Another X5 3.0D owner
 

Hi Aussie X5ers.
Finally bit the bullet and purchased a late 04 E53 3.0D with high mileage and needing lots of TLC that scared off most people but made it affordable for me. That makes two of these in the family on opposite sides of Australia.

Like my previously well aged E34, I plan to bring it back to reasonable condition for everyday use. It commenced last week getting the Autologic treatment by Ian Crane and his team. Inspection 2, all oils and fluids, new Aux fan, removal of 30kg of locusts etc etc. In 180K, the car has never had the big service. Some people should not be allowed to own these cars, let alone tow a 9'9" tall van weighing 2.3 tonne.

The Autologic team managed to fix some items (like Aux water pump) by recoding/resetting the control units instead of replacing it as I was told by other 'specialists'.

I have spent over 30 years in motorsport and engine tuning with recent stints at Meridan Motorsport and MoTeC and to name the most enjoyable and most challenging places. Hence if you need advice on what not to do, who is telling fibs or is just not fully aware of the consequences of power ups, suspension mods etc then pm me.

I also have been around forums for many years and find them to be of great value sometimes.....

Now my questions for any other enthusiast that can help -

a) Where do I find a proper workshop Manual?
I can get the parts manual off a BMW CD, but decent workshop manuals. I need to change the LH mirror lens (silver foil corroded) and tighten the RH mirror pivot as it is much looser than the LHS.

b) Who has a supplier for the rear cargo (roller) blind and safety net?

c) Has anyone updated the software in the 6 speed auto to cure the thump when it changes back to 1st when stopped?
Doesn't do this in Sports mode since it picks up 1st while still slowing to a stop. It is much better since the trans service as Autologic used the correct trans oil etc but still there when the trans oil gets warm.

That's enough to glaze over the most hardened enthuiasts. Happy X5 motoring to all.

Cheers Daniel.

Hi DanX5d.
I have put a number of posts on the Inter'nl forum regarding the lurch I'm not aware of any real success with updated software fixing the problem, BMW downloaded two updates with limited results, they changed the trans oil twice as was recommended by ZF which totally fixed the problem, thats my experience anyway.

Most recommended manual for the X5 is the Bentley publication. Don't know how specific it is to your local market vehicles, but the basics should be well covered.

G'day Dan,

As JCL says, the most comprehensive E53 manual is the Bentley. Unfortunately there's no specific coverage of the 3.0d engine as the manual is produced essentially for the North American market

The cargo blind and the safety net should be both available at a BMW dealer, but expensive. Otherwise it's ebay etc.

I haven't done a software update on my gearbox, but this is covered in much detail in the general E53 forum. Do a search. Just be aware that the post-2004 3.0d had the same ZF gearbox (ZF 6HP26) as the post-2004 4.4 V8. This is a different auto from the 3.0i and pre-2004 3.0d and 4.4i.

Good luck with it.

Hi Dan,
Yea I looked at that X5, nice wheels and saddle upholstery from memory.
Sound like these Autologic guys are for me where are they located.
Good to have you as part of this forum, Welcome fellow d driver.
I too know the "lurch" am thinking of the fluid change option

Welcome to a fellow X5 3.0D!

is it Kalahari beige? (bit hard to tell in the avatar)

Cheers.

Kurt

Might also be worth checking the wrecking yards for a cargo blind and a cargo net. Very few E53s tend to turn up at wreckers, but you never know...

Actually there is a wrecking yard about 5 minutes down the road from our office, they had an E53 the other day in the front yard it had no motor in it :rofl:, I can get the number for the OP if he wants.


:thumbup:

Thanks for the welcome and replies...

Huntertec - I had the trans fluid changed and it reduced the thump by half. I figured I would try it for another year and then change the fluid again if the software updates are not fixing this or much else?

JCL - Have used the Bentley manuals before with my previous E34 and I will probably get that anyway, but I would like a diesel based book.

