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K04 or not?

bbsxer

Passed Driver's Ed
If the water pump and rad go, there are great, affordable non-OEM options. The Graf cast aluminum water pump is popular here and it's not the worst thing to install if you're handy (and if your engine is CCTA). There's a clean-looking ECS aluminum rad that's priced very well, but I haven't done my DD to see what people's opinions are. I'll be considering it when my rad goes.
Interesting. Thanks. I am CCTA so I may go with that.
 

bbsxer

Passed Driver's Ed
Ha, yeah this isn‘t Vortex. We’re friendlier here :ROFLMAO:

Keep in mind how (hard) you drive it will also determine what other mods/support/maintenance it needs. If you rag on it (like most of us do) then you’ll most likely want an intercooler, upgraded brakes and a really well sorted tune. FWIW, I’ve never heard of someone suggesting injectors for a K04🤷‍♂️
Alright. Thanks for the info.
 

bbsxer

Passed Driver's Ed

GIACUser

Master Wallet Mechanic
Going K04 is a fairly expensive way to go on a motor that certainly has had all the very best miles driven out of it. If it is running great just leave it alone and drive it, especially if it is your daily driver. If however you do go forward with K04 which is a wonderful upgrade for a GTI in terms of performance, I would do at least a refresh of the motor. Bearings, upgraded connecting rods, rings, valve job and de-carbon along with any water pump, thermostat, belts, timing chain tensioners etc. that are known points of failure. I say this because going K04 is many thousands of dollars and you may not get to drive it very long or long enough to justify the expense before you have an issue. Even without mods, 172K miles is a lot on this motor (just my opinion). Some folks say, so what, let it blow up, I will fix it then. I prefer to do a more complete build based on what the car needs and with the idea that I can create a car I can depend on. Having said that my last build blew up on the 3rd lap at the track... Ha!
 

bbsxer

Passed Driver's Ed
Going K04 is a fairly expensive way to go on a motor that certainly has had all the very best miles driven out of it. If it is running great just leave it alone and drive it, especially if it is your daily driver. If however you do go forward with K04 which is a wonderful upgrade for a GTI in terms of performance, I would do at least a refresh of the motor. Bearings, upgraded connecting rods, rings, valve job and de-carbon along with any water pump, thermostat, belts, timing chain tensioners etc. that are known points of failure. I say this because going K04 is many thousands of dollars and you may not get to drive it very long or long enough to justify the expense before you have an issue. Even without mods, 172K miles is a lot on this motor (just my opinion). Some folks say, so what, let it blow up, I will fix it then. I prefer to do a more complete build based on what the car needs and with the idea that I can create a car I can depend on. Having said that my last build blew up on the 3rd lap at the track... Ha!
Okay that makes sense. What would’ve you estimate the cost of “refreshing” the motor?
 

Joe_Mama

Autocross Champion
Get yourself some RMI-25 for that water pump/radiator. This stuff sounds too good to be true

Please ignore this guy and only put G12 coolant in your system.
 

GolNat

Autocross Champion
K04 is always the answer!!

If the compression test is good I'd just slap her on there and go!!

But really a stage 1 tune wakes the car up so much. I'd start with that after giving it a refresh and collect K04 parts in the mean time.
 

GIACUser

Master Wallet Mechanic
Okay that makes sense. What would’ve you estimate the cost of “refreshing” the motor?

Set aside about 10K for the project of K04 and refresh. There is a good chance you can get it done for less but you should be prepared. Going K04 on an otherwise stock car is about 4-5K if you have nothing. On a TSI motor you would want:
K04 kit 1600
K04 tune 800
Upgraded intercooler 900
Upgraded intake 300
Upgraded Turbo Pipes (2) 450
3in turboback exhaust - 900
So you have about 5K minus any parts you already have

Accessory belt kit - 150
Cooling system refresh kit - 150
Timing Chain Kit - 500
Gaskets / Seals - 300
Rod bearing set - 200
Rings - 200
APR Valve Springs and retainers - 600
And another 2100 here (probably don't need connecting rods with TSI motor)

So we are about 7K in parts here and figure rest in labor unless you do your own work.

Note- on a car of that mileage you may discover other issues as it is being worked on ...... so be prepared for the unexpected.
 

bbsxer

Passed Driver's Ed
Set aside about 10K for the project of K04 and refresh. There is a good chance you can get it done for less but you should be prepared. Going K04 on an otherwise stock car is about 4-5K if you have nothing. On a TSI motor you would want:
K04 kit 1600
K04 tune 800
Upgraded intercooler 900
Upgraded intake 300
Upgraded Turbo Pipes (2) 450
3in turboback exhaust - 900
So you have about 5K minus any parts you already have

Accessory belt kit - 150
Cooling system refresh kit - 150
Timing Chain Kit - 500
Gaskets / Seals - 300
Rod bearing set - 200
Rings - 200
APR Valve Springs and retainers - 600
And another 2100 here (probably don't need connecting rods with TSI motor)

So we are about 7K in parts here and figure rest in labor unless you do your own work.

