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Old 10-03-2020, 07:38 PM
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Engine mount replacement DIY

Just did the engine mounts on my 2004 3.0 E53 X5. Just wanted to share some information for those who may need it in the future.

If your engine is vibrating when in park or stopped while in drive, then it is very likely your engine mounts are worn out. This was true in my case.

I started by removing the air intake box and center intake shroud that is on top of the radiator area. Instead of removing the mechanical fan, I simply loosened the shroud so that the engine could move upwards without putting pressure on the fan blades and the fan shroud.

With most things out of the way, you should be able to access the 2 side engine bolts and 1 main engine nut holding everything together.

Once everything is loosened up, I then used an engine support bar I had gotten from harbor freight to lift the engine up as high as I felt like it could go.

I then jacked the car up, removed the front tires, and then took out the 6 subframe bolts. If you have an impact wrench, everything comes out fairly easily. I didn't remove the engine/subframe plate. Some people say you should replace these bolts every time you take them out and others have reused them. So if you do want to replace them, make sure you have buy them at the same time you buy the engine mounts. Personally, I've already reused these bolts once after doing my engine oil pan gasket and they didn't seem any looser/different roughly 1 year later.

The passenger side simply slide out. There is a lot more room on this side. I was able to pull it up and out towards the front of the car and then pulled the mount out through a gap in the fender liner area. I did this with the front tires off, so I could have more room to work with.

The driver side does not come out as easily. I needed to use a pry bar to push down on the back part of the subframe to give the engine mount enough room to slide out. I pulled this one out going towards the back of the car.

In my case, the passenger side mount went on as easily as it came out. However, the driver side took a bit more work, since it is much tighter on that side. Since the old mounts were just slightly more compressed than the new ones, you'll need just a sliver more amount of room to get the engine mount in. If you have a second person handy, you should be able to make quick work of this side still. Put the pry bar on the back side of the subframe, coming in at it from the side of the car. This will allow the second person to apply pressure with their foot/leg fairly easily and you will be able to get just enough room to slide everything into place.

At this point, my suggestion would be to loosely attach on the 2 side engine mount star bolts. Hand tighten the subframe bolts back so that the subframe is touching the body/frame of the car again.

This next step is an important step if you don't want to have to work harder than you need to. Pay attention to the alignment of the engine mount stud that goes through the engine bracket on the engine. Lower the engine down until it is just barely touching the stud on the engine mount. The engine should be just in the right spot that that you can still move the engine mount stud around but have it kind of pop and hold in place once you guide it over to the engine mount opening. Note, the driver side mount sits lower, so this will happen on the driver side first and then the passenger side will happen as you lower the engine down more from here.

At this point, you just need to tighten and torque everything up.

Subframe bolts are 75 ft/lbs and the main engine nut is 42 ft/lbs from what I found online. For the two star bolts on each engine mount, I just tightened them down to goodenoughforme. They didn't seem that tight when I took them off, so I figured they didn't need very much or exact torque specs.

Took me roughly 3 hours doing this for the first time.
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Old 10-04-2020, 09:55 AM
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- Just curious how many miles on the X5?

- Re subframe...when I did the engine mounts on E39 (5-series) and E46 (3-series), there was no need to touch the subframe. I just loosened the engine bracket a bit and it is was easy.
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Old 10-04-2020, 08:21 PM
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When I did my engine mounts on my 2006 X5 3.0 I did not have to remove any subframe bolts. Jacked the car up. Put a jack under the engine and set up the engine support. Unbolted the engine mounts, raised the engine with the jack and locked it up with the engine support. Removed the mounts. I found moving the jack to one side of the engine and causing the engine to rotate slightly created enough room to get the mounts out and in. As jobs go on these trucks engine mounts are relatively painless. At least on the 3.0.
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Old 10-04-2020, 08:24 PM
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I think I saw a youtube video of someone doing something similar to as you are describing. I am guessing you have to remove the engine plate to do that? I hate removing that thing, so I was doing whatever I could to go around it and still make it straight forward/easy enough.
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Old 10-04-2020, 08:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Nguyen View Post
I think I saw a youtube video of someone doing something similar to as you are describing. I am guessing you have to remove the engine plate to do that? I hate removing that thing, so I was doing whatever I could to go around it and still make it straight forward/easy enough.
Nope. Didn't have to remove the plate either. It's tight but you can access from below.
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Old 10-04-2020, 11:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Nguyen View Post
I think I saw a youtube video of someone doing something similar to as you are describing. I am guessing you have to remove the engine plate to do that? I hate removing that thing, so I was doing whatever I could to go around it and still make it straight forward/easy enough.

Great work! PM me if you want to earn some extra cash or side job and do mine
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