Fraser - Thanks for the info. I have used BM Spares and Peninsula BM with my previous BMW renovations with availability always being the issue. Nick and Mat at BM Spares quoted $220 for the Cargo blind and $330 for the Cd stacker that is also missing.

JDM 20L - Olivine Met/Pearl Beige according to the paint code under the bonnet. Looks Brown to me most of the time.

Schtonky - Autologic are located in Ardena Court off Boundary Rd in Bentleigh East. 10 minutes from my place which I really like. Don't expect tiled floors, mirrored walls or cappucino machines. Ian Crane has this operating as a proper workshop and not as some lifestyle experience or for the wannabe boy racer types. If you get the chance, check out what he has out the back in the long term project area. I also got the proper wheels as the 19" look great but ride like cement shoes. I drove it with the 20" wheels and that was even worse. In fact I reckon it stops faster with less drama from the ABS on the 17s. That said I picked up a set or factory 18s from the V8 which I will put on later.

Cheers, Dan

The 17s have many advantages, not the least being the spare is a full match for the road wheels/tyres.

The 17s also ride better, bump-steer less, wear more evenly, are less prone to sidewall damage on potholed and/or gravel roads and are cheaper to replace.

Agree on the 19 and 20s but then, I go for function over fashion. 18s aren't a bad compromise. They were standard on the V8.

Is your 3.0d a Sport?

I don't think this is a Sport. How do you tell?
My X5 doesn't have a sunroof (I had an MX-5 for 12 years and a hole in the tin roof doesn't exactly light my fire), nor a CD stacker, but gets Sat Nav and TV for some reason.

Judging by the wear on the spare (10 spoke 17") the car must of come with 17s. I suspect it only had 20s fitted for the car yard period. I also drove it on 19s with the wider rears, but they wanted extra $$$ so I suggested they could keep them and give me a set of OE 17s.

I thought 18s was the ideal compromise until I really started to throw the X5 around to explore the limits. An old motor racing habit of mine where you find the limits of adhesion and then you know what the car feels like if you ever need to use everything at your disposal to avoid a big bang. My car is currently wearing Toyo Proxes on 235/65/17s which have shown a remarkable level of grip for a 2 tonne Tessie. The roll centres (suspension) on this car are really well set and makes the car feel much closer to the ground when cornering than I would have expected.

The tyre noise on smooth tarmac is a bit much for a road tyre though.

Over and above a standard 3.0d, the Aussie delivered 3.0d Sport came with sports suspension, staggered 19s (225/50 front and 285/45 rear), door handles in body colour, sports steering wheel, sports seats, electric seat adjustment with driver memory, anthracite roof lining and auto-dipping rear view mirror.

Just to complicate things, most of these options could be ordered individually. The sat-nav and TV on your X would have been options.

The 235/65s are the standard tyre size for the 17s. Regardless of what wheels E53s came with (17s, 18s, 19s or 20s), the spare was always a 235/65R17 as it is the only size that the wheel-well will accommodate properly. That's why I mentioned that particular advantage of the 17s ... your spare is a full match for the road wheels.

So the rolling Diameter of the 17's is the same as the the other sizes because of the profile adjustment. Does this mean the Spare wheel well has trouble with increased width not diameter (because that doesn't change)?

That would also explain why larger wheels come in sets of 4 not 5. (Lightbulb moment)

Hi Dan, when I bought My 3.0d i was particularly concerned to NOT get the sports suspension or large tires as my forum research would indicate that both factors impact substantially of ride quality.
I think Fraser would agree with me that a non sport 17 clad 3.0d is a fine way to go and i agree with you Dan that the X corners better than it should in standard form.

Nontwithstanding the larger wheels do look good and so I am interested to hear your comparisons.

100% correct

Yes, :iagree:

The only way to get 5 matching wheels with a width larger than 235 involves serious floor surgery, which is out of the question for many reasons. The body work and particularly the rear guards look empty with the factory 17s, but putting 9.5" wide rims on the rear is as Fraser says "a case in vanity" not to mention the stupid prices. And where do you put this nice looking wide wheel in the car if it gets punctured on a country trip with a full boot of gear?