Note- on a car of that mileage you may discover other issues as it is being worked on ...... so be prepared for the unexpected.
Alright. Thank you for the breakdown.
 

Allchokedup

Autocross Champion
I'm ko4 and all this is sound information.
Except that one guy telling you to put anything other than. G12 in coolant.
Keep in mind you can get most of these parts used which will be much cheaper. Then you can buy some nice tools that will further save you money.
I dont know your background or age but if you know how to turn a wrench you will save a lot of money. Probably add a bit of frustration tho..haha
I think it can be done with all supporting parts around 3k used. Besides, if you dont go through the motor the used parts should last about as long as the motor.
If your in for the long haul start by buying a used block that you can build on the side. I have a local guy that rebuilda the engines and can be had for 2k (you do labor) so thats a worse case scenario
If you can't live with your car being broken down leave it as is. In the end nothing is more reliable than stock.
 

zrickety

The Fixer
I've got almost 10 years experience with these engines...the only things to watch out for are the timing tensioner (yours is updated), the water pump, and intake manifold. None of these will leave you stranded. Things like the ignition coils are random but I would get the real R8 coils if you upgrade. Stage 1 is a great idea, but don't be afraid of K04. Thinks like rod bearings and rings are best left alone unless you have a knock or oil consumption issue.
 

Mk6Autobahn

Autocross Champion
+1 to buying used and doing labor yourself. I did this and sure I learned a few things the hard way, but these forums really helped me pull through and get it all done.

I’m not sure if you’re on mobile or not (you can’t see my signature on mobile) but everything listed I installed and bought for under $2.5k total. It doesn’t have to be a huge financial endeavor. None of my parts even have 10k miles put on them, so in the grand scheme of mechanical components, practically new. They’re not cheap knock-offs either, all gently used name brand items. It’s doable!

Pre-stage 1/K04 maintenance ran me about $1k for everything except the chain tensioner (don’t need it yet). I have no leaks or codes or trouble driving and I did my swap on a time crunch in a parking garage lmao. You should be fine, you got this. But definitely have the funds/resources/a ride in case something goes wrong. You never know what to expect, and the variables only increase the older/more miles you add.
 

bbsxer

Passed Driver's Ed
I'm ko4 and all this is sound information.
Except that one guy telling you to put anything other than. G12 in coolant.
Keep in mind you can get most of these parts used which will be much cheaper. Then you can buy some nice tools that will further save you money.
I dont know your background or age but if you know how to turn a wrench you will save a lot of money. Probably add a bit of frustration tho..haha
I think it can be done with all supporting parts around 3k used. Besides, if you dont go through the motor the used parts should last about as long as the motor.
If your in for the long haul start by buying a used block that you can build on the side. I have a local guy that rebuilda the engines and can be had for 2k (you do labor) so thats a worse case scenario
If you can't live with your car being broken down leave it as is. In the end nothing is more reliable than stock.
I plan to do all the work I can by myself. One of my first ever DIY’s was dropping the subframe and it wasn’t too much of a hassle. I’m a High School Junior and I just started working on cars a few months ago.
 
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bbsxer

Passed Driver's Ed
I've got almost 10 years experience with these engines...the only things to watch out for are the timing tensioner (yours is updated), the water pump, and intake manifold. None of these will leave you stranded. Things like the ignition coils are random but I would get the real R8 coils if you upgrade. Stage 1 is a great idea, but don't be afraid of K04. Thinks like rod bearings and rings are best left alone unless you have a knock or oil consumption issue.
I bought the r8 ignition kit from ECS. Is that the real one? I’m not really comfortable with opening any car engine (especially my daily), so I probably wouldnt touch those anyway.
 
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bbsxer

Passed Driver's Ed
+1 to buying used and doing labor yourself. I did this and sure I learned a few things the hard way, but these forums really helped me pull through and get it all done.

I’m not sure if you’re on mobile or not (you can’t see my signature on mobile) but everything listed I installed and bought for under $2.5k total. It doesn’t have to be a huge financial endeavor. None of my parts even have 10k miles put on them, so in the grand scheme of mechanical components, practically new. They’re not cheap knock-offs either, all gently used name brand items. It’s doable!

Pre-stage 1/K04 maintenance ran me about $1k for everything except the chain tensioner (don’t need it yet). I have no leaks or codes or trouble driving and I did my swap on a time crunch in a parking garage lmao. You should be fine, you got this. But definitely have the funds/resources/a ride in case something goes wrong. You never know what to expect, and the variables only increase the older/more miles you add.
Yeah I’ve been pricing it out with used parts / cutting corners and I should be able to go k04 under 2k. I don’t mean cutting corners by taking risks. Just things like modifying stock catback and buying used.
 
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