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by Mister

My turbo is leaking oil and causing some issues. My cat is f****ed and I have oil literally in my exhaust. It's drivable for now, I still get some boost but my oil level needs to be at a minimum. Anyway I don't have a lot of $$$ to drop on this thing in the coming months, but the turbo will need to be replaced and I would love some advice. I'm not big into mods but TBH new K04 turbos are selling less then the K03, I can find them for around $300-$400 on ebay. My local junk yard has a refurbed K03 off a 2000 or 2001 passat for $300. Can I use a K04 turbo w/ exhaust mani without having to change out my injectors and get chipped?

You can in fact run a K04 with the stock injectors and tune, but will not notice any performance gains. That said, the $3/400 K04's you are seeing on ebay are most likely not BorgWarner units and, for lack of a better term, are junk. Stick with a reputable manufacturer (Garret, BorgWarner, BAE Systems, Honeywell, etc.)

**iamshayan** · 03-03-2014 11:45 AM

Originally Posted by texasboy21

You can in fact run a K04 with the stock injectors and tune, but will not notice any performance gains. That said, the $3/400 K04's you are seeing on ebay are most likely not BorgWarner units and, for lack of a better term, are junk. Stick with a reputable manufacturer (Garret, BorgWarner, BAE Systems, Honeywell, etc.)

x2 would go with an rebuilt oem rather than Chinese upgrade copy especially if not utilizing the gains

**A4LEX B6ECK** · 03-08-2014 11:15 PM

a buddy of mine bought a godspeed k04 from ebay ~$450 and it blew on him after a few weeks. dont buy cheap Chinese turbos!!!

**JBM** · 03-09-2014 06:55 AM

I was in the same position and bought a FT21...for 1500 you can have a kit for you.

**Quattro kev** · 03-10-2014 01:09 AM

I have a used ko3 the one I took off my car when I upgraded to my ko4 if interested

**Mister** · 03-17-2014 08:25 PM

I'm still a month away from doing the replacement however checking KO racings's replacement k03 turbo on Ebay for about $300 shipped brand new. I don't expect to get the overall reliability and performance of a brand new OEM but if they're a decent replacement brand I might opt for that instead of a used K03 off a 2001 passat. I figure the yard hasn't disassembled it, so I would need to take it to a machine shop to have cleaned and I expect a lot of wear on the impellers.

From what I was able to find out about KO Racing, they are based in US but whether or not they import from China I will need to clarify. I can't find any comprehensive reviews on KO so if anyone has any input it would be appreciated.