Figured with the popularity of K04 and similar sized turbos that I'd jump on the bandwagon. So here is my experience...
First of all my car is a 2.0T black/black Quattro with manual 6spd and 86k miles. Completely up to date on maintenance, service, and burns zero oil. Original owner got the car chipped at 8k miles (APR) and I bought it CPO with 39k miles. Just this past weekend I completed the entire Europaparts Timing Belt Kit (got everything they offered), pulled the car apart myself using the DIY in the Tech B7 forum on this site. Great kit for anyone that is interested.
Then came across a great deal on an APR K04 S3 kit so I figured why not since I'm already APR Stage 2+ and tearing the car apart for the timing belt. Gave serious thought to doing a motor rebuild but for my needs I decided against it. I'm not going to bother with meth injection and custom tuning. I will say the APR kit is awesome as it has EVERYTHING sealed in bags that you need for the install. Simply swap parts, zero guessing or poor fitting pieces. Even new nuts and bolts were included. Everything is very high quality.
Install Time: One solid weekend to do the turbo and timing belt (albeit I had to take a break to order a tool I didn't have...) I also had every tool set up (#5 triple square....) and car on ramps Friday night so I was ready to start wrenching Saturday morning.
Prerequisites: This was my first time tackling these sort of jobs on a car so I spent WEEKS reading everything I could at night for a few hours on this site, vwvortex, quattroworld, etc, and pretty much anything with a K04 that google listed. I have done brakes, and other basic stuff on the car as well as a few engine rebuilds on dirt bikes. Unrelated but several years ago I built a 2005 CRF250R motor over the winter with new 2008 cam, 14:5.1 JE Piston, new valves, springs, exhaust, modified carb that only runs on race gas and it SCREAMS. I'm pretty sure the redline is around 13,200 RPMS which isn't bad for a 4stroke. That's pretty much the extent of my mechanical ability.
Install Difficultly: 6 you need basic knowledge of how to properly remove stuck bolts, mangled fasteners, stuck hoses, etc WITHOUT damaging anything else. Also have a propane torch on hand. I used this to loosen the bolt heads on the crankshaft pulley to help break the surface bond between the bolt head and pulley. One trick I use when taking something complex apart is to take pictures as I go, use a install guide (I used the Stasis K04 install guide), and for each step put the parts in a bag. Label it starting with #1, next one #2, and so on. When you are ready to complete the process, just start with the highest number and work back. Another tip is to have a silver metallic and black Sharpie on hand to mark ANYTHING on the car so you don't forget what goes where. I like to scribble on the bolt head or number it (and the other side) to aid as a visual cue when I reinstall it. Works well to prevent accidentally mixing up banjo bolts on the oil and coolant lines into the block.
Advice: GET THE CORRECT TOOLS including a torque wrench and STOP if something doesn't seem right. Take a break, grab a beer, just take your time. I realized after installing the turbo and timing belt while installing the injectors that I didn't have a #5 triple square.... Had to take a break for a few days to wait for the bit to come in so I can finish. Car is just sitting in the garage until then.
Anyways I took plenty of pictures but pretty green in terms of posting pictures online. How do I add these from my Iphone?
Driving: Only driven it GENTLY without boosting with the K04 installed with stock injectors and APR 2+ tune. I drove it around the block to make sure there weren't any leaks and all fluids were topped off. I understand this is not advised because now the car is running much leaner (more air, no change in fuel supply). Car was definitely more aggressive sounding and slightly louder at idle.
I'll be updating this after I put the injectors in, carbon clean, and APR tune after breaking in the turbo.
QUESTIONS:
1: What is the most recent APR K04 S3 file and which one should I specify? On other sites everyone seemed to be hyping a K04 S3 V 2.1 file that just came out from APR. Is this available yet? I have to drive an hour to get the car tuned so I'd rather not have to go back and forth multiple times. Also I have a full turbo back exhaust and HPFP (APR), AFE filter and Racetech FMIC. I'll be requesting the Stock/91/93/100 files.
2: I'm also going to clean the intake while it's apart, any tips? I was thinking about using a Dremel with brush wheel attachment and brake cleaner. Has anyone ever polished the intake manifold (area the carbon builds up) with any success? I did this years ago on a two stroke dirt bike (no porting though) and it made a noticeable difference. The bike felt way crisper even when properly jetted.
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Originally Posted by shiro1745
here is the turbo as it came from APR.
APR K04 S3 turbo
bumper off and just about to start the timing belt
timing belt cover off
all new timing components installed
last shot with the k03
turbo out 
k03 turbo
k04 installed!
radiator in place
FMIC back in place
here is how it sits now. Want to make sure intercooler hoses don't pop off
cylinder 1
cylinder 2
cylinder 3
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