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  #1  
Old 10-05-2020, 03:15 PM
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Thoughts on 2003 E53 X5 Three Pdeal

I'm new to this forum...migrating over here from Rennlist as Porsche's are my primary vice. Never owned a BMW but driven some on the street and the track, including a few days at M school in Spartanburg.

I have recently taken possession of a 2003 X5 3.0 with a manual transmission. The vehicle was purchased new by a friend of mine, and I am either going to store it for him during the winter or potentially collaborate with him to restore it to its former glory. He mentally wrote off the vehicle last year after receiving some astronomical "maintenance" estimates from the dealer, and it has been a spare vehicle for him anyway. Being an admirer of the early X5's and a fervent proponent of manual transmissions of any variety, I refused to let him trade it in for what the dealer was offering. Now its on me to put up or shut up.

This E53 has been driven approx 125k since delivery on 10/10/02. The body is in decent condition with a few very minor rust spots and several door dings. The pads and rotors are shot, and the calipers will likely need to be rebuilt, which is all within my wheelhouse. The engine seems strong but has been noted by the dealer last year to be leaking some oil. I'm assuming valve cover gaskets but haven't taken a close look. This might be a bit above my pay-grade but I have some more talented friends that would probably be willing to help for booze. The interior shows some age but is functional; the only pressing issue is the bad LED pixels in the gauge cluster.

I will post some pictures and additional information in a follow-up post. In the mean time, my most pressing questions are:

1. Pads and rotors are the most immediate need. I'm seeing the Zimmerman/Akebono set on FCP Euro. Love FCP and have personal experience with Zimmerman rotors but not the Akebono pads. I know they have a strong following amongst German-car enthusiasts. Anyone have a strong opinion on something better for the same price range?

2. LED pixels seem to be a reasonable DIY project, and there appear to be rebuild services out there. Any opinions on the best option and/or reputable rebuilders?

3. How rare are E53's with manual transmissions? I've seen a few in the last 20 years, but haven't seen any numbers. Are these generally desirable vehicles? Is it worth "restoring" one to make it a very solid, reliable vehicle for occasional duty? Or is my personal love for three pedals clouding my judgement?

4. After 18 years and 125k, I am assuming the suspension is shot. Shocks, control arm bushings, etc do not usually meet my requirements after more than 10 years / 100k miles max. I haven't been able to thoroughly test the suspension due to the unreliable brakes, so I am wondering how much care and attention will likely be required here.

5. Any particular gating items before pursuing a restoration, like VANOS etc. If given an hour and a lift, what are the most important "PPI" categories to check that are unique to the M54 engines?

Thanks in advance for any help with thoughts, ideas, or simply pointing me toward existing threads that will help. Booting me back to the Porsche/Audi fanboy forums would be acceptable also. Cheers.
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Old 10-05-2020, 04:01 PM
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Sounds like you came to the right place and that car should be a very reasonable project. Very reasonable mileage. Age in years will be the bigger problem long time but I think you can get 5-8 years and 50-75,000 well worth miles out of it.
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Old 10-05-2020, 04:06 PM
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Welcome, I'm new around here myself but it seems like there's a good amount of activity on this forum as opposed to the others so you made a good choice.

1. I'm a big fan of Zimmer on my Bimmer and have tried a few of the popular brands of pads without seeing any major difference in performance. Only observation is that with a rear set of Fremax rotors and Textar pads there is a very regular and annoying squeak each time you brake, but the performance is good so I live with it.

3. I'm not sure how rare they are overall but I'm sure the numbers are relatively low considering the target audience of this vehicle didn't necessarily have track days in mind on the weekends. I would 100% say it's worth bringing it back to it's former glory as long as there isn't any major rust to deal with or you're a welder/body guy.

4. I wouldn't say that the suspension is shot with that mileage but obviously a refresh would be beneficial. I regularly mess around with higher mileage (and usually abused) BMWs of this era and have had suspension that feels pretty good at that mileage. It's all a toss up as far as the kind of roads it lived on etc,.

5. If you're planning on keeping it around:

water pump, thermostat, top and bottom hose and expansion tank are a must. Might as well do the belts while you're there.

Valve cover gasket is almost a guarantee,

Oil pan gasket (which is a huge pain in the ass) is a solid maybe.

