k03 > k03s Turbo DIY / How to / Fitting Guide (Mk4 Golf)

NooNoo · Apr 16, 2009

K03s Fitting / K03s DIY Guide / How to (aids search)

Test

As I couldn't find a guide for this I thought I would try and encourage others to DIY this little task!
First I will deal with the parts required. Some of these parts are in case things "go wrong" and will save
you having a laid up car. This is easily achievable in a full day for a reasonably handy person. Bear in
mind this was swapping a k03s onto an k03 equipped AGU. Another person to help will greatly reduce the time
taken. My advice is to find a suitable muppet to keep you company!

Parts

VW Stuff

Qty Part number Description Use

1 06A115561B Oil filter Essential - oil change
1 N90813202 Sump plug Essential - oil change
1 N/A 5L Oil (personal pref) Essential - oil change

1 058145757A Sump oil return gasket Essential - turbo
1 058145757C Turbo oil return gasket Essential - turbo
1 1J0253115R Downpipe gasket Essential - turbo
1 06A253039E Exhaust mani / turbo gasket Essential - turbo
7 N0138149 Coolant sealing washer Essential - turbo
6 N0138128 Oil banjo sealing washer Essential - turbo
4 N10209009 Downpipe nuts Essential - turbo

1 ????????? G12 Coolant additive Essential - coolant

1 058253039L Exhaust manifold gasket Emergency (IMHO essential).
3 058145540 Exhaust mani / turbo bolts Emergency
13 N90200201 Exhaust manifold nuts Emergency (IMHO essential).
4 N90767801 Turbo / downpipe stud Emergency

Obviously you will need a k03s turbo, easily identified by 8 vanes instead of the k03 12 vane setup.

If you have a k03s with a silencer you will need an additional turbo elbow outlet hose 06A 145 832M.

The silenced k03s has a smaller diameter outlet pipe (the silencer is a unsightly bulge in the outlet pipe).

You may need to trim the 'charge pipe heatshield & upper clamp holder' to accomodate the bulge.

Non-VW Stuff

4 9-11mm Fuel line clamps Essential
2 DV hose size jubilee clips Essential - charge pipe
1 Syringe Useful - oil priming

Worth having a s election of Jubilee clips to hand.

Tools

Do not attempt this unless you have a fairly comprehensive tool kit in case things go wrong!
Anyway here is a list...

Essential

1 x 3/8ths socket set including a rachet. 10mm, 13mm, 14mm, 16mm and 17mm sockets regularly used.
2 x 3/8ths long extension bars
1 x 3/8ths short extension bar
1 x 3/8ths universal joint
1 x Hex bit set including 3/8ths holder. Bits 5-8mm regularly used. 8mm ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL.
1 x 17mm open ended spanner
1 x Short stubby flatblade

This is by no means exhaustive, but without the above you will find it VERY hard.

Procedure.
I recommend starting this early AM if you are trying to complete in a day. I started at 8am.
Some of these tasks I'll assume you know what you are doing and describe them very briefly.
With all jobs something usually goes wrong but I will try and make some helpful hints along
the way.

Step 1.

Take some digital camera pics topside of "plumbing" around DV etc.

This may help if you forget the routing of a pipe when re-assembling. Do this now as your hands are clean!

Step 2.

Drain the oil and replace the oil filter and sump plug. Do NOT refill with oil for obvious reasons!

Step 3.

Remove the offside inner CV joint heat/grease shield. Two 16mm bolts. Store.

Step 4.

Detach the downpipe.

For me this was quite painful as you cannot remove the downpipe without
the middle section being removed. Do what you need to do to get the downpipe out of the way.
This probably means disconnecting the centre pipe from the "over the rear beam" pipe near
the back of the car and removing the centre exhaust support plate. Jiggle the downpipe flange
through the hole above the subframe and bulkhead heatshielding it does go through!
No need to disconnect the lambda probe unless you're desperate to (22mm).
Please be aware that an AGU running the original OEM exhaust is going to really tough to drop the downpipe out of the way.
The centre sleeve to the rear section will be seized solid. Please consider how you are going to remove the downpipe / exhaust.
first as getting the turbo out 'easily' really needs this out the way. Better still get a new turbo back exhuast
prior to doing this work.
Note: If you remove the exhaust manifold later, the turbo can come out the top therefore dropping the exhaust completely isn't
absolutely necessary
Exhaust centre support bracket...

Flange [

]

Dropped Blueflame...

Step 5.

