…at putting my X back together. Intake is on finally and it’s looking like a proper X5 again, aside from all the missing bits. I’m planning on doing a write up of lessons I learned during this, my first engine swap. Most came from me thinking I could take a short cut, and others stemmed from some of the steps that have to happen are just difficult and easy to screw up.

I’ve got some cleanup work to do topside before putting the wiring harness back on. I’d like to sort out why I don’t see a transmission breather tube behind the engine by the manifold and I also need to try to figure out where some of the wiring brackets that were laying in the subframe or on the stiffener plate go. This may not be possible, so I bought a lot of zip ties and wiring clips of various sizes and some high temp cable wrap. I also need to put a new brake booster siphon valve and plumbing in (under the loom I think) and figure out where the phantom vacuum line goes that I posted separately about. It runs up the valley on top of the intake I think. Or that’s where it’s disintegrated pieces were.

After that it’s back on jacks or the lift to bolt the flywheel and torque converter together. I witness marked these before pulling the old motor, not sure if it matters as timing is ensured by a dowel that goes in the aft crank hub and only allows the flywheel to go on clocked properly. Then the starter goes back on and I may replace some chewed up tranny bolts with new ones that just showed up (very late). Finally a driveshaft, the exhaust and a final torque on the suspension bits I replaced…and everything else.

I’ve been witness marking everything that i put a final tighten on, mostly for me so I can rest easy that I torqued or tightened everything down.

It actually looks like a pretty clean V8 right now, and I like the way the intake turned out painted black. The ugly wiring loom will not help in any way when it goes on.

New wiper arms too that I put on at a point when I needed to prove to myself I was making progress, of any sort.

Attached Images

 

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Current
Original owner 2002 E53 X5 4.4i to 4.6i swap
2026 G80 M3 6 spd
2025 G06 X5 50e
Former
1972 Audi Fox
1986 Saab 900S
1996 BMW Z3
1998 BMW E36 M3 Sedan
2004 BMW E46 M3
2006 Audi A3 Quatro
1993 Mopar 318 Jeep Grand Cherokee
2015 V6 Jeep Grand Cherokee