The wastegate inside the turbo is just hanging in there, it's VERY loose, so I'm going to get the turbo pulled tonight, I found a used one (says it's good) on CL for $175, if I can get in touch with the guy, I'll meet up with him tomorrow and if it's in better shape than what I have, I'll pick it up (I'll try to talk him down, I don't exactly have a lot of cash to throw at this car). Otherwise, I'm gonna break out the welder and repair the one I have, and hope for another 20k miles out of it.

Unless I find someone local with a spare K03 that is feeling generous, that is. lol That's highly unlikely.

 

Came up with a temporary fix, just waiting for morning so I can put it all back together and see the results. . . I just hope it works. Picking up the new gaskets first thing in the AM, should have it all back together by early afternoon, and we'll see how well it works out.

As far as longevity goes, I only need it to last me a month or so, until my hours pick back up at work again, and I can afford a replacement. I'd really like to find an Audi with a factory K04 turbo in a pick-and-pull junkyard so I can get a good deal on one, but I don't think that's going to happen. I'll just keep my eyes peeled on the classifieds, Craigslist, and Ebay. If I don't find a steal on a K04, I will be replacing the K03 in the next couple of months, and depending on how the car responds to the repairs, I'm thinking of selling it (and my other "toys) to get a newer, lower-mileage DD that I don't have to worry about breaking all the time.

I know I don't have a whole lot of money into this car yet, but I've put more money into this in a single month than I have any other car I've owned. It's been finicky, but I have a feeling once all is right with it, it'll be a great car.

 

Turbo is shot, even after pulling the manifold and trying to fix the linkage for the wastegate, it's STILL not making any boost. I'm going to keep my eyes open for a new turbo, maybe I can find something next week and get this taken care of before I start work again.

For now, I'm going to take a little break, take a hot shower, and get ready for our trip up north tomorrow. Sucks that we have to take the Blazer (17mpg Hwy FTL).

Thanks for all your help, I'll keep you all updated.

 

Have a nice trip. It`s good you checked everything and when you put new turbo in, car will run perfectly for sure ...

 

I hope so, but I can't afford a new turbo just yet. I can only really afford to spend about $150 right now, and my finances are going to be tight for the next several weeks. I'm thinking about selling my double-DIN Pioneer in-dash DVD player to finance the new turbo, but it's going to be hard finding a buyer for that.

I just hope I get this taken care of, the more I look at the Subaru WRX, the more I want one. I don't like my chances this winter with just a FWD car, I've always had a 4WD in winter, and even then, it's hard to get around. An AWD that's fun to drive would be great, and I've found a few that seem to be great deals.

Whatever I do, my next car is going to be less than 120k miles, and I'll pay a little more to get something clean and well maintained. I'm selling all my toys, cleaning all my spare parts out of the garage, and I should have enough to buy a nice used Subaru. I know that's not what you guys want to hear, but this car has been a headache since day 1, and I know things are going to keep breaking faster than I can afford to replace them.