Now remove a hidden bolt that braces the lower part of the turbo (13mm). It's a bit
awkward but managable (see pic for approx position).
Slacken jubilee clip on TIP, turbo end. Flatblade.
Remove turbo oil return at sump end (10mm). Be prepared for a few drips of oil. Put the
10mm bolts back in place hanging the old gasket (so you know what gasket to use later
Slacken in a controlled manner the coolant return banjo attached to the block (8mm hex). Be ready for purple
showers! Have a bucket or tray handy, expect to lose about 4 litres of coolant. Don't
swallow it and leave to drain.
Alternatively drain the coolant from the drain tap located on the bottom of the radiator near the lower hose exit.

Purple showers... or drain properly via radiator tap.

Step 6.

Go topside and dismantle the whole of the TIP area. I removed the DV and rebreather from the TIP but you don't have to. My advice is to leave the DV and rebreather inserted in the TIP but remove all other connections.
Remove the N75 from the TIP but don't remove any other pipes from it. Disconnect the electrical connection.
Extract the TIP from the car.
Remove the heatshield blanket from the right hand side of the charge pipe.
Undo the jubilee clips on the charge pipe and the turbo outlet. Remove the hose.
Remove the 2 x charge pipe clamps (10mm) located directly behind coilpack 2 and down behind near the brake servo.
Remove the heatshield and charge pipe upper clamp holder, one bolt on the clamp itself, the other back right side of block.

Ignore some of image content, I did this blundering around. So if you see stuff in pics that you have already removed your doing fine!
Yes I know this is the wrong TIP for an AGU [

]

Strip down topside...

Ouch fibre glass...

Remove charge pipe clamps...

Turbo outlet hose removal...

Heatshield and upper charge pipe clamp removal...

Step 7.

Pop underneath and remove the heatshield blanket on the lower part of the charge pipe (hopefully the coolant will have finished draining). Undo the jubilee clip.
Remove the charge pipe.
Remove the coolant banjo bolt completely, removing the old stuck washer from the
block.
Remove the 3 manifold to turbo fixing bolts. I managed to use the rachet on the rear two bolts (17mm) but needed an open ended spanner for the one closest to the engine.

The turbo is now being supported on the oil and coolant feed lines.

Charge pipe lower jubilee...

A banjo bolt...

Step 8.

On the coolant feed line round the back of the block there is a support bracket that is held by
a 10mm short bolt (see pic in step 7). Remove this. I also removed the coolant feed hose from
the T-piece.
On the front of the block remove the turbo oil feed banjo from the top of the oil filter (8mm hex).
Look out for loose washers.
Next to the oil feed banjo is a support bracket that is welded to the oil feed pipe. Remove the hex
bolt (6mm?). This is not easy. See pics for my multi-extended access method.

Turbo oil feed (filter end)...

Access through inlet manifold gap...

Tricky access...

Turbo coolant feed hose...

Step 9.

Remove the exhaust manifold if you didn't get the exhaust downpipe out the way. Time consuming 13 nuts and poor access.
On the oil feed pipe there is support bracket attached to the turbo near the inlet, with
a hex bolt, remove this (see pic). Another person to support the turbo at this point would be useful.
Remove both coolant and oil banjos, rescuing old washers.

The turbo should now be LOOSE! Extract the turbo from the underside with some weird manipulation! It will squeeze through between the subframe and driveshaft.
If you left the downpipe in place then the turbo will need to come out topside (but you must have removed the exhaust manifold).

The final banjos...

General information.

Wotnots...

Crafty oil feed support...

Step 10.

Hopefully you should now have the turbo in front of you. Take some side by side pics for the memory!

Only transplant what you need to on the turbo being fitted. Leave already solid oil or water connections alone (as long as the banjo and gaskets look sound). Don't do work for the sake of it, every connection that is remade has the possibiity of leaking and affecting reliability.

Note: The oil and coolant banjo washers are different sizes, beware!

Side by side... [H]

Alot of space now... [:|]

Step 11.

Bung up the turbo oil and coolant feed holes with something to stop dirt ingress. Be careful not to use something that "breaks up".
Manipulate the turbo into approximate position from the underside.
Remove dirt ingress protection and use syringe to prime oil feed (hole nearest block).To be honest the feed holds about a thimble full of oil... your choice!
Using new washers re-attach the oil feed banjo and refit the hex bracket support bolt near the turbo inlet. Tricky point getting threaded.
Refit the coolant feed, I did not use new washers, I couldn't get the old ones off so
I figured it was best left alone. Tricky point getting threaded.
Double check the banjos are tight NOW (8mm hex). I did it by feel, no torque wrench. I would
avoid a torque wrench here, to strip the threads would be a total disaster. I trusted
my own judgement. This is your last chance to inspect and tighten.
Weird I know but now refit the TIP while the turbo can move about slightly! This saves
frustration later! Remember the jubilee clip but don't tighten it!
Re-slide the coolant feed support bracket onto the support mounted on the engine
block (10mm short bolt). This will help support the turbo. Do not tighten this up.

