OT: Ok wise garage mechanics, how do you deal with this one? :)

[Coronita]

So I finally stopped beating around the bush and decided to replace my leaky turbo in my Audi at 140k miles and 16 1/2 years of ownership…

(I know. I should have long put this car out to the pastures, but it has a sentimental value!!! It is dependable, and one time it even managed to limp me to the hospital’s ER room 30 minutes away, despite having no coolant after I bounced over a road dip and ruptured the radiator….So i figure, since it took care of me, I’m not going to just ditch it when it’s hurting, lol)…

I figured out I do not need to take off all the front end (again)… I can survive by just removing the passenger headlight, the air box, and some pumping…like this…

There’s about 5 bolts total that I need to remove. I was worried all would be frozen stuck due to heat/rust/weather for the past 16 years…2 on the exhaust manifold, 3 on the catalytic side… But fortunately, I’ve managed to get 4 of the 5 off.

Of course being a German car, the last bolt is always the PITA….It’s not that it’s stuck (at least I don’t think it is). I just can’t figure out how to get access to it…

Here’s what it looks like…

The third bolt is underneath, where the red dot is. I’m trying to access the bolt from the top… There isn’t enough clearance to stick a normal wrench next to it, since there’s bumper reinforcement beam 4 inches next to it…Also, since the catalytic converter bends down, I can’t stick a small socket in there either, since the racket would hit the bottom of the catalytic. I also tried going from underneath the car, but there’s a heat shield that can’t be removed, and there’s too much other crap around, so the only option is from the top…

Any idea what kind of tool(s) I should be using to do this? It’s normal 17mm hex nut. I’m wondering if there are 90 degree wrenches..

[moneymaker]

Have you tried posting to an Audi forum? I usually find the answer for my VW on http://www.TDICLUB.com

[Coronita]

[quote=moneymaker]Have you tried posting to an Audi forum? I usually find the answer for my VW on http://www.TDICLUB.com[/quote%5D

Hmmm…that’s good idea….

Found a video….

[no_such_reality]

don’t make it personal flu, it’s just business. If you’re trying to be a nice guy to the car, you know what that’s going to get you. 😉

Would those box end wrenches fit? I think they’re popular in the fatherland.

aka, this in a 17 mm http://www.homedepot.com/p/TEKTON-5-16-in-x-3-8-in-Extra-Long-Flex-Head-Ratcheting-Box-End-Wrench-WRN77003/207112539

[Coronita]

I think I ‘m going try the $15.99 made in china harbor freight special tomorrow morning.
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-metric-s-type-wrench-set-99699.html

lifetime warranty

I’d get a set from sears, but sears stopped having craftsman tools made in the usa. It’s probably sourced from the same place that harbor freight gets their tools.

I think I have a 20% off one item coupon and a get a free led flashlight coupon too

[njtosd]

[quote=flu]I think I ‘m going try the $15.99 made in china harbor freight special tomorrow morning.
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-metric-s-type-wrench-set-99699.html

lifetime warranty

I’d get a set from sears, but sears stopped having craftsman tools made in the usa. It’s probably sourced from the same place that harbor freight gets their tools.

I think I have a 20% off one item coupon and a get a free led flashlight coupon too[/quote]

Or a free digital multimeter, or a set of screwdrivers. I love Harbor Freight. We just got a great set of solar garden lights for next to nothing.

[Coronita]

[quote=njtosd][quote=flu]I think I ‘m going try the $15.99 made in china harbor freight special tomorrow morning.
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-metric-s-type-wrench-set-99699.html

lifetime warranty

I’d get a set from sears, but sears stopped having craftsman tools made in the usa. It’s probably sourced from the same place that harbor freight gets their tools.

I think I have a 20% off one item coupon and a get a free led flashlight coupon too[/quote]

Or a free digital multimeter, or a set of screwdrivers. I love Harbor Freight. We just got a great set of solar garden lights for next to nothing.[/quote]

Adding more to my ever growing pile of tools.

$13 lifetime warranty, after 20% off coupon. Also picked up a free LED light….Lol…

Oh, and these aren’t made in china. They’re made in india, lol.

[moneymaker]

I love harbor freight!

[Coronita]

Turbo is out…..I can’t believe I woke up in the middle of the night to do this….But I will not be defeated by frozen bolt gods….

[img_assist|nid=25908|title=@#$#@$#@$@#$@#$@#|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=500]

[zk]

[quote=flu]Turbo is out…..I can’t believe I woke up in the middle of the night to do this….But I will not be defeated by frozen bolt gods….

[/quote]

Ahh, sweet victory!

[TeCKis300]

Now to slap in a bigger turbo!

[Coronita]

[quote=TeCKis300]Now to slap in a bigger turbo![/quote]

I thought about putting a KO4, GT28RS, or a FrankinTurbo..

But I decided against it because of a few reasons. First the cost of those turbos are at least double of a KO3 which I got new for $500. Then in addition to the turb,o I would need an ECU upgrade which would be another $500. And then, I would need to upgrade the transmission or it would eventually fail. So that’s an extra $1000 Then I would need to get a cat back exhaust to increase the air flow, that’s another $1000.

And when it’s all said and done, it would still be slower than a BMW 335 stock with no mods. And still slower than my miata.

I’d rather just get another car to be competitive. Just keeping this as a beater and sentimental value. It has a chipped ecu so at least it’s 200hp. But since it’s awd, its a porker at 3600lbs.

[Author]

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