Is there a writeup anywhere for how to remove the stock turbo from an S4? I want to pull it to have the waste gate ported but want to have a better idea of what im getting into before i dive in.

 

Just take your time and you'll be fine , it's a pain but can be done.

The main issue is lack of space for your tools , you'll need a 6 point wrench for the nuts a socket can't get to

 

An FSM can be found in the FAQ that is stickies at the top of this forum.

 

yah that really just says "remove turbo" was looking for something better

 

remove the air box and TID
remove the smog pump
drain the coolant
remove the charge pipe to intercooler and bypass valve(blowoff)
remove the downpipe
remove the split air pipe
remove the ACV
remove ACV vacuum spider off UIM/LIM split
remove coolant banjo to outside of turbo
remove coolant pipe to LIM
remove outer turbo heat shield
remove 2 bolts holding oil drain tube to front cover extension tube
disconnect oil feed connection 2X17mm nuts
disconnect coolant drain hose to water pump inlet
remove 4 turbo to manifold nuts/washers/locking washer

to get the turbo out it's also easiest to remove the upper radiator hose, but not absolutely necessary if you have a helper to assist you.

 

have you ever pulled it with the DP still attached?

any easier/harder?

 

you can't, well i should say anything is possible but once you are committed to it you will wish you hadn't tried.

 

why would you try? 3 14mm nuts. kind of a pain with the heat shield on there. i removed/reinstalled my turbos in the driveway on jack stands. open end wrenches and/or ratcheting ones are your friend in this game. tough to get good leverage on some of those nuts.

 

+ stubby wrenches. I had a turbo/downpipe nut round off once. Considered taking the whole downpipe off together, but ended up dremelling the nut and replacing the stud. I doubt it would've come out without significantly more work.