...and sorry, no pictures or writeup that everyone wants to see! When I bought the X5 just over a month ago, I went in knowing it had a small coolant leak-but that is one of the reasons why I got it for a very fair price from the dealership. They had pressure tested the system, and one of their tech's believed that it was leaking coolant from the downward V shaped gasket that is located at the back of the engine block, behind the transmission. The owner of the dealership did not want to mess with it, hence the lowered price.

I had been driving it since I purchased it, always smelling coolant after I parked but the low coolant never came on-until last weekend. I then started to see it leak on the ground, and I started losing two liters of coolant every day-so needless to say it was time to dive in and get it fixed!

I spent 3 hours pulling everything apart last Wednesday night and determining all the parts I would need to order. Both of the oil/vapor return hoses that connect to the oil separator valve and the bottom of the intake manifold needed replacement, and since the OSV itself was original I replaced it too. My main leak turned out to be the uppermost coolant hose that attaches to the rear coolant manifold-it had slightly split at the neck. So I replaced both of those rear hoses, a number of clips, intake manifold gaskets, bottom o-rings on the injectors, etc.

The valley pan itself-well, the original gasket honestly didn't look bad at all-but I guess it had been leaking somewhat due to residue around it. All in all, not the worst job I have ever done on a BMW-but some of the work you have to do by feel because you can't see behind the engine on the X5. But it's now all done, and-no more leaks or coolant smell! I spent a few hundred dollars on parts, but saved at least $1000 in labor costs. Total time for me was around 9 hours, but I took my time with it. I could imagine that I could knock at least 2 hours off that that now, if not slightly more-those clips on the injectors are a pain to get off!

If anyone ever has a question or needs some help with this job, just PM or send me an e-mail-I will be glad to help out any way I can. And if you are in the south Mississippi area, bring over some beer and I will help you with the job!

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Eric Giles
'04 M3
'07 X5 3.0si
Many others.