Vanos hoses like to leak but they're cheap and easy to change.

Power steering reservoir hoses leak because of the clamps which you can usually fix with a real band clamp

The 3.0 is a pretty solid engine and parts aren't too expensive so you should be relatively safe
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Old 10-05-2020, 06:10 PM
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The 3 pedal X5's are more rare than not. Good investment.
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Old 10-05-2020, 06:15 PM
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I bought my 2006 X5 M54 6spMT at 112K miles in 2014.
It is now at 133K miles, runs fine, very reliable.

As mentioned above (info, DIY in forum):
- Cooling overhaul.
- OFH gasket (use only dealer part $6). This is certain to leak after 100K...
- VCG: watch it and do it only when necessary.
- CCV Mod.

- The Transfer case from 2001-2003 is different from 2004-2006.
- Also the 2001-2003 has FRONT driveshaft issue, search forum.

- Check for brake pipe rust. I wrote a DIY on it. You can warranty the rust is there, check it before you lose braking effect going downhill!

Once you bring it back to its former glory, it will be a great vehicle.
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Old 10-05-2020, 06:55 PM
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I'm also an owner of a 2003 X5 with the stick shift. This was my first foray into Kraut wagens. I got mine at 93k miles a little over four years ago, and now has 112k miles and haven't had any breakdowns. The suspension is in good shape too, I haven't had to touch anything yet.



You'll get really good at replacing window regulators, and you'll probably have a window get stuck down as you pull out of the driveway on a long road trip.



You'll want to do several preventative maintenance items, such as the entire cooling system, the crankcase ventilator and associated equipment, the oil filter housing gasket, and a few others. I actually added all my maintenance costs up since I bought the car, and it's not as high as I thought -- only about $2,000 in four years/20k miles. But my car was pretty well-maintained by the PO, so I might be the lucky one. If you have the sport model, you have rear airbags, so you'll want to be ready to replace those soon. (If you don't have the sport model you have four-wheel coil suspension, like mine, and you'll never have to worry about it!!)



I think these cars are pretty rare, but not so rare that they are valuable. There are not a lot of people who want them, compared to how many there are. In 5-10 years that might be different. I use mine to tow a camper trailer. Mostly because I'm a manual transmission snob, and there aren't many ways to tow a trailer with a stick shift, especially none which are as fun to drive as this car. It's a great tow vehicle, and rated up to 6,000 lbs, and is extremely stable and capable.


Edit: I'll add that since you know the PO, you know the service history, and this will be helpful since you'll be able to know what is going to break soon. I also had a good service history for my car, and it's helped me to plan my preventative maintenance work before things break, rather than only fix things after they break.
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Old 10-05-2020, 07:11 PM
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+1 On E53 3 pedal ownership.
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Old 10-05-2020, 07:38 PM
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1 thing I would add is to replace the ccv and update to the winter set up as they are known to freeze up, mine did, and I had a ton of oil come out the back of the exhaust. They should be replaced every 2 years IMO.

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Old 10-05-2020, 07:41 PM
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I tell people budget $100/mo you should be able to keep e53 in very good order. Starting with under maintenained budget maybe $800-1200 off the bat. I wouldn't preemptive change suspension stuff but the coolant stuff preemptive for sure.

Wifes and my 01 both had CPS fail 133 ± 3000 miles and disa valve both failed 160-170,000. Fuel pump 130-180,000
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Old 10-05-2020, 08:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by puddinboo View Post
1 thing I would add is to replace the ccv and update to the winter set up as they are known to freeze up, mine did, and I had a ton of oil come out the back of the exhaust. They should be replaced every 2 years IMO.

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I keep a close eye on mine. I had a lot of sludge under the cap and replaced mine as soon as I bought it in late 2016. I live in the mountains where we get a lot of freezing temps and snow, and drive a very short commute. I don't have significant sludge after 3.5 years. I pull off the vacuum lines and oil cap periodically to check, and even pulled off the valve cover twice to inspect. I think two years is too cautious, unless you drive tons and tons of short trips in cold weather without getting the car warmed up completely. I was prepared to replace mine every 2-4 years but haven't seen the need.


If your car has never had the CCV replaced, it's time to do it ASAP though, and do get the winter version even if your car didn't have it from the factory. Unless you live in Arizona or Florida.
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