My New Project: 2002 X5 4.6is

[BimmerM3inGA]

A couple of years ago I started this thread about a very sorry looking 2001 X5 3.0i that turned out to be a proverbial diamond in the rough. Well, I'm back at it with one of my personal bucket list cars: A 2002-03 X5 4.6is in Imola Red.

I had recently sold my daily driver 1999 528iT wagon and was looking for a 540iT as replacement, but couldn't find a decent one. I've wanted a 4.6is for a while, but don't come across them very often. And when I do, they are either a hopeless high mileage basket case or an overly pampered (and overpriced) garage queen. I needed something in between. And I specifically wanted an '02 or '03 for the M62 engine instead of the N62 4.8. I know the 4.8 has more power, but they are a nightmare. I've worked on a couple of them and, well, I just prefer the M62.



During one of my ritualistic AutoTrader searches, I found this 2002 at a buy here-pay here used car lot in Orlando, FL for a reasonable price. It has 108K miles, alcantara/black leather interior, Imola interior trim, and checked out on both CarFax and AutoCheck as a 2-owner car and was always in Florida. It looked pretty good in the photos and after a week of negotiations, we made a deal.

It was unloaded from the transporter on Friday afternoon and over the weekend I did a thorough inspection and diagnostics. I was expecting a few problems and found a few things, but it’s in remarkably good condition and its obvious the previous owners took care of it. There are no major cosmetic flaws except for a crease in the rear bumper.

I did find a few mechanical items that will need to be sorted:

1. Oil leak from bank 1 valve cover gasket and/or timing cover
2. Inoperative variable redline indicator
3. All windows work, but not from the switch assembly on the driver door
4. Passenger rearview mirror tilts down in reverse, but doesn’t move when the button is pressed to adjust it
5. None of the interior/exterior courtesy lights work
6. Doors don’t lock/unlock driver door is locked/unlocked with the key (battery is dead for keyless entry)
7. Clunking noise in front suspension (suspect sway bar links)
8. Bad pixels in navigation LCD screen
9. Faulty Auxiliary water pump (according to DIS)
10. Broken rear wiper
11. Airbag light is on

The Tuesday following when it was delivered, I took it on a 250 mile round trip and it performed great. Very smooth and VERY easy to get into triple digits. There were no drivability problems, and the gas mileage was even decent at 19MPG with an average speed of about 75MPH. I don’t expect to get anywhere near the 30MPG I could get with the 528iT, and, well, I don’t!

I’m still working on another project and haven’t really gotten started sorting it out, but I have already taken care of items #3 - #6. It turns out that for once, a BMW electrical problem was actually pretty easy to find and fix. I saw on another forum where someone was having a nearly identical problem and eventually traced it to a broken wire inside the door. Some people I know would immediately tear the door apart and inspect every inch of every wire. There’s nothing wrong with that approach, but I prefer to be more pragmatic. The switch assembly looked very clean, but when I pulled it out and unplugged it, there was what appeared to be soft drink residue in one of the connectors. It was as if a drink was spilled into the switch and the outside was cleaned, but not inside and it found its way into the connector. I removed each of the pins one at a time and sprayed them with electrical contact cleaner, then applied lots of dielectric grease. I put it back together, and all the electrical problems were fixed! It’s curious that the door lock and courtesy light circuits go through the window switch assembly. But they do!

I’ve already ordered a new LCD for the nav screen. I had to do the same repair on an E38 740i and it’s pretty easy. And the screen is only about $120.

According to DIS, the airbag light is on because a problem with the right rear airbag. I have some service records and the right rear window regulator was replaced not too long ago. I'm hoping that something just wasn't plugged back in when the door was put back together.

The only item that really worries me is the variable redline. Like its contemporary M cars, the 4.6is has a series of lights around the tachometer starting at 4,000RPM. As the engine warms up, the lights go out sequentially to indicate that the engine can be revved higher. None of those lights are working. I did a cluster test and everything else works. All lights, needles, and LCDs are working. Instead of a MPG gauge at the bottom of the tach, it has an oil temperature gauge and that is also working fine. Even though the lights are likely LEDs, I pulled the cluster out to see if maybe I’d get lucky like I did with the window switches and I could just replace some light bulbs. It’s apparent that the cluster had already been removed - probably someone else trying to diagnose it - but there is no easy access to the lights. The needles and gauge faces will have to be removed, which is not something I want to attempt. So this one has me scratching my head.

I’m planning to keep this car for a while and use as a daily driver. So I’m okay with spending some money on repairs and some mods. Those extra costs were considered when I made the offer to buy it. I doubt this is one that I’ll sell and make any money on. But that isn’t the goal.

Speaking of mods, there a few things I’d to do to it. Nothing dramatic or crazy (no supercharger), just a few tweaks to get it dialed in to my taste.

Planned mods:
1. Lower suspension. Even with the Sport package suspension, it sits up too high. I just added a set of H&R springs and Bilstiens to an E53 3.0i Sport and while it was only about a 1” drop, it looks dramatically better. I parked that 3.0 next to the 4.6 and it’s noticeably lower. So I definitely want to do that to this one. Can I just get a set of front springs and lower the rear electronically since it has self leveling rear suspension? Can I hang onto the stock dampers with a lowered suspension? If anyone has lowered a 4.6 and has suggestions, I’m all ears!

2. E46 M3 steering wheel with SMG shift paddles. There is a mod to allow shifting via the steering wheel paddles if the appropriate wheel is installed. I’ve already found a wheel from a 2004 M3 with the SMG transmission. That should be a fairly straightforward swap and mod.

3. While the valve covers and timing covers are off to replace the gaskets, I’m going to have them powder coated in body color. This is not something I would normally do (I’d go with silver). But the red interior trim looks so much better than I would have expected. So painting the valve covers to match would be appropriate. I think. If this car were any other color, I would go with a stock look. Something is telling me that this in this case, the red will look right. If not, some paint stripper can take care of it!


I’ll post updates as tasks are completed and repairs are checked off. If anyone has any thoughts about what’s going on with the variable redline, I’d love to hear from you!