Step 12.

Reconnect the coolant feed hose to the t-piece topside.
Refit the exhaust manifold using new gasket and nuts, Time consuming and fiddley.
Refit the 3 manifold to turbo bolts using the new gasket. This was tricky, wasn't
easy to get them threaded. A helper might be a bonus here to manipulate the turbo into
exactly the right position. Use a torch to look down the manifold holes if necessary!
Before the 3 bolts are totally tight go underneath and fit the "hidden" turbo support
bolt loosely.
Tighten the 3 topside bolts and finish off with the hidden bolt.
Tighten the coolant feed support bracket (10mm short bolt that was not tightened in step 11).
Refit the banjo on the oil filter housing loosely with NEW washers.
Refit the banjo support bracket on the oil filter using access method previously shown
in pics (loosely).
Now tighten oil filter banjo. Be careful not to overtighten. Now tighten the support bracket.

Notice the TIP is fitted in the pics, fit it early while the turbo still has some movement.

Turbo to manifold refitting...

Limited access...

Step 14.

Refit the coolant return pipe using banjo and new washers to the engine block.
Refit the oil return pipe using a new gasket to the sump.

Step 15.

Refit heatshield and charge pipe upper clamp holder.
Refit the charge pipe loosely using clamps.
Refit lower charge pipe hose, tightening jubilee clip and restore heat blanket.
Refit upper charge pipe hose, tightening jubilee clips and restoring heat blanket.

Refitting the heatshield and charge pipe upper clamp...

Clamps... exciting eh?

Charge pipe refit...

Refitting down under...

Step 16.

Refit everything topside to the TIP. DV pipes, Oil breather, N75 electical connection etc.
Retighten everything. Consider everything that has been removed. Consult digital camera pics if required.

At some points during this procedure you will have had to remove some VW hose clips. Use jubilee clips where necessary.

Step 17.

After checking you refitted the sump plug fill with 4.5l of oil.
Remove the coolant expansion tank cap and fill to max with G12.

Step 18.

Refit the downpipe (using new nuts and gasket) and exhaust middle section. Easier said than done.
Could end up being total refit front to back... you have been warned!

Step 19.

Inspect everything! Ensure there are no parts left over! Check and triple check. As a minimum examine all banjos.

Step 20.

Start the car. Let the car idle for several minutes topping up the coolant when required. When you have used the whole bottle of G12 use water. When you are satisfied enough coolant has been replaced refit the expansion tank cap.

OBVIOUSLY IF THERE IS A LEAK OR THE ENGINE DOESN'T SOUND RIGHT SWITCH OFF IMMEDIATELY AND INVESTIGATE!!

Step 21.

Testdrive locally being gentle listening for "new" noises.

Step 22.

Have a beer with you mate and consider how much money you've saved for a remap!

Here comes the disclaimer...

I TAKE ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY OR PERSONS USING THIS GUIDE!
You DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Have fun and drive easy with the k03s fitted on a k03 map.

[

]

Notes:
Step 13 delibrately left out, call me superstitious!

NooNoo · Apr 30, 2009

Hi BadPuppet [Y]

I will update the guide with prices for the parts early next week.

The k03s is slightly larger / more efficient than the k03 at producing boost, so for a given wastegate position (under n75 control) you will get more psi (I am pretty sure that statement is right). The k03s has to be better at producing boost as it maintains psi right up to the redline... whereas the k03 runs "out of puff". So for every turn of the rotar more air is moved.

Remember on an AGU there is no MAP sensor to feedback actual boost so it runs "open loop" to some degree. The ECU modulates the N75 expecting to get 15psi (for a stage 1 car) and gets 20psi! Then how should it fuel? It needs to know what duty cycle to run on the injectors for the additional air being blown into the engine. So although you can run a k03s on a map not designed for it you are ultimately best to get it remapped to fuel it right etc...

As for injectors, MAF, and 4 bar FPR you will probably need a custom remap. Some may have these maps "off the shelf" but remember they have not been tested anything like the generic code that "most" people have. Generic maps have 1000s of hours of testing. There is something to be said for staying with standard "stage 2" parts. If you go with a custom map for your car there is no way of relating issues to other cars as it is totally bespoke. I'm sure you would get more performance but with many dyno runs and niggles.

