Ive never seen a single documented case of an M54 ingesting a DISA pin. If you look at how it's assembled and installed it's clear it's not possible. The only people that claim this can happen are people that sell DISA upgrade kits.


You could pull the engine with the oil pan left behind. I wouldn't, it's going to add a lot of complexity to reinstallation and a little to removal as well

The amount of time spent thinking about it and checking other random things at this point could have just gotten the engine out. It's about a 5-6 hour job. Faster if you have a lift. Hardest part on an X5 is getting it over the radiator core support due to how deep in the engine bay it is. With a lift you drop the subframe and lift the car up over the engine/subframe assembly (the inverse of how they are installed at the factory)

I wonder how many people suggesting you remove just the head have actually removed and reinstalled an M54 head before.

It seems easier to just remove the head because it's only removing "one part" but in reality I think it will take more time and end up being more complicated compared to pulling the engine. Having the engine out will also give you a chance to re-seal the rest of it for new gaskets all around to end up with a nicely refreshed engine.