A4 turbo problems

[johnc@together.net]

Mike:

i have heard about 2 maladies concerning the 1.8T and the turbo, have had neither
one occur yet.  this is what i've been able to dig up:

1. - apparently what happens with the hose problem is that one of the air hoses
gets fatigued from heat and/or other weather/environmental, and it gives out on a
seam. when this happens, you lose boost, because the boost of course, blows out of
the crack.  car is still driveable but the danger is you _could_ suck unfiltered
air in when this happens (only under no boost conditions though).  it is supposed
to be very noticeable when it occurs. the fix is a new hose, covered under
warranty, the preferred fix appears to be aftermarket Samco silicone hoses, 2 or 3
hundred clams i think.  no Audi fix for this, as far as i have been able to
ascertain.  some guys rigged the hose with a patch and hose clamps to limp along
until parts and repairs arrived.

2. - the other problem is the wastegate.  heat fatigue apparently damages the
actuating rod to the point of breakage, and when this happens, the turbo can't
hold it shut, so you lose boost.  car continues to drive fine - like a slug - but
fine.  Audi has a fix for this that entails additional heat shields (i assume
later cars have these stock, mine is '97).  when it breaks they need to put a
whole new turbo in though, since the WG is integral - so hope it happens under
warranty or not at all.

word is that both of these problems occur to plenty of stock engines, so running
higher boost doesn't seem to have much to do with it.  some small minds seem to
blame aftermarket chip makers, their tuner, the dealer, and government
conspiracies when it happens, but since there are a fair number of bone stock
motors that this has happened to i think they are respectively due to 1.) poor
part spec and 2.) underengineering for heat factors.

BTW let me know if you dig up any more info, since i am very interested in
preventing unplanned downtime, as we say in the systems bizness.

JC