These are just my thoughts [

]

Hope this helps [Y]

ryanGTI · May 1, 2009

well the total i paid for all the nuts, bolts, gaskets, was £57.83

Patch · Sep 16, 2009

Is it worth getting new banjo bolts,or are they in that list?

NooNoo · Sep 16, 2009

Blimey some action on my "how to" [

]

Hi Patch,

The banjo bolts aren't on the list. I think it would be a waste of money really. There are already quite a few items on the list you won't use if all goes well, I just can't think of a reason to replace them.

If anything I would buy an additional 4 oil seal washers. It all depends whether the turbo is bare of feed and return lines... as that dictates how many washers are required! I re-used the water feed washers as they were stuck firmly on the banjo bolt (see my "wotnots" picture, you can see the banjo bolt still on the coolant feed).

Are you doing this yourself?

[

]

Patch · Sep 19, 2009

This job is a nightmare[

]

Patch · Sep 20, 2009

Never again[

][

]

motionlee · Sep 20, 2009

I think an extra £50 quid with me would of been money well spent lad lol

jmgr33n · Sep 20, 2009

Never again

Not been a good day then Patch?? you get it finished?

Patch · Sep 20, 2009

For anyone who may want to tackle this in the future,make sure you use the right washers on the oil banjo bolts,they are different than the water banjo washers[

]

Patch · Sep 20, 2009

I think an extra £50 quid with me would of been money well spent lad lol

Maybe,but think of the fun i've had[

D]

I've learnt a lot along the way and would help any of the Pit Crew fit one if and when needed,it's another thing that we can all add to things we can diy list.

NooNoo · Sep 20, 2009

Glad you got sorted Patch.

If anyone is local to Leicester considering this, I'm up for another fitting battle [Y]

Once you've done one they're easy [:#]

[

]

1 Lee · Dec 2, 2009

Mega write up NooNoo. I will be using ths over the corse of December when my K03s terns up

NooNoo · Dec 2, 2009

Mega write up NooNoo. I will be using ths over the corse of December when my K03s terns up

Have you got yourself a decent k03s Lee?

[

]

fuzion · Mar 9, 2010

im bringing this back .. lol

question, this Elbow Hose in this pic. The forge replacement for a k03s is a 225 k04 hose (for audi) would be the one that fits? As the k03 one for the agu setup doesnt fit my k03s hybrid?

Any help appreciated!

Thanks

NooNoo · Mar 10, 2010

When you say hybrid do you mean you have had it's internals changed or do you mean it has the strange silencer? Or both?

[

]

fuzion · Mar 10, 2010

exhaust side has been changed /flowed.

but the Elbow from Forge from charge pipe -> turbo intercooler inlet side wont fit. (too small on one end).

So one side fits, other side is too small.

And no silencer on my car, sounds like a freakin jet on boost.

Mark_One · Jun 24, 2010

good guide.

Having read it, I'm almost certain you've named the coolant feed and return the wrong way around. I reckon the return is on the front of the block, going down under the inlet mani to the water pump inlet. And the Coolant feed is from the back of the block from the output of the waterpump (internally fed).

Does anyone agree. It makes no difference when doing this conversion....But I need to know!

NooNoo · Jun 24, 2010

Hi mate,

Yeah I did wonder that, but I thought it would be odd to take a feed from the block itself having already been "heated". It was more logical the hose/metal pipe was the feed...

I think you are right though it makes sense that it's close to the water pump. As you say, for the turbo swap it makes no difference.

[

]

ABM · Jun 24, 2010

This thread helped me a lot on my swap recently, cheers Noo [Y]

NooNoo · Jun 24, 2010

Pleased it helped [

]

I presume everything went smoothly? I've considered rivising it a little but it's good enough in most areas I think!

[Y]

Chris. · Jan 6, 2011

Does it come out with the driveshaft in place?

NooNoo · Jan 6, 2011

Yes, comes out reasonably easily without removing the driveshaft. Just a bit of manipulation. Really not worth removing the offside driveshaft, just making additional work for yourself

Chris. · Jan 6, 2011

Ahh, just I was under there tonight and doesnt look enough space either side of the shaft.

I managed to get my k03 in from the top...JUST, dont think the K03s will get in though.

NooNoo · Jan 6, 2011

You have to twist it about a bit and have the downpipe out the way but it's pretty easy. The k03 and k03s are the same size within a gnats whisker!

Chris. · Jan 6, 2011

Ahh, sure ill manage lol. I think the silencer will stop it from going in from the top....but ill try lol.

k03 > k03s Turbo DIY / How to / Fitting Guide (Mk4 Golf)

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