3.0i Header Options

[e39_touring]

I haven't been on in a while, but if you're still considering headers, I'll chime in. Yes, there are still ~$100 headers on ebay. Don't worry about the head side. Mine had all the holes drilled & tapped from the factory. Just buy some extra studs/nuts, and you'll be good to go there with no leaks (I recommend factory-style gaskets that incorporate a heat shield). I believe they omitted those few studs/nuts on the stock manifolds because they'd be near impossible to get a wrench on with the engine in the car.

If you see headers that say they'll fit E46 and E39 (as most do), they're really E46 headers. They'll bolt up to the head just fine, but you will need to do custom work to connect to your exhaust system. At a minimum, the flanges will be clocked wrong, but the length may be a little different, too, causing you to add pipe to fill the gap.

The only ones I've found to work directly on the X5 are true Supersprint headers or the Russian headers I bought. The Supersprint are pricey, but I have seen them on sale for ~$700US (still a lot when you convert to CAD).

You pay your money and take your choice. I chose direct fit without having to get the header-to-exhaust fabbed up, which wouldn't have looked as clean and wouldn't have saved a whole lot of $ in the end. Still enjoying my setup though I don't really drive much these days!

[Bmwe5320023.0]

Thanks for sharing your experience.
In the end I decided to stay stock.
I'm just sanding off some rust to make it look good and then gonna paint it.
I'm thinking of using some additional rivets to attach the gasket and the heatshield together so that they don't come apart.

[e39_touring]

Originally Posted by Bmwe5320023.0

Thanks for sharing your experience.
In the end I decided to stay stock.
I'm just sanding off some rust to make it look good and then gonna paint it.
I'm thinking of using some additional rivets to attach the gasket and the heatshield together so that they don't come apart.

Nothing wrong with stock for normal use - it's certainly the best-cost option!

Re: the heatshield, I'd recommend using the factory-style exhaust manifold gaskets (Reinz) as the heat shield is sort of integrated into the gasket. I'm not sure how you could securely attach the heat shield to those small header-like gaskets without getting leaks. Look at pictures online, and you'll see what I mean. The factory-style gaskets have a ring around the exhaust port that sandwiches the heat shield and the gasket material in a way that I don't think you could duplicate with the separate pieces.

[Bmwe5320023.0]

I think I wasn't clear enough and you misunderstood me.
The gasket and heatshield are one piece, but held together with only 2 rivets. See pictures attached. The problem is, with time these rivets rust out/gets destroyed by heat etc. I don't know what exactly happens, but the heatshield portion becomes loose and can make noise.
I was able to just pull on the heatshield and remove them by hand. That's when I learned that they were part of the gaskets and removed the manifold to replace the gasket/heatshield.
As you see on the picture, there are only 2 rivets.
I was thinking of adding extra rivets to make sure the gasket and heatshield are held together better and don't separate.