Turbo Swap/Install DIY

[ntsantos]

Anyone have good DIY for this? I've seen the oil screen thread which has some good info (whitewhites7?).

Or maybe just some good pointers or lessons learned that aren't really apparent in the Audi manual or previous threads.

Thanks guys and please don't hate me if this seems like a "dead horse beating" topic.

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[OlyS6]

Anyone have good DIY for this? I've seen the oil screen thread which has some good info (whitewhites7?).

Or maybe just some good pointers or lessons learned that aren't really apparent in the Audi manual or previous threads.

Thanks guys and please don't hate me if this seems like a "dead horse beating" topic.

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WhiteWhiteS7's original thread is really all you need. It gets you all the way to the turbos, and has great pics and step by step instructions:

https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...=oil+separator

In hindsight, having done it a few times (mine and a few cars of friends), things I wish I knew the first time around:
1) No need to take off the wheels in order to remove the front bumper. Simply turn the steering wheel all the way to the left to get to the bolts on the right, and turn the steering wheel all the way to the right to get to the bolts on the left.
2) Do yourself a favor and make sure you double/triple check all part numbers before starting. Totally sucks to find that you've been left hanging and can't finish the project because you're missing something.
3) Do yourself another favor and change out the oil separator to the newest 'E' version, and the oil return screen to the turbos to the newest 'G' version. At a minimum, make sure you change out the o-rings for all your turbo lines, and to be extra safe, just swap out for new turbo lines. They come with new o-rings on them.
4) The toughest part of the project is getting to the 6 bolts that hold the huge charge-air housing in place. You need to be able to tilt the entire 'lock-carrier' (the entire radiator housing in one unit) forward, so you can get to the bolts. No need to remove the crash bar for this, but do remove the large 16mm bolts (3 on each side) that hold the whole front lock-carrier to the long body rails.
5) If you have an AMS cooler installed, you will need to completely unbolt it's coolant tank on the passenger side in order to best tilt the lock-carrier forward.
6) You will need a very long and skinny 'size 5' Allen wrench to get to the front passenger side bolt in the top of the charge-air cooler housing. Only way you can get to it, as the opening is too narrow and too far away to get to it with anything more conventional.
7) Drain as much coolant as you can from the lowest point that you can. Cover all coolant lines that you detach with saran-wrap and rubber bands. This will prevent you getting coolant all over everything.
8) If you don't have one, immediately order an airlifter from Amazon to be able to vacuum fill your coolant when complete. Get new coolant. Your dealer has it in concentrated form, just mix either 1:1 or 1:2 with distilled water (either 50% or 33% coolant).
9) No need to undo the downpipe connections to the midpipe connections underneath the car. There is easily enough play to get the old turbos out and the new turbos in and attached to the downpipes.
10) If you don't have one, immediately order a hose clamp cable ploers. You will need one.
11) Lots of Oetiker clamps (ear clamps) need to be cut and tossed. To get the best fit, replace with new Oetiker clamps and use a good clamp tool to cinch them down.
12) While you're doing all this, good idea to swap out your spark plugs for the latest OEM version.
13) After mission complete, make sure you run your engine at idle for some time to allow both oil and coolant to circulate- you don't want to immediately drive it and stress the turbos that have completely empty oil and coolant lines.
14) If you want even more explicit instructions than WhiteWhiteS7's post, (although not necessary in my opinion, his post is fantastic), go to audi Erwin online and get a 1 day subscription for $35. Then download every pdf file that you can related to your car that day. Done. You now have all the shop manuals, with a how-to on pretty much everything you can think of, including turbo replacement.

Some of these points may be obvious, but as a newbie-learning hobbyist, I learned some of these points the hard way.

[ntsantos]

Great post Oly! Since you've done it a few times already, how long do you think It would take you now?

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[ArizonaA6]

Great post Oly! Since you've done it a few times already, how long do you think It would take you now?

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Send me a PM and I'll shoot you a link to the manual. I used it to replace my turbos and it is a handy reference for all things S6!

EDIT...looks like you have an A/S8. Sorry!

Step 13. I put some oil into the top of the turbo oil line connection per the manual to help ensure there was oil present on first startup. Reference from 2014 S6 manual below:

Fill turbochargers with engine oil at connections for oil supply
line.
After installing the turbocharger, allow the engine to idle for
approx. 1 minute without pressing the accelerator to ensure
that the turbocharger is supplied with oil.

[WhiteWhiteS7]

When I get my new turbos (if they ever arrive), I'll document it pretty well. Oly is right, turbos are about 85% of the oil separator DIY.

[ntsantos]

When I get my new turbos (if they ever arrive), I'll document it pretty well. Oly is right, turbos are about 85% of the oil separator DIY.

I'm still waiting for mine too...Sean!!! I was hoping to get it done in the next few weeks. I have a couple professional install options, but if I tackle it myself, well that's a lot more headroom for car parts.

