I can't comment on the reliability so far, but the quality of the turbos as delivered was top-notch. No shaft play, ceramic coating on the housings looked good, machine work looked perfect. I'm still breaking them in right now so no real boost... even put in the stock ecu to avoid the temptation. They came with a 1 yr warranty as long as professionally installed so I'd think that after a year if they are still strong they should be ok. I know a couple people with the k04's that have failed also. I think it is all about how you maintain and take care of the car, my friend has a 2000 S4 with like 130K on it and still the stock turbos and it's chipped.

As far as a basic writeup on the swap:
-remove headlights, bumper.
-disconnect radiator hoses, power steering lines (use hose block off pliers the steering fluid is like $25 a liter), disconnect A/C lines from condensor.
-there are two torx bolts up top on the front clip, and four on each side on the frame rails. remove these and the entire front clip will come loose. you also may need to remove headlight washer lines (I don't have them as I have a Reiger bumper).
-take the bolts out of the front axles and allow to hang loose, then tie back toward the rear of the car for clearance.
-Once the front end is off remove the intercoolers and intercooler piping the main inlet tubes are held on with o-rings and are very tight, don't be afraid to use a pry bar to pop off.
-You now have access to the turbos, remove the oil and coolant lines (I had a lift so this was much easier)
-unbolt the turbos from the manifolds and the manifolds from the heads.
-unbolt the heat shields and then the downpipes, unplug the front 02 sensors
-remove the manifolds through the front of the car (I had to pry on the driver side of the engine for clearance to get the manifold on that side)
- the pass side turbo will come out the front of the car from underneath.
-the driver side turbo will cone out from the bottom almost straight down (you can pull this without removing the manifold but it's much easier if you do)
-remove the oil drain and fill lines and clean
-re-install is the opposite of removal.
- also you will have access to do a timing belt, water pump, serp belt, etc. I reccommend doing while this far along.

-tools required- Metric ball-end allen socket set, 8mm and 6mm straight allen sockets, 10-spline socket driver set (to loosen the axles), metric socket set, prybar set, phillips and flat head screwdrivers, metric box end wrench set, etc.

-notes: my car has an aftermarket bumper with custom intercooler supports, I removed the A/C completely with my swap, I reinstalled with aftermarket manifolds which took alot more work to get into the car than the stock ones coming out. Tools required is to the best of my recollection as I had the help of a tech, a lift, and 8 master-techs tools available to me. I'll post anything else that comes to mind.

 

when you took out the front axels did you unbolt it from the tranny or the wheels?

 

i know this is off topic.. but im still new to the s4 family... but i notice on some the bumpers are like urs.. but then some ar like 2k s4's... is urs aftermarket? or whats the deal?

 

^ thats an rs4 bumper if im not mistaken and the other ones are just the original s4 bumpers

 

preciate it.. i have seen a few with it just couldnt ever figure it out.. noone ever listed it as something they had done

 

So, can you swap from K03's to K04's from the front??? is it possible to get to all the hoses that need to be replaced???

I am so thinking about swapping my turbos this way instead of pulling the motor... I can change the clutch when it goes..

 

tat type of money is gunna put u in a hole... i'll give u 600 bucks for ur r1, that should easily cover labor

 

Thanks for the offer Mott but the R1 is tucked safely in storage for the winter. I'm selling the 24's off the Denali and trying to sell the truck. The S4 will be the daily driver as scary as that sounds. Anyone looking for a nice truck?

 

Stage 3 daily driver? I like.

 

Looking forward to the full stage 3, fueling is coming soon and then I need to get it looking right.