Took the family in the X out to the New Orleans air show; roughly 50 miles round trip with a little bit of every type of driving. Including crossing over the Mississippi. The last time she crossed the river bad things happened but today she ran like a top. Belts look great with no fraying, etc. I think the new pulley and re-torque of the tensioner/pulley assembly fasteners solved the problem.

Gave my wife’s Jeep and the X a bath this evening.

Has anyone solved the problem of the trunk lid grip slowly loosening up over time and allowing water by the crappy seal? I’ve put a new grip on, am using new expansion fasters in, put a thicker round rubber seal in to replace the thinner OEM piece and recently added new bump-stops. The new ones are spring loaded, wich really helps soften the impact of closing the lid, but the expansion fasteners are still working themselves out over time. I’m considering having a thin metal piece welded over the fastener holes and the using self tapping metal screws to screw the grip in. Maybe someone has a better fix though.

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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