Picked up the X. I’ve been traveling so there’s been no rush to get it back. The Indy I left it with thinks that the belt kit I used had the 4.4 belt in it, rather than the 4.6 belt. I overcame almost all of my normal ADD tendencies on this project, but dropped the ball by not checking the part numbers in that belt refresh kit. Lesson learned, the hard way!

At any rate it ran like a top on the way home and has a new radiator to boot. I went with the Nissens on his recommendation. He’s been seeing a fair number of Mahle’s fail prematurely over the past year or so. My goal is to upgrade to an all aluminum with an electric fan set up at some point.

I think I dodged a bullet with the overheat, but time will tell. It ran strong yesterday, which is a good sign, and the mechanic thinks it’s fine. On to some interior work.

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Current
Original owner 2002 E53 X5 4.4i to 4.6i swap
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