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Old 10-13-2015, 04:54 PM
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Crystalworks Imola Red 4.8is Mod/Service History Thread

Time to start a build log/maintenance thread on the new e53 acquisition that so many of you were kind enough to advise me on a few months back. Time flies huh?

For those of you unfamiliar, it was an interesting (and scary at times) purchase... the full story can be found here: Possible 4.8is Purchase.. Help And Info Request. And the "epic" journey to get it home can be found here: Possible 4.8is Purchase Turns Into Actual Purchase.

On to the log:

August 24, 2015

- After getting the X home from California the chrome mirror caps had to go... they were an eyesore and I thank the heavens there wasn't any more chrome scattered over the exterior of the vehicle. Also took off the little blind spot mirrors from the wing mirrors. Felt they were unnecessary and just made it look like the truck was being driven by a senior... no offense to seniors. $0.00

Before:



After:



- Also gave the X an oil change. I wasn't sure what the dealership used and I wasn't taking any chances. I threw 5qts of Valvoline Synpower full synth 10w30, 2.5qts of Valvoline VR1 20w50, and a quart of Lucas oil additive. The above has helped to mitigate smoking from the valve stem seals nicely. Never does it during normal driving now, but will if I leave it idling for 10 minutes or so. Not bad. Will check the CCV diaphragms in the near future. At any rate, the interior of the engine and the chain looks nice and clean. I had the oil filter kit here already from the previous X5 and already had the Lucas so it was a cheap oil change. $26.95





- Had a good luck around the underside of the X and noticed (and replaced) a missing heat shield fastener underneath. Underside of the truck is pretty clean save for some oil that ran off during the trip home because the dealership's lube tech did not install a new crush washer or did not torque the drain plug properly. Not sure which. It does not leak anymore after I did the change.



- Removed the Beyern center caps from the wheels and installed the BMW roundel caps I had from my old X5's original wheels. $0.00

August 25, 2015

- Installed the missing heat shield nut mentioned above. (07146949380) $1.38

- Purchased an imola red BMW paint stick. OUCH! (51910419762) $30.49

- Purchased OEM e53 sunshade. (82110008342) $58.50

- Got Texas vehicle inspection. $7.00

August 29, 2015

- Purchased and installed new front hood emblem and grommets because worn emblems bother my OCD. (51148132375 & 51141807495) $38.21



- Cut/polished/waxed the hood of the X5 with the intentions of doing the whole vehicle. Turns out the imola needs paint correction beyond my capabilities/patience level so it will have to be done by the same guys who did the previous X5.

Before:



After:



- Painted hood vents semi gloss black. Came out okay but will order some new black ones and have them professionally painted. Had paint here. $0.00

Before:



After:



September 03, 2015

- I was fortunate enough to discover on the trip back that the X's previous owner had installed a BSW stealth sub setup. After some tuning and fiddling with the DSP to get a nice balance of bass frequencies between the interior speakers and the sub it sounds pretty decent. It's definitely not as good as my 12" setups in other cars, but definitely doable for the foreseeable future. I do hate not having independent control of the sub from the DSP though. Takes constant fiddling depending on what you are listening to.

Anyway, the previous install was a hack job (by my standards) which I should have guessed by how it was tuned. I know BSW actually recommends installing it this way... but it wasn't going to fly for me. I still have to go see how much the tray the PO threw away is going to cost me... the one that goes where they mounted the amp. So I fixed it. $0.00

Before:





During:







After:



Yay! No more duct tape! Also, tuning is now as easy as changing CD's in the changer. Which was also a nice discovery... didn't realize a certain model of BMW CD changer was actually MP3 CD compatible. This one is...

September 10, 2015

- Installed some gloss black grilles that I had purchased off of ebay. On my previous X5 I had the OE titaniums painted gloss to match the sport trim. Looked okay but I wanted something a little more durable so I finally found these. Previously I had looked for over a year and not found any gloss black offerings for the e53, only flat/matte black. $78.00





The quality of them is okay... for their price. Had to do some modifying of the clips to get them to click in nicely and even then used some spots of silicon in strategic places to tighten them up. I hate grilles rattling when opening/closing bonnets
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2005 X5 4.4i Build 04/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, Pano, Sport (Purchased 06/14 w/ 109,000 miles) (Sold 8/15 w/121,000 miles)


2006 X5 4.8is Build 11/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, DSP, Pano, Running Boards, OEM Tow Hitch, Cold Weather Pckg (Purchased 08/15 w/ 90,500 miles)

2010 X5 35d Build 02/10
Nav, HiFi, 6 DVD, Sports Pckg, Cold Weather Pckg, HUD, CAS, Running Boards, Leather Dash, PDC, Pano (Purchased 03/17 w/ 136,120 miles)

Last edited by crystalworks; 02-29-2016 at 10:36 AM.
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  #2  
Old 10-13-2015, 07:19 PM
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Dammit that thing is pretty. Well done sir.
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Old 10-13-2015, 07:43 PM
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That settles it. I'm going black grills.


