Oh yes, I've heard the cold start rattle from priming tensioners, but this seems different. More concerning alright!

I just ordered an inexpensive android phone inspection cam and will take a peek through the fill hole as suggested.

I took a look at the diagrams off realoem plus the parts lists of diy'rs to get an idea of the parts needed to do all the chains and guides (worst case)...comes out to a bit past $1k.

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04 X5 3.0i auto
03 X5 4.6is