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  #11  
Old 03-16-2019, 04:21 PM
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1. Should I be concerned that my original coolant fluid is a light orange color? It reminds me of a rust color (please see attached). Very different from your regular neon green/ or bmw light blue.
most likely just a mix of couple colors; blue + green = orange for example.
2. The clutch fan has been on constantly since the alternator replacement. Is this normal? I remember it was hardly ever on before the replacement.
the fan clutch will transfer some torque when cold, it's only supposed to lock up and really push air when hot. if you can't free wheel, or more importantly, hold back the fan when the engine is cold and running, then it's failed and needs replacing.
3. My friend with some auto repair experience helped me with installing the tensioner pulley as well as tightning the belt tension (1/2" play when you push on the belt). I see him adjusting the 2 13mm bolts on top of the pulley mechanism and that seemed to do the trick. Can anyone elaborate on the correct procedure to tension the serpentine belt?


Pretension adjustable plate at hexagon head (1) up to end of elongated hole (2) and tighten screws (3).
See Fig. 46. Screws (3) with liquid cooled generator are M8 strength class 10.9 and tightening torque is
22 ft. lbs. (30 N.m).

The bottom nut is a 'twofer' a nut within a nut; the outer nut is welded to the plate and is used to twist the plate into place; I use a socket to turn that outer 'nut' to move the plate, then snug the top bolt to hold the plate then tighten the smaller inner nut at the bottom then tighten the top bolt. (they call screws above).
4. adding coolant. The blue plastic valve on the bottom right of the plastic radiaor housing pretty much shattered upon impact with a flat blade screw driver when I attempted to remove it to drain the coolant. Half of the valve remain stuck on the housing so it's still sealed, I think. I don't know how to remove the rest without damaging the thread on the radiator, so I tried to seal it better with bunch of silicon gulking and then left it alone. I will probably need to revisit this situation, depending on when I need to drain / flush the coolant or when the rest of the valve decides to give up!
You can pull a lower hose to drain, if the original seal is still ok. the threads and the o-ring are quite a ways in, if the head just shattered it will be sealed and still work, if you turned a turn or two first then you will want to come back to that one; i would probably drill out a broken one; if you get a new one to determine the size; drill a mm smaller than the threads and you'd be able to pick out the broken pieces.
Do you guys think it's correct to add the fluid into the expansion tank until the red stick floats up?
Annoyingly you can't add the correct amount when the engine running so there is some trial-and-error involved.

I add with the engine running until the float is at the top of the two dots then i go for a drive, come back wait for the engine to cool and add until the top of the float is level with the fill cap.
Do I release the bleeder valve next to the expansion cap half way while I add the fluid? Or do I release the valve and then start the car, and wait for the air bubbles to show up?

The first time I added fluids yesterday, (using bmw light blue coolant), I added slightly more than 1 gallon, then I started the car. Low coolant warning showed up so I switched off and added another 1/2 gallon.
From the repair manual:

1. Engine must be cooled down before coolant level is checked. Coolant temperature must not exceed 86°F
(30°C). If ambient temperature is above 86°F (30°C), allow engine to cool down to ambient temperature.
2. Turn on ignition. Set blower to low level. Set heating controller to maximum temperature. This ensures that heater valves are fully opened and auxiliary water pump starts up. The auxiliary water pump must deliver coolant in order to ensure full bleeding.
3. Use only recommended BMW coolant (82 14 1 467 704) or equivalent. Perform filling operation slowly.
4. Pour coolant into expansion tank up to MAX mark. See Fig. 37. Do NOT overfill. Start engine and run at idle speed for about one minute with cap open. Add coolant to MAX as necessary. Close cap and run engine up to operating temperature and main thermostat opens. Check cooling circuit and drain plug for
leaks.
The low coolant warning came up again today, So I added another 1/4 gallons with the bleeder valve open 1/2 way. The red stick floated up again, so I stopped right there.

So far i've added 1 3/4 gallon of bmw coolant. I will continue to monitor the level but right now I don't know if i've added too much or not.
pretty sure it takes about 2gal.
5. Charging. I have a cigarette bluetooth adapter that tells battery voltage. The voltage was a dismal 12.2 v or lower before the replacement. The sound system would cut off and all the lights would dim, so on Tuesday while driving to work I turned off all accessories: a/c, radio, daytime running light, etc and crossed my fingered as I navigated the scary last 10 miles on my way to work.

After the replacement, I tested the charge under load today. Turned on the a/c, the radio, and even the dvr that's connected to the cigarette lighter under the glovebox. The voltage was a constant 14.1+V.

Does this mean my new alternator is working correctly? What's the best way to test the functionality of an alternator?
watch the voltage realtime; it should stay above 13.4v or so always. it shouldn't ever get below 12v even for a second.

For future reference the high-load items don't include most of the things you listed above (AC (powered from the belt), radio, dvd.

High power drain items: HI beam headlights, seat heaters, rear defrost, those are in the official bmw items to ether not have on when doing low current tests or to have on when testing high-drain tests.
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  #12  
Old 03-16-2019, 06:02 PM
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That’s a deeper brown than my old coolant! What is that large round opening, if you don’t me asking?
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Old 03-16-2019, 06:14 PM
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You are the master of BMW machines, Andrew! Thank you so much for taking the time to review and answer each of my questions! They are very detailed and valuable! I shall return to this post many times for future work!

Much obliged!

Theo
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Old 03-16-2019, 11:19 PM
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Champagne taste and beer budget means I better become a pro at fixing the X5. I've decided it's my only car from now on. I'll have to get good at fixing the E70 Eventually but there is a lot of crossover.

I'm hoping to get one more set of E53 maybe some 06 before I have to get the E70 model..

Fortunately my wife is on board with that plan. She told me the other day she is "saving for her next X5"



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Old 03-17-2019, 12:25 AM
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I agree! The more I drive this beast, the happier I become! I’ve wanted an E53 ever since it came out in 2000. Had a photo of silver one as my wallpaper for the longest time.

Actually saw a Melbourne Red 2014 X5M a few months back. Couldn’t pull the trigger as kids are still a priority.

The one that got away.
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Old 03-17-2019, 12:42 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maruzo View Post
That’s a deeper brown than my old coolant! What is that large round opening, if you don’t me asking?
Believe it or not... that is where the water pump mounts to the front of the bock on the m20 inline 6 cylinder engine that was in the e30/e28. All that corrosion was internal to the block.

Quote:
Originally Posted by andrewwynn View Post
Champagne taste and beer budget means I better become a pro at fixing the X5. I've decided it's my only car from now on. I'll have to get good at fixing the E70 Eventually but there is a lot of crossover.

I'm hoping to get one more set of E53 maybe some 06 before I have to get the E70 model.
Amen and cheers Andrew. Though the wife has moved on to an e70 diesel. It's larger and gets better gas mileage than an e53. So far, it's been easier to work on than the e53 as well, though it has it's own foibles for sure.
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Old 03-17-2019, 11:22 PM
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as the e53s start to get older than 20, will be aiming to leapfrog to a newer version. I wouldn't turn down an e70 that was a better value than an 06 e53 but my goal on buying each of our current stable was to double the miles before trading in. That means about 260,000 and 220,000 for mine and wife's.

Her car was in a lot rougher shape than mine when purchased (soccer mom miles vs highway commuting), so I realized right away not to expect a miracle. We are both close to 170 (kmiles not km) and I'm about to exactly 4 years into my ownership so I'm apparently driving 10000/yr and wife more like 14,000. That puts 4 more years to get wife to double, and 9 more for me. Wow. I might be able to hand mine down to son in five with enough miles left to be worth it.
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