Someone in your thread with an S8 posted the ability of not having to remove the bumper for clearance, I'm hoping I can pull that off too. If the AMG pump shows up soon, I can knock that out too.

Thanks for the responses guys!!

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[p3u]

I'm still waiting for mine too...Sean!!! I was hoping to get it done in the next few weeks. I have a couple professional install options, but if I tackle it myself, well that's a lot more headroom for car parts.

Someone in your thread with an S8 posted the ability of not having to remove the bumper for clearance, I'm hoping I can pull that off too. If the AMG pump shows up soon, I can knock that out too.

Thanks for the responses guys!!

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You're not wasting any time! Which turbos you going with?

[ntsantos]

You're not wasting any time! Which turbos you going with?

SRM GTX28s.

I told myself "tune only"...that went out the window pretty fast.

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[p3u]

SRM GTX28s.

I told myself "tune only"...that went out the window pretty fast.

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Nice! You're probably going to have the fastest S8 after that. Can't wait to see some silly numbers posted.

[OlyS6]

Great post Oly! Since you've done it a few times already, how long do you think It would take you now?

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Thanks. From start to finish, I think I could do it in a full 8hr day if I had help. By myself, about 12 hours. Caveat- I'm pretty slow. Someone handy with a wrench could probably do it in a single day without too much trouble. I'd allocate a weekend to take time for breaks for beer and such.

[rlny]

I know this thread is old but do you need to take off the bumper to do this project? I saw someone do it with the bumper still on before.

[ItsLarryG]

I don’t know how this would be possible without removing the the front bumper. It seems like they’re right there but too much stuff blocking access to the v-clamps and oil line at the bottom.

[OlyS6]

I know this thread is old but do you need to take off the bumper to do this project? I saw someone do it with the bumper still on before.

Depends what you're doing and in what car. If you are only doing the turbo housings/CHRAs, then no, you don't need to take off the bumper. If you are in an A8/S8, you don't need to remove the bumper to remove the charge air cooler housing, as they have more space up front. If you are changing the exhaust manifolds with the turbos, or need to change the pcv valve and/or the turbo oil screen in an S6/S7/RS7, then yes, you must remove the front end of the car.

[kpriv]

Oly is the traveling turbo install guru. He speaks the truth


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[mrkubanftw]

WhiteWhiteS7's original thread is really all you need. It gets you all the way to the turbos, and has great pics and step by step instructions:

https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...=oil+separator

In hindsight, having done it a few times (mine and a few cars of friends), things I wish I knew the first time around:
1) No need to take off the wheels in order to remove the front bumper. Simply turn the steering wheel all the way to the left to get to the bolts on the right, and turn the steering wheel all the way to the right to get to the bolts on the left.
2) Do yourself a favor and make sure you double/triple check all part numbers before starting. Totally sucks to find that you've been left hanging and can't finish the project because you're missing something.
3) Do yourself another favor and change out the oil separator to the newest 'E' version, and the oil return screen to the turbos to the newest 'G' version. At a minimum, make sure you change out the o-rings for all your turbo lines, and to be extra safe, just swap out for new turbo lines. They come with new o-rings on them.
4) The toughest part of the project is getting to the 6 bolts that hold the huge charge-air housing in place. You need to be able to tilt the entire 'lock-carrier' (the entire radiator housing in one unit) forward, so you can get to the bolts. No need to remove the crash bar for this, but do remove the large 16mm bolts (3 on each side) that hold the whole front lock-carrier to the long body rails.
5) If you have an AMS cooler installed, you will need to completely unbolt it's coolant tank on the passenger side in order to best tilt the lock-carrier forward.
6) You will need a very long and skinny 'size 5' Allen wrench to get to the front passenger side bolt in the top of the charge-air cooler housing. Only way you can get to it, as the opening is too narrow and too far away to get to it with anything more conventional.
7) Drain as much coolant as you can from the lowest point that you can. Cover all coolant lines that you detach with saran-wrap and rubber bands. This will prevent you getting coolant all over everything.
8) If you don't have one, immediately order an airlifter from Amazon to be able to vacuum fill your coolant when complete. Get new coolant. Your dealer has it in concentrated form, just mix either 1:1 or 1:2 with distilled water (either 50% or 33% coolant).
9) No need to undo the downpipe connections to the midpipe connections underneath the car. There is easily enough play to get the old turbos out and the new turbos in and attached to the downpipes.
10) If you don't have one, immediately order a hose clamp cable ploers. You will need one.
11) Lots of Oetiker clamps (ear clamps) need to be cut and tossed. To get the best fit, replace with new Oetiker clamps and use a good clamp tool to cinch them down.
12) While you're doing all this, good idea to swap out your spark plugs for the latest OEM version.
13) After mission complete, make sure you run your engine at idle for some time to allow both oil and coolant to circulate- you don't want to immediately drive it and stress the turbos that have completely empty oil and coolant lines.
14) If you want even more explicit instructions than WhiteWhiteS7's post, (although not necessary in my opinion, his post is fantastic), go to audi Erwin online and get a 1 day subscription for $35. Then download every pdf file that you can related to your car that day. Done. You now have all the shop manuals, with a how-to on pretty much everything you can think of, including turbo replacement.

