As a matter of fact I have now started to tear it down a bit to see if I could pinpoint what went wrong with it.

I actually hadn't personally tried to rotate the engine by hand but it was done by the garage where it was initially towed to. So I first wanted to verify this myself and tried to rotate the engine from the crankshaft bolt after loosening all the spark plugs. Doesn't move at all in either direction. I would have thought that with a leverage arm of over 1 meter (+3 feet) there would still be some movement in some direction but it's completely stuck. The belts were still in place but I guess they shouldn't add that much of a resistance.

Also removed the passenger side valve cover but nothing extraordinary there, at least to my eyes.

I also dropped the lower oil pan being almost sure I would find pieces of chain guides there but it was all clear.

Attached Images

 

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09/2003 X5 3.0i
02/2003 X5 4.6is (non-runner)