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Old 10-14-2015, 12:46 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trasportador View Post
Dammit that thing is pretty. Well done sir.
Thanks. The wife and I don't regret selling our 4.4i (despite the higher $$$ investment in purchase price). Really enjoyed that car too, but the 4.8is just feels a bit more... substantial I guess. The Dinan goodies really help I'm sure. The exhaust is something I adore listening to.

Quote:
Originally Posted by thrillcat View Post
That settles it. I'm going black grills.
On imola the titaniums just don't compliment the truck. Some colors look amazing with them... but imola is not one of those colors.
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2005 X5 4.4i Build 04/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, Pano, Sport (Purchased 06/14 w/ 109,000 miles) (Sold 8/15 w/121,000 miles)


2006 X5 4.8is Build 11/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, DSP, Pano, Running Boards, OEM Tow Hitch, Cold Weather Pckg (Purchased 08/15 w/ 90,500 miles)

2010 X5 35d Build 02/10
Nav, HiFi, 6 DVD, Sports Pckg, Cold Weather Pckg, HUD, CAS, Running Boards, Leather Dash, PDC, Pano (Purchased 03/17 w/ 136,120 miles)
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Old 10-14-2015, 01:25 AM
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September 18, 2015

- Bought lifetime alignment at Firestone (my sister works there). They did a decent job on the 4.4i so I took this one there too. They got it as good as they could but informed me they could not loosen one of the tie rod ends... so I'll try and break it free and take it back or R&R both sides inner/outer tie rods. $159.99

- Noticed when the tech was pulling the X out of the alignment bay that one of my brake lights was dim. Well that isn't going to fly. I hate being behind a BMW and seeing a dim bulb on one side. I figured the PO had just used the wrong bulb or something. Well, yes, why yes he had. He used a 7528 bulb. Yep, he somehow managed to squeeze a dual filament bulb in there. Now this may not have been entirely his fault... Sylvania's guide says that is the correct bulb. But it is actually supposed to be a 7506 12v21w bulb for the rear parking and brake bulbs. I went all out here though... removed both housings, which meant pulling the BSW box. I ground off some arcing marks from the old bulbs, re-bent some socket contacts for better... well better contact, and added some dielectric grease to the bulb bases before reinstalling the new bulbs and reinstalling the lamp assemblies. Dimming bulb problem = fixed. $0.00







September 25, 2015

- I had been driving around with the right side cargo door off to enjoy the BSW sub with a dB or two more than I could with it installed so I figured it was time to do something about it. I installed an 8" sub grille I ordered off of ebay. $12.50







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2005 X5 4.4i Build 04/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, Pano, Sport (Purchased 06/14 w/ 109,000 miles) (Sold 8/15 w/121,000 miles)


2006 X5 4.8is Build 11/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, DSP, Pano, Running Boards, OEM Tow Hitch, Cold Weather Pckg (Purchased 08/15 w/ 90,500 miles)

2010 X5 35d Build 02/10
Nav, HiFi, 6 DVD, Sports Pckg, Cold Weather Pckg, HUD, CAS, Running Boards, Leather Dash, PDC, Pano (Purchased 03/17 w/ 136,120 miles)
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Old 10-14-2015, 02:21 AM
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....Looking good!
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Old 10-14-2015, 09:24 AM
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Nice IR iS.
The gloss blk grilles don't match the black plastic trim around the SAV.
The running board
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Old 10-14-2015, 09:39 AM
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Everything looks great, except in my opinion the gloss black grilles although the color looks amazing, look horrendously aftermarket in their shape, and I know you are an OEM+ guy like I am.

Paint the stock ones IMO
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Old 10-14-2015, 10:12 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jopecasa View Post
....Looking good!
Thank you sir.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tmv View Post
Nice IR iS.
The gloss blk grilles don't match the black plastic trim around the SAV.
The running board
Thanks. The gloss black grilles are a little deeper gloss than the factory sport trim due to aging. I have to find someway to bring the shine back on those. I am digging the running boards too. Makes cleaning the roof sooooo much easier. I guess they look okay too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby View Post
Everything looks great, except in my opinion the gloss black grilles although the color looks amazing, look horrendously aftermarket in their shape, and I know you are an OEM+ guy like I am.

Paint the stock ones IMO
Thank you. Yeah, their shape is not great. I need to get some shots farther away as they don't scream "cheap" like they do in close ups. I might see if I can get the stock ones painted. I just love how these have a perfect gloss black finish and painting a grille (even professionally) never comes out perfect.
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2005 X5 4.4i Build 04/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, Pano, Sport (Purchased 06/14 w/ 109,000 miles) (Sold 8/15 w/121,000 miles)


2006 X5 4.8is Build 11/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, DSP, Pano, Running Boards, OEM Tow Hitch, Cold Weather Pckg (Purchased 08/15 w/ 90,500 miles)

2010 X5 35d Build 02/10
Nav, HiFi, 6 DVD, Sports Pckg, Cold Weather Pckg, HUD, CAS, Running Boards, Leather Dash, PDC, Pano (Purchased 03/17 w/ 136,120 miles)
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Old 10-14-2015, 10:24 AM
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Looking GREAT!

Thumbs down on the black grills and vents. The 4.6 and 3.0 had the black ones and those owners are always painting them silver. Oh well, everyone gets to to mod away as they see fit.
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