Some of these points may be obvious, but as a newbie-learning hobbyist, I learned some of these points the hard way.

As i'm doing this currently.


WhiteWhiteS7 missed two bolts that lock the bumper to the fender at the very corner. I ripped the corner of my bumper by not removing it on the first side, I removed the second side before I ruined it. Its behind the tire well you remove at the very corner.

I would also add, while you completely drained the coolant system, just disconnect the upper coolant hose from the radiator. Its the easy clip-lock system, tho the hose might be slightly stuck. Removing that gives you an additional 4" to work with if you want it just for getting at those intake runner bolts out, and ease of removing the entire assembly.


Other than that it's a great instruction and amazing starting point for anyone without a clue in that engine bay (all of us the first time we get into it).

[MythosS6]

Hey all, I am going to be tackling this project pretty soon and I’m trying to get as much stuff together to minimize trips back-and-forth out of the house. My car is currently EPL stage one.

A few questions for those of you who have done it. [mention]OlyS6 [/mention] , you mentioned a long 5 mm Allen wrench. There is a ball tip one on Amazon that is 10 inches long with a T handle. Will that take care of it? I have standard length but nothing too crazy. See photo. I have most of the other tools including triple square bits, extensions, etc.IMG_8638.jpg


I have a set of red star downpipes coming.
20211202_185448.jpg

In addition, I have ordered these items:
Hpa RS7 turbo cores
Oil separator
Oil screen relocation kit from JHM
Gasket set for install from JHM
Heat exchanger from JHM
5 L of coolant concentrate
10 L oil and filter
Air lifter coolant bleeder
Coolant hose clamps
Oetiker clamp set
Hose clamp pliers and picks
RS7 spark plugs
Aldi beer advent calendar

Any big items I might be missing?
I just had the spark plugs changed last year But in my reading will probably put in RS7 plugs. Also, does the gasket set below seem complete enough or are there other ones that I need to grab before tearing everything apart?

Still trying to decide which way I’m going to go in regards to tune. I might run EPL stage two for a little bit and then potentially just get dyno tune at a local shop
IMG_8640.jpg

Thanks for all the info guys!


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[09S5]

Awesome write up above.

[xray777]

Hey all, I am going to be tackling this project pretty soon and I’m trying to get as much stuff together to minimize trips back-and-forth out of the house. My car is currently EPL stage one.

A few questions for those of you who have done it. [mention]OlyS6 [/mention] , you mentioned a long 5 mm Allen wrench. There is a ball tip one on Amazon that is 10 inches long with a T handle. Will that take care of it? I have standard length but nothing too crazy. See photo. I have most of the other tools including triple square bits, extensions, etc.IMG_8638.jpg


I have a set of red star downpipes coming.
20211202_185448.jpg

In addition, I have ordered these items:
Hpa RS7 turbo cores
Oil separator
Oil screen relocation kit from JHM
Gasket set for install from JHM
Heat exchanger from JHM
5 L of coolant concentrate
10 L oil and filter
Air lifter coolant bleeder
Coolant hose clamps
Oetiker clamp set
Hose clamp pliers and picks
RS7 spark plugs
Aldi beer advent calendar

Any big items I might be missing?
I just had the spark plugs changed last year But in my reading will probably put in RS7 plugs. Also, does the gasket set below seem complete enough or are there other ones that I need to grab before tearing everything apart?

Still trying to decide which way I’m going to go in regards to tune. I might run EPL stage two for a little bit and then potentially just get dyno tune at a local shop
IMG_8640.jpg

Thanks for all the info guys!


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Did you get any answers? Did the job yet? Got about 90% of parts together for this and getting cold feet!


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[dillysd]

I’m doing this same setup in spring. I got +4mm and APR HE. Thinking about the merc racing HE too. Good luck!!


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[THCarpenter]

I’m doing this same setup in spring. I got +4mm and APR HE. Thinking about the merc racing HE too. Good luck!!


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you are trying to run the APR or the Merc?

I just picked up the Merc XL and having the CWA-150 with relay built up to handle it all for my cooling with PP RS7+'s

[bendsley]

I recently replaced my turbos and really wasn't bad at all. I didn't pull the bumper or anything.

Really, you need some long torx bits, a hose clamp puller, and some patience. I would also recommend being careful putting the throttle body back in, because it's easy to pinch that gasket and it will give you an intake leak code.

I needed a second set of hands for a few minutes to hold the turbos so I could put the clamp back up around the flange of the oil drain on the bottom.

Would also recommend replacing o-rings for top coolant and oil lines while you have them out.

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