Remanufactured Turbocharger with a Charge Pipe Set in OE Supplier

A remanufactured turbo: new charge pipes and clamps, because the old ones have been soaked in oil and will split on the first hill with a load on.

We are an independent parts supplier. We are not Volkswagen, Audi, Seat or Skoda, and we are not appointed by any of them. Those are their trademarks and what we sell are parts that fit their cars. The useful thing about this group is that four badges share platforms and share parts, so the same component fits a Golf, an A3, a Leon and an Octavia and costs four different amounts at four different counters. We list it once, at one price, and tell you which platform it belongs to.

Specification and fitment

• Fits: Golf Mk5 Mk6 Mk7 Mk8, Passat B6 B7 B8, A3 8P 8V 8Y, A4 B8 B9, Leon 1P 5F KL, Octavia 1Z 5E NX, and the other group cars on the same platforms
• Platform: chosen above. This part is shared across the group. The Volkswagen, the Audi, the Seat and the Skoda all take it, it is the same component in four different boxes, and the price here is the same whichever badge is on your car. Choose your badge above for your records, not because it changes anything.
• Engine: 1.6 and 2.0 TDI, 1.4 1.8 and 2.0 TSI, and the V6 TDI where stated. This group changes specification mid production and does it on a platform basis rather than a model year basis, so two cars registered the same week can take different parts. Send us the VIN with the order and we check the part against the build data before anything is dispatched. It takes two minutes and it is the difference between a part that fits and a return.
• Production dates: 2003 to 2022 depending on platform
• Quality: made by the firm that supplies the group, in that firm's own box rather than a dealer box. Same casting, same line, and on a group that shares parts across four brands this is where the saving actually is
• Part number: cross referenced to the group part number for your VIN and confirmed before dispatch. We do not print one number against a listing that covers several supersessions, because on this group the supersessions are the whole point
• The failure this addresses: loss of boost, a whistle that has become a scream, blue smoke on overrun, oil in the intercooler, or limp mode with an underboost fault. A turbo rarely fails for its own reasons: it fails because of oil supply, oil quality or something that went through it
• Labour time: four to seven hours, and longer on the V6
• Coding: no coding, but the adaptation channels should be reset with a diagnostic system afterwards or the car keeps running on values it learned from the failed part. The electronic actuator is calibrated to this unit on the bench and must not be swapped between turbos
• Also needed: oil feed and return lines, a gasket set, manifold nuts which will not come off twice, engine oil and a filter
• Torque: manifold nuts to the figure and in the sequence. A warped manifold face leaks and sounds exactly like a failing turbo
• Interval: not a scheduled part. What is scheduled is the oil, and oil is what decides how long a turbo lasts. The group's long life servicing regime stretches the oil interval on the basis of how the car has been driven. It suits a motorway car and it is actively bad for a car doing short cold journeys, which is most cars. A great many tired engines in this group are tired because they were serviced to the long life schedule in town. Switching to the fixed schedule costs one extra oil change every two years and it is the cheapest thing you can do for one of these engines.
• Weight: approximately 13.6 kilograms
• Warranty: two years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first
• What gets replaced: the complete core, both bearing sets, the thrust assembly, every seal, and the vane mechanism on the variable geometry units. The housings are cleaned, measured and reused, which is normal
• Balancing: every unit balanced on a VSR machine and the certificate is in the box
• Why they fail twice: a coked oil feed line, or an intercooler full of oil from the last one. Replace the line and drain the intercooler, and both are in the kits here
• Running in: two minutes at idle before any load, and change the oil again at 1,000 miles

What arrives

• the remanufactured turbocharger
• a new oil feed line and return
• a gasket set and manifold nuts
• the VSR balance certificate
• fitting instructions and torque figures
• a prepaid core return label

Fitting

Four to seven hours. Replace the oil feed line and drain the intercooler before the new turbo goes on, and idle it for two minutes before any load. Those three steps take about an hour between them and they are the difference between a turbo that lasts and one that does not.

Which version to buy

The difference between a remanufactured turbo and a reconditioned one is whether it was balanced, flow tested and had its actuator calibrated to that specific unit. Ours were and the certificate is in the box. Before you buy one at all, check the cheap things: a boost sensor, a split charge pipe or a sticking actuator account for more underboost faults than failed turbos do.