APR K04 TSI DIY Install

[ebuuz]

Hey grambles. Wanted to say thanks for putting this together. This DIY is awesome. Even seven years later it saved my butt for reinstalling my stock turbo.

For the record, stock APR k04 tune runs surprisingly well on stock turbo. Cheers!


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[jhstl]

I wrapped up my install over the weekend. Dropped it off tonight to get the software updated to K04 tune from APR.

My notes:

• Like others with the CTS turbo kit, it required me to re-clock the turbo compressor housing slightly in order to get the intake coupler back on. I was able to get to the bolts with just a 6mm wrench with the downpipe and turbo back on. I wondered if this would mess up the wastegate calibration but CTS told me I likely just put it back to the way it should have been sent out.
• I took out the passenger axle since I had recently done coilovers and realized the passenger side strut still needed to move down a bit in the steering knuckle / bearing / hub assembly. Doing this took a few minutes but made getting to all the bolts and lines so much easier.
• I fought with trying to get the oil feed line to clip into the coolant return line and also line up with the bracket on the diverter valve area and I gave up after reading the IE instructions that tell you to cut off one of the tabs. I assume its not a big deal as I've seen pictures of other folks where they aren't clipped in together.
• It seems like I lost more coolant than normal. I bought 1 gallon of pre-mixed coolant and I think I used about 3/4's of the jug. I noticed when I was filling the car back up that I accidentally snapped the plastic nipple off the heater hose inlet up by the firewall so maybe that had something to do with it. Doesn't seem to be overheating based on my 6 mile drive to the tune shop.
• No problems with the manifold studs, heat shield bolts or support bracket and my car had 90K miles on it. I did soak them in PB blaster before I tried to remove them and I was gentle when trying to break them loose.
• When removing the downpipe, I didn't even bother to unscrew the O2 sensors. Just unclip and unplug them. Easy. There was plenty of clearance to snake the front downpipe section out with the sensor still in.
• I did not drain the oil since I had recently done an oil change. I did check and top off after. Didn't see why it would be necessary to drain the whole car since there is only a small amount in the turbo when you remove the feed line from the turbo and return line from the block.

Overall thanks for the tips in this thread. I certainly encountered a few head scratchers that I was able to figure out from reading through others' experiences. Looking forward to getting to drive the car again with boost!