Danny's X5 4.6 Thread

[amancuso]

Originally Posted by BimmerBreaker

$90 was an expensive way to find out the ambient LED bulb was burned out. Shucks... (at least I have a working door handle though!)

It seems to come in the socket and the wiring goes deep into the panel so not sure it's replaceable. Don't see a part number for it anyways. I can cut and solder on a new one, does anyone know if the ambient light can be purchased? Other solutions? Maybe just hot glue an orange LED to the light bar on the back of the handle?

The bulb you need is part # 63316975019 should be about $18.00 +/-

[BimmerBreaker]

Ahh amazing thank you guys! Looks like cut and splice is the oem method anyways! Ill order two of those (pass side is dim) as soon as Im back home - going on vacation this weekend. Taking the X5
Got in there with PA Soft and removed airbag light. Lowered the rear a hair as well, added DRLs and the window opening/closing with key unlock/lock feature. Gimmicky but whatever lol

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by BimmerBreaker

and the window opening/closing with key unlock/lock feature. Gimmicky but whatever lol

You think that now... I use that on an almost daily basis in the summer here in south Texas.

[BimmerBreaker]

What do you do after buying an X5 that has been sitting for months and with over 200,000 on an engine freshly rebuilt by a garage mechanic?

Drive 600 miles up steep hills on a roadtrip, duh







She did well. Got a low coolant light the second day which gave me a lot of anxiety aobut the trip home, since there were hundreds of miles and many steep mountains between where we were and my driveway... but she made it. Did pretty darn well I'd say

[hpy540]

Hello i am Cer54467 from BF, i remeber talking to you a few times. i purchased a nice 2000 540i a couple years ago. a friend picked it and screwed me on it. i have been chatting with Danny and i am going to attempt a chainguide job on a M62TU. i have also become a machokist. i picked up an 4.4x5.

Originally Posted by BimmerBreaker

What do you do after buying an X5 that has been sitting for months and with over 200,000 on an engine freshly rebuilt by a garage mechanic?

Drive 600 miles up steep hills on a roadtrip, duh







She did well. Got a low coolant light the second day which gave me a lot of anxiety aobut the trip home, since there were hundreds of miles and many steep mountains between where we were and my driveway... but she made it. Did pretty darn well I'd say

[amancuso]

Nice!

[BimmerBreaker]

Since I've turned this into my own build thread now... more (arguably pointless) mods!



Red third brake light. Didn't like the contrast of the white one against the black paint, looked especially out of place once I went to ambers. Red gives it a more "aggressive" look in person, as much as changing the color of a lens can anyways, and works to also sort of hide the light which isn't a bad thing. 10 minutes to replace... very easy job



Aux-in, put it in the glovebox. Have it wired currently so the wire goes back through the console and pops out from under the e-brake boot - having the wire just come out of the center consle made it not close evenly but putting it off of the glovebox seemed stupid to me. My other cars have the aux-in in the center console so figured why not...

Also got a used seat module to replace the one in the car, original problem was seat position memory wasn't working and steering wheel wouldn't move. Nice to have that working again, thought it isn't raising/lowering when I enter the car. Maybe indicative that the used part I bought is on the way out... either way it works now so I'll enjoy it!

Ribbon cable to fix pixels showed up too... little afraid to tackle the job... but I'll get around to it soon

[crystalworks]

You are certainly in the minority as not many switch to ambers from clears. Truck looks good though, and the aux in is a nice mod as it opens up phone apps to playback possibility.

[BimmerBreaker]

Driving home yesterday and had to do an evasive maneuver to keep from some idiot hitting me... jerked the steering wheel a bit to keep clear of said idiot and in doing so I hear a "POP" - feel a pop through the steering wheel - then "DRPDRPDRPDRPDRPDRP" as my battery light comes on and steering gets heavy. Got it pulled over just as gauge was moving out of TDC, still below 3/4



Stranded



I know tolerances are tight on water pump impellers, but I think this is over the line



Water pump pulley shaft. Completely off-axis. That metal thing peeking through...? Nothing to worry about, it's just one of the rollers for the bearing that has completely separated from it's races...

New water pump is already in, filled with coolant and no leaks, but the secondary air pump system o-rings went bad during reinstallation (causes a nasty sounding vacuum leak). Should be back on the road later tonight (knock on wood)

Originally Posted by crystalworks

You are certainly in the minority as not many switch to ambers from clears. Truck looks good though, and the aux in is a nice mod as it opens up phone apps to playback possibility.

I would never switch to the pre-facelift ambers... those are ugly as sin. The facelift ambers give a welcome bit of contrast and extra dimension to the rear. It also subtly works to make it visually look a bit wider. It will look even better once lowered a bit with some spacers.

[semcoinc]

Glad to hear that the evasive maneuver worked out with no bent body metal

How much time in service on that water pump?

When my alternator seized up (yes, seized up so badly it required a jump to crank and then the running engine shredded and burnt up the serpentine belt) I took that opportunity to do the water pump, thermostat and all engine cooling system hoses, idlers and belts.

Mike