Just finished an in-car head gasket job, This is my third M54 head gasket replacement.

About a month ago, I bought an ‘05 3.0i Silver on black that had overheated.
120k miles but in otherwise good shape with some maintenance done and 20-inch wheels

I have a spare M54 engine ready to go, but since access is so good in a 6cyl X5, and because engine removal requires replacement of front shafts and swapping oil pans, I decided to do the head gasket with engine in car. I used an engine hoist to lift/ reinstall head and exhaust manifolds together. I never even had to put the X5 on jack stands to access the exhaust down-pipe. I do have the dual vanos timing tools and an M54 time-sert kit (#1090)

I disconnected exhaust down-pipe, pulled the head with exhaust manifold, cleaned and time-serted block (taped it first), and installed a refurbished M54 head that I had bought years ago.

I then installed cams and lifters, re-timed engine, rebuilt and installed vanos unit, replaced hard water pipes & OFHG and flushed out the coolant-mixed oil as best I could.

I pressure tested the cooling system before installing the intake manifold
- using a gutted thermostat housing (new tool for me) and with 15 psi from a compressor through a bleeder screw threaded adapter.
- I am GLAD I did because the aftermarket upper water pipe leaked. I had a lightly used OEM water pipe (’16 date code ) and used that. No more leak.
- I was able to do this without plugging in any electrical connectors /battery and before installing intake manifold with new gaskets and CCV.

Before attempting a start, I pulled fuel pump fuse (#47 in glove box), and disconnected all 6 coils to prevent fuel and spark. Then I turned the engine over 8-10 revs to get the oil flowing. I then connected everything back up, primed the fuel supply, and it fired right up and settled into a nice idle. No SES codes !

I did have a 4x4 code, which I was able to clear by turning steering wheel lock to lock.

While the engine sounded good, it did have a minor lifter tick that eventually went away.
I then drove it 20 miles to my house with cluster test #7 unlocked showing exact coolant temp on the cluster. No overheating. Back at the house I replaced the passenger side drive shaft due to a torn CV boot.

I now have the car insured, registered and inspected. I need to solve a rain water leak in the passenger side footwell (likely vapor barrier), fix the hood release cable, remove the silly DVD headrests and replace with stock. I need to do a cooling system as well, but wanted to to wait until it was running. I also want to look at rear brake lines under the plastic cover and replace brake hoses all around.