I have been slowly exploring the limits with the stability nanny stepping in because I have ignored the flashing amber dash lights. The Xdrive does a great job of shuffling the drive around with various tyres front and rear chirping under acceleration mid corner before the system says enough. On a nice clear day in the country I will see what the stability system is hiding, but that might be some time off as I can only do this properly with an empty car minus the other stability warning devices (Wife and Kids).

This is the wheel style from the early V8s that I am getting stripped, rolled (if required) and re-painted. I may have jumped the gun on this as I too prefer 5 matching wheels. On my last car (Subaru Forester) I upsized the wheels to a later type and modified the boot area to suit. Unfortunately the X5 spare wheel is stowed face up which means that some storage space is wasted. I will keep you posted if I can find an answer to the wheel storage issue.

Dan, like Fraser are a mine of information. I too have the same two stability control systems. However although the second is quite audible. I am yet to see the first light up. Maybe because I am too scared to get my new X out of shape and look at the dash at the same time. Those wheels look nice who is refinishing them for you?

The 17 will still work okay as a 'get out of gaol' spare for your 18s as the rolling diameter is the same. It's just not ideal.

I live in the country where punctures are a way of life so the 17s are ideal for me. The 17s also ride a little better than the 18s and are less prone to sidewall damage, both important country-driving (gravel roads etc) attributes.

And, on the subject of the electronic stability control, I think that BMW has done an excellent job of calibrating it so as it's not too intrusive. Even on gravel and dirt roads where it tends to come into play far more often it really works a treat.

I was to choose between buying a non sport 3.0D and a Sport 3.0D

We'll just say I put both through their paces and what I found is I was able to bring on the DSC a lot easier in the non sport, mind you it had the optional 18" Y spokes too not 17's

The Sport was the one I ended up buying and to tell you the truth there are moments where I've driven it like I stole it and it just seems so much more stable than the other one I drove with 18's.. perhaps the tyres had gone bad? or something else? The difference was fairly substantial to me.

I like how the car drives with 19's and wouldn't go back, mind you I am city dweller so I don't really have great concerns with getting punctures etc.

On the shit roads down here a non-Sport on 17s handles better than a Sport on the staggered 19s. I driven them both back to back too.

Thank god I don't have to drive on those types of roads! :bustingup

To give you an idea, the other day where was a HSV GTS up at the local servo which also serves as the local NRMA depot. According to the NRMA bloke he hit some monster pothole that not only destroyed two tyres via pinched sidewalls but cracked two of his alloy wheels as well. He had to be bought into town on a flatbed truck. I think he had 20s or 22s on it, but I didn't check. Next time he might drove a bit more slowly or keep a better idea out for potholes! Or stay away altogether.

yeah ouch... ha ha.

Plenty of decent sealed A and B roads here too that are fast and open, not too bumpy and with little traffic and even less police presence. Plenty of opportunity for the 3.0d to stretch its legs.

I'm happy to live and drive in the country after years of being city bound. Sydney traffic, you can have it!

22" wheels on a Commode speaks volumes about the owner and their driving ability. You get the looks with the penalty that everything else like handling, ride quality, acceleration (yes slower!) and economy are worse.

Schtonky, The 18's are being stripped and repainted by Ace Alloy wheels in Braeside VIC to original finish. There is a whole industry around straightening, rolling and welding (not always a good idea) alloy wheels.

You weren't imagining it. At that time, the only tyre manufacturers producing 19's also made high end road/race rubber so they had plenty of knowledge and experience. The difference would be like driving a road car on Kmart or Bob Jane All Rounders (an Oxymoron, the tyre name not Bob) and then bolting on a set of Bridgestone S02 or Toyo R spec tyres. The later could grip better in the wet than the std road tyre could in the dry!

Tyres go off too with age. I'm not sure if JDM-20L was talking about new or used Xs with his comparison. The OEM tyres, either 17s, 18s or the staggered 19s or 20s were all good quality even if the speed ratings varied.

