Phoenix from the flames - Porsche Boxster with an Audi 2.7T
Discussion
Chris Type R said:
You'll find the Alfa is a bit of a Tardis when you drop the rear seats. Space for lugging stuff (and mine has the V6) makes it hard to get rid of.
I managed to fill the boot on mine. 
Mark-t said:
I'm sure you'll already know this but you'll know if they've been balanced as the shaft will be ground on one side.
I'm looking forward to more updates
Yeah, they've been balanced. I'm looking forward to more updates
Peanut Gallery said:
Hmm, where did my post go?
Go for the turbos you have, and (fingers crossed it does not happen) if they do grenade, your intercooler will filter out bits.
How painful were the snapped belts to fix on the Alpha? - Sorry you are having clunks!
Keep the updates coming please!
Very easy on this engine, the valves don't bend, they snap rocker arms. I only had to change 2 of them, no need to take the head off. Go for the turbos you have, and (fingers crossed it does not happen) if they do grenade, your intercooler will filter out bits.
How painful were the snapped belts to fix on the Alpha? - Sorry you are having clunks!
Keep the updates coming please!
hpfiend said:
Fantastic work on both boxsters!
Thank you. Thesprucegoose said:
i would be getting them balanced before fitting, the cores should be checked before fitting, 150-200k rpm is no joke and an extra 100 quid is nothing. just check housing for cracks and hope for best,,
This is VERY good advice. Edited by Thesprucegoose on Wednesday 23 January 23:00
Op would do well to heed.
I bought a very expensive , very exotic unit and it was fitted straight away.
It needed to be balanced. It also had appeared to have been done. But wasn't dome very well obviously as when it was span up on a VSR , it activated the safety cut off...
Well worth checking - warranty or not it doesn't make sense to take the risk IMO..
Anyway glad the car is coming along well....
Zombie said:
Where the hell did you find a blackline GT for £300?! the wheels are worth more than that!
My hunting ground is the Facebook marketplace these days. I really like the Blackline alloys, would have them on the Boxster if I could. Alfa consistently produce good alloy wheel designs in my opinion. They've also nailed the seats in the GT. Comfortable while being very supportive, better than the seats in the Boxster (or the sports seats from the old Boxster). The rest of the car isn't up to much, the Bose sound system in it is total cack. I was planning on working on the Boxster soon but it's been put back again, probably be a month or so until I get around to it.
First update for a while. I done 1000 miles in this so far, the majority being boring commuting ones as the charge cooler system wasn't working effectively. I knew there were some other issues also but as it was running and I needed it for work I had to just leave it. Once the Alfa was sorted and on the road I SORN'd the Boxster and it's been sat on the driveway over winter. The garage is finally empty so I got the Boxster back inside this week to sort it all out so I don't miss yet another summer. I was pleasantly surprised that the car was dry as a bone inside with no dampness or mould, not expected on a convertible that's been sat idle during all the storms we've had recently.
First job i'm doing is changing the turbos. On an Audi you'd need to pull the engine out, as it turns out it's pretty similar on mine but it's much easier to do. Just dropped the engine and gearbox down enough to get access to the bolts holding the turbo to the manifold.
Looks like i've got a couple of gearbox oil leaks. Definitely a leaking seal on the driveshaft flange. I'm going to pull the gearbox off for a proper inspection. I've got a feeling i'll be taking this back off again in a few months if it decides it's not happy with the torque from the bigger turbos.
Also got oil leaks both sides of the engine. Oil leaks are the achilles heal of these engines, I've replaced the cam cover seals twice already. Either i'm making a mess of the job or it's coming from somewhere else. Might need to take the cams out and replace the seals. I knew I had this oil leak as there would occasionally be a smoke cloud coming out of the side vents where the oil was burning off the exhaust manifold.
A turbo about to be removed, access it pretty good once the engine is lowered.
Got them out, the bottom picture shows the difference in size between a K03 and a K04.
First job i'm doing is changing the turbos. On an Audi you'd need to pull the engine out, as it turns out it's pretty similar on mine but it's much easier to do. Just dropped the engine and gearbox down enough to get access to the bolts holding the turbo to the manifold.
Looks like i've got a couple of gearbox oil leaks. Definitely a leaking seal on the driveshaft flange. I'm going to pull the gearbox off for a proper inspection. I've got a feeling i'll be taking this back off again in a few months if it decides it's not happy with the torque from the bigger turbos.
Also got oil leaks both sides of the engine. Oil leaks are the achilles heal of these engines, I've replaced the cam cover seals twice already. Either i'm making a mess of the job or it's coming from somewhere else. Might need to take the cams out and replace the seals. I knew I had this oil leak as there would occasionally be a smoke cloud coming out of the side vents where the oil was burning off the exhaust manifold.
A turbo about to be removed, access it pretty good once the engine is lowered.
Got them out, the bottom picture shows the difference in size between a K03 and a K04.
I took the gearbox off to investigate the oil leak, it's not the rear crank seal (which i'd changed previously), it's a leak coming down from above. I've also got leaks at the front of the engine, I will take the cams out and replace the cam seals. I should have done this last year before the engine went in but I optimistically thought the leaks were all coming from the cam covers.
