Former E46fanatic, new E53 owner

[Red911t]

Good morning all....been a long-time E46 owner but the arrival of my second child necessitated something bigger! Last car was a 330cic with just 52k miles, and most every option...was fortunate to get a really good price in a private sale and almost a week later lock up a 2004 X5 3.0 with just 59k miles! Car is equipped with premium package and cold weather package, pano sunroof, and adaptive headlights.

I'm looking forward to being semi active on the board but will most likely just lurk through various threads to find what I need. Took delivery yesterday and have already installed an AUX cord and bluetooth receiver so I can stream music. Also used a post on here to realize my rear AC vent was stuck closed and just needed to be popped open with a long flathead (helpful in 102 degrees here in Philly).

Next steps are to take to my mechanic to have him give a once owner and assess any needed items. Valve cover gasket has been done but it seems like cooling system might be original or at the very least not very new, so that will be a priority. Also kind of uncertain about changing the trans fluid which I'm sure has never been done. Car shifts smoothly and rows between park/reverse/neutral/drive easily, so I'm not overly concerned but would love fresh fluids in there.

There is also a decent vibration in the steering wheel at idle, but very smooth once on slight or heavy throttle. Would this be motor mounts or is this pretty standard in E53s?

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/123959549@N02/28303968867/in/photostream/" title="IMG_3359"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1781/28303968867_d432f8a4ab.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3359"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/123959549@N02/28303968217/in/photostream/" title="IMG_3354"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/843/28303968217_7e1aabec5c.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_3354"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


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[Overboost]

Welcome to Xoutpost. Anything that can go wrong with your E53 will be well documented here and solutions are posted. At 59K miles, she shouldn't need too much but it sounds like you have a preventative maintenance plan already to stay ahead of the issues.

Enjoy your new E53 and we look forward to any updates you post. As a suggestion, add your vehicles to your signature so members know what model E53 you have so you get the right responses to your future posts.

BTW, I see you're a Porsche fanatic, I race them for a living. Back to back IMSA Championships in 2016 and 2017

[Red911t]

That is awesome...have never done track events, just drive for pleasure and work on the car in my spare time...here’s some fodder




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[andrewwynn]

Unless pulling a trailer you shouldn't need to change transmission fluid for another 100,000 miles. Search the forum for another new-to-me owner we went through a big checklist of stuff to look for. You are way ahead of the curve since there is very little recommend maintenance before 100k

That said stay ahead of the curve and I recommend removing the metal plate under the engine at least annually to find all the things it's hiding.

Also some time before 100,000 there are a few things that you can likely prevent from breaking with some preventive maintenance:

1) spray some lubrication on the window rails: my driver window sped up 60% indicating nearly double the force on the window before the treatment; leave that alone and expect to replace window regulator

2) remove the screws on the inboard side of the under body skirt under the left side between the wheel wells and check the brake lines; a factory design flaw damages the anti rust coating and the first elbow of the rear brake lines will be "made of rust" by 100-150,000 miles. Twenty seconds with a steel brush and some anti rust coating will make those lines "lifetime"

3) smoke test the intake: I've seen a $10 smoke tester made from a small hand pump like you'd use for inflating a soccer ball and a cigar: leaks in the disa valve and intake boot are a given by about 100,000 miles but by the time they show up on a code they've been leaking for a year.

4) be vigilant about the oil filter o-ring: my mechanic either didn't replace our used a budget brand and it failed, my "not one drop off oil" engine suddenly was pumping a quart a week (or more) out the top of the front of the engine and "took out" my alternator.

Learn about mechanical overrides for everything (hatch, roof) and the function of the BST which could leave you stranded after a minor crash.

Smack yourself in the forehead premptively for forgetting to switch the dashboard air mix and wondering why the AC won't put out cold air (because you are mixing 100°F outside air with to your AC) where I live it's quite common to come home and it's 60F at night when I arrive home and have the heat on then the next day will be 85-90F necessitating AC but I'll forget to flip the dash dots from red back to blue.

[lo_jack]

Welcome in. Some of us crossover to E46fanatics, since we have the M54 in common, and fanatics blazed the trail on tuning and coding MS43. At 59k, you should be in good shape for a while, since you already know the drill on BMW preventive precautions.

[Red911t]

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

Unless pulling a trailer you shouldn't need to change transmission fluid for another 100,000 miles. Search the forum for another new-to-me owner we went through a big checklist of stuff to look for. You are way ahead of the curve since there is very little recommend maintenance before 100k

That said stay ahead of the curve and I recommend removing the metal plate under the engine at least annually to find all the things it's hiding.

Also some time before 100,000 there are a few things that you can likely prevent from breaking with some preventive maintenance:

1) spray some lubrication on the window rails: my driver window sped up 60% indicating nearly double the force on the window before the treatment; leave that alone and expect to replace window regulator

Well, just had two issues with BOTH rear windows. Got into the office this morning, went to put up the passenger rear window which I had open about 2 inches. Nothing, no movement up or down or noises from the window. Went to test the left rear window to see if it goes up or down and as it is going down from pushing the button, it goes down very quickly...and won't go back up. Guess that the regulator died there, but there is a whirring noise when I push the button up and down, so I am correct in guess the regulator on the driver side broke and the motor on the passenger side is dead (since I'm not hearing anything when pushing the rear passenger window button up or down on that side)?

Not ideal considering there is some rain in forecast today but rest of weekend looks fairly sunny, but obviously need to address this quickly.

Thanks in advance,
Tim

[Red911t]

Thanks fellas, appreciate the feedback. Good to see the XOutpost crew is as helpful as the E46fanatics.

I’ll leave the trans fluid as is. The E46 guys are pretty adamant about swapping trans and dif fluid due to either mileage or age so I figured it was worth throwing out there. Wasn’t sure about age breakdown but seems like that isn’t as much of a concern. I am not doing any towing with this car, so there won’t be a lot of heavy loads on the system.

Any thoughts on the steering vibration at idle? Typical or maybe motor mounts?

A couple more pics from today. Been really happy with how the car drives so far but I guess I am being redundant with saying an E series BMWs has great driving dynamics






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[Overboost]

She looks good!

I think you feel the engine mounts but it's hard to believe they are bad at <60K but I suppose it's possible. You might smoke test the intake to make sure you don't have a vacuum leak.

I think the problems you will have will be door handle carriers, aux fax failure and the common final stage resistor. Also, 2004 was the year that had a bluetooth module that didn't actually pair with phones. Have you tried yours?

[andrewwynn]

Shake more in reverse or drive? Wife's car needed CV axle at 110 slop in axle made car shake and rattle especial in reverse. Very early for CV but worth looking at to confirm it isn't that

[Maruzo]

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

Shake more in reverse or drive? Wife's car needed CV axle at 110 slop in axle made car shake and rattle especial in reverse. Very early for CV but worth looking at to confirm it isn't that

My 2003 4.6is has steering shake in reverse, and Once it starts shaking, it’ll shake again slightly when I put it back to drive.

Any ideas? My indie shop mentioned engine mount replacement and u-joint replacement as possible remedies. But he can’t be sure it’ll fix the steering shakes.

I’m 2,000 miles away from 100,000.