whansen

My turbos are leaking oil (left a little worse than right). Indie mechanic advises replacement. Anyone have experience with this -- new vs. rebuilt? Car has just under 120,000 miles and I plan to keep it long-term. [6-speed manual w/ sports package, BBS wheels, Recaro seats. Mods include AWE Tuning S-Flo, Bailey diverter valves, and GIAC pump gas performance program.]

Thanks for any input!
Warren Hansen
Mendham, NJ

2.7Lturbo

repair or go k04

4Driver4

2nd on K04 recommendation.

2.7Lturbo

2rd on the k04 recommendation! lol really replacing k03s with brand new k03s is a waste of money, if you can afford new turbos you can afford to go k04

if money is tight you can easily have the turbos professionally rebuilt for under 800.

if you can drop the motor yourself thats even better

redge2.7t

3rd on the k04s, even if your not looking for power they will still last way longer.

VONBOTTLE

go to ctsturbo.com and pick up a set of RP brand K04's, just as good as oem brand borg warners but $1k cheaper, and cheaper than replacement k03's as well. i did mine about a year ago and am very happy with the RP's....just be prepared for the bill to do the job - i think my grand total was close to $10-11k (maybe more), as once the engine was out, a LOT of seals, hoses, etc. needed to be replaced, so there was a LOT of labor involved, on top of the book time to just replace the turbos. plus i upgraded a lot of parts while the engine was out - clutch, flywheel, motor/tranny mounts, downpipes, timing belt, etc. - which you should do now when the motor is out...have fun shopping!

Alpha6-27Tango(jeff)

I'd like to hear other opinions, but my Inde said he won't do anymore K04 upgrades on stock or Stage I/II (1-bar) software, so only with an upgrade to matched Stage III software. It's not an attempt at an up-sell, first because I've been working with him for 5+ years, and 2nd, he already knows I plan to buy the software directly from APR. He said he's had too many issues with the car not running properly, and it's not worth the bad press & hassle.

Is anyone else running K04's on 1-bar software, and if so, who makes the software, and have you had any issues? I've also heard (unconfirmed) rumors that fuel economy goes down with K04s, and validity to that? Not that I'm upgrading for the fuel economy, but it doesn't seem like it should change much on the highway.

- Jeff

VONBOTTLE

i'm running my k04's on my old APR programming (93 octane) and haven't had any problems since. unfortunately you have to buy apr's whole turbo kit to get their programming and they won't offer any sort of upgrade on just software, so i said screw them. i'll probably have EPL (in CT) program it or do VAST's fueling package. i haven't seen any mileage decrease - city or highway, might have actually increased a tiny percentage. it really shouldn't decrease until you upgrade the fueling

Ming 2.7T

ran stock ECU with K04's. No problems at all. Hummm.

whansen

. . . however, after further evaluation my mechanic thinks that the leaks are likely just the oil seals, not failing turbos. So we're looking at probably less than $500 to fix, vs. $5-6K for the replacement.

~wh