Luckily the 5 speed is pretty cheap second hand, you should be able to pick one up for a couple hundred quid.
I replaced the leaking seal on the driveshaft flange and the O-ring for the speed sensor. Then put the box back on the engine.
Then it was time to fit the new turbos. They've been a nightmare, it's a fiddly job even with the engine completely out. I think I ended up spending about 12 hours messing about with them. It felt like everything needed modification in one way or the other. Perhaps it because they are larger turbos or perhaps because the are Chinese specials. The downpipes and the gaskets didn't fit so I had to open up the holes.
One turbo was nowhere near fitting, I could only get 2 out of 3 manifold to turbo bolts in and it was sitting with the compressor housing hard on the exhaust manifold. It took a combination of slotting the exhaust manifold holes and taking some metal off the compressor housing (I didn't know the thickness so was reluctant to take much off)
I had to hack an old spanner up so it would fit the tiny gap so I could tighten a water pipe banjo bolt.
They are now on and all buttoned up. The downpipes are sitting slightly differently now so there are some more modifications to be made. I had to adjust the heat shield for the CV boots. I'm halfway through re-making the gearbox mounts and I still need to change the exhaust.
I replaced the leaking seal on the driveshaft flange and the O-ring for the speed sensor. Then put the box back on the engine.
Then it was time to fit the new turbos. They've been a nightmare, it's a fiddly job even with the engine completely out. I think I ended up spending about 12 hours messing about with them. It felt like everything needed modification in one way or the other. Perhaps it because they are larger turbos or perhaps because the are Chinese specials. The downpipes and the gaskets didn't fit so I had to open up the holes.
One turbo was nowhere near fitting, I could only get 2 out of 3 manifold to turbo bolts in and it was sitting with the compressor housing hard on the exhaust manifold. It took a combination of slotting the exhaust manifold holes and taking some metal off the compressor housing (I didn't know the thickness so was reluctant to take much off)
I had to hack an old spanner up so it would fit the tiny gap so I could tighten a water pipe banjo bolt.
They are now on and all buttoned up. The downpipes are sitting slightly differently now so there are some more modifications to be made. I had to adjust the heat shield for the CV boots. I'm halfway through re-making the gearbox mounts and I still need to change the exhaust.
It's a decision based on budget, a set of rebuilt genuine K04's (probably using the same Chinese parts and bearings as in my turbos?!) is £1500. Mine cost £200. I'll probably be able to get £150 back for my original turbos. My labour is free and I enjoy working on it so I'm willing to put up with the fitting issues I ran into for the cost saving.
I wish I was able to to flick through a Demon Tweeks catalogue cherry picking all the best parts I want but even if I could afford it, I couldn't justify it. It's not my idea of modifying, I'm trying to create something that's going to offer bang for buck, hence the engine swap in the first place. If money was no barrier, could have spent 15k getting the original engine forged or 20k+ on a 996 Turbo engine, instead I've chucked in £350 worth of Audi engine that'll make the same power.
I'm not a total tight arse but I need to pick and choose where I spend my money so it goes as far as it can. For example, i've got a Kaaz LSD and Chinese turbos, for the same money I could have had genuine turbos and an open diff. I know what I think is best.
I'm more worried about blowing the gearbox up rather than the turbos.
I wish I was able to to flick through a Demon Tweeks catalogue cherry picking all the best parts I want but even if I could afford it, I couldn't justify it. It's not my idea of modifying, I'm trying to create something that's going to offer bang for buck, hence the engine swap in the first place. If money was no barrier, could have spent 15k getting the original engine forged or 20k+ on a 996 Turbo engine, instead I've chucked in £350 worth of Audi engine that'll make the same power.
I'm not a total tight arse but I need to pick and choose where I spend my money so it goes as far as it can. For example, i've got a Kaaz LSD and Chinese turbos, for the same money I could have had genuine turbos and an open diff. I know what I think is best.
I'm more worried about blowing the gearbox up rather than the turbos.
xjay1337 said:
Question why the chinese turbos?
Not like normal K04s are ridiculously expensive.
I raised this before as I bought a Chinese turbo for my a4 1.8t quattro which lasted a few hundred miles. Luckily it didn't damage the engine. With the plethora of turbo specialists around, beach buggy etc and good value, k04 would be around 750 quid,I just wouldn't trust one again but each to there own.Not like normal K04s are ridiculously expensive.
Plenty of very good condition used ko4 for £400.
full chra rebuild from european specialist is a couple of hundred. I'm all for money v results but turbo is not a place I'd want to scrimp on (I speak from experience with having many turbo changes on my last project car :-) )
Just thinking worst case turbos blow can ruin the engine.....
full chra rebuild from european specialist is a couple of hundred. I'm all for money v results but turbo is not a place I'd want to scrimp on (I speak from experience with having many turbo changes on my last project car :-) )
Just thinking worst case turbos blow can ruin the engine.....
The K04's on my engine are different to the one on the 1.8t, you can't pick up a genuine used one for cheap, they only came on the RS4 and they aren't that common. My mate bought a rebuilt pair for over £1500 and that was considered cheap. The thing is, you don't know what they've been rebuilt with, unlikely to be genuine parts if being sold by a company that need to make a profit. So my mates might be just as Chinese as mine but in genuine housings.
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