It all depends on your driving environment and driving style. If you plan to hot-lap the Nurburgring then the staggered 20s are the way to go. If however you wish to run in the Production class in Dakar Raid you'll need the 17s. Down where I live it's more Dakar than Nurburgring. :thumbup:

Hi X5ers, Guys and Gals?
I have the OEM 18's now fitted with the latest from GT Radial tyres ($290 each) and they are a good fit with the rim well protected by the overall width of the tyre plus it has a sidewall lip near the rim that is supposed to help. I will get some pictures up soon, but the wheels are already black from brake dust after my test runs to 160+ Km/h. The X5 is very stable given my test road is pretty rough in spots. No broken tarmac just lumpy, hence not much traffic. The road noise is much and I mean much quieter, the handling is sharper and the ride quality hasn't seemed to have suffered. It varies from better to occasionaly not depending on the road surface.

A few thoughts after 6 weeks ownership
a) Who ever programmed the sport S mode on the auto needs to be taken outside of the computer room and spoken too by someone who drives a car and not a joystick (pun intended). What a wasted opportunity. They could have focussed on operating in the diesel engine's maximum torque band, but no, lets rev the door handles off because that is sporty. Max acceleration is somewhere between 3/4 throttle and before the kick down switch is felt (not activated). I only use the sport mode when deaccelerating to stop the 'lurch' into 1st or when I have a tailgater and I smoke them out on full throttle kickdown!
b) Yes I can get the avg fuel consumption below 10L/100km for the tank, but it requires an extended driving interval above the 30 mins to work and back. Recently took a trip to Pakenham for the kids basketball and the beast averaged 7.5L/100km there and back which I was happy with. I noted that the L/100 is not that accurate. In fact it looks much better that it really is. Try calculating your fuel consumption from the odometer and the amount of fuel the bowser says and it can be as much as 8% higher in my car.
c) The GPS is a 2004 edition and that meant it thought I was driving through farm paddocks instead of the Packenham bypass. It kept asking me to do a U turn and the arrow pointed backwards with 5200m showing. Kept the kids amused!
d) Found a number of BMW parts sites in the US with very good prices on the cargo blind and safety nets I was chasing. Try 35% of the local dealer price from getbmwparts.com

Cheers, Dan

Glad you enjoying it!

I'm with you.. I do not sports mode.. I don't like how it just revs senselessly, I need a nav disc update too as I have also been told to head back to road.. lol

The gearboxes are adaptive. Can take a while to 'forget' the previous owner. Mine did.

You can try this:
Ignition key to second position (just before start)
Put accelerator to the floor hard and hold for 25 seconds (motor is NOT running)
Release accelerator
Start car

But I have the useless GM 6 speeder - a reason to never buy BMW again that gear box - so may not affect the ZF unit that I think you guys have.

But will not hurt to try.

When my X3 learns itself to a point of stupidity e.g. revving the 30d out to 3500+ RPM in first gear on gentle takeoff, this fixes it. Will revert to learning mode and 1st gear change up at 1700 - 2000 as it should be.

If everything is working as it should, the gearbox should adapt to your driving style, not do something that doesn't reflect your driving style.

"Should" is the word and nice in theory but . . .

If you have a six-speed, you have the ZF gearbox. The GM was a five-speed. I have the ZF box and it works fine. Doesn't 'learn' any bad habits. It came with what I consider a few 'bad habits', I presume because of the previous owner more aggressive driving style, but even without re-setting, it eventually adapted to my driving style.

we had the X3 for about three years, never had any problems with the gearbox at all..pretty sure all X3 are Euro-spec and comes with the ZF box.

That surprises me. ZF that is. I will have to research a bit more. Maybe I have been trolling mainly US forums too long.

Short of reading model codes on my beast, the X5 of the same vintage has the ZF 6 speed, the X3 the GM (made in France) 6 speed. The current X1 and new X3 have ZF boxes.

I've got a BMW tech sheet somewhere that says that first-gen X3 3.0d has the ZF 6-speed. I'll dig it out and post it when I get a chance.