BenFenner's 2004 Silver SUV

[BenFenner]

Charge battery | Album

Excuse the absurd update. I'd left the X5 in the garage for a while and it needed a charge. I should get a battery tender on it, or drive it more. One or the other will happen.
It's interesting to see the charger wanted to (and could) output 12 amps at some point.


Pics:

[BenFenner]

Install new OEM floor mats | Album

The car didn't come with any floor mats, so I snagged some OEM units.
Some cars use the keyed bindings, but mine needed the auger type. Both came with the set of mats.

I also took the opportunity to finally take pics of the all-important clutch pedal box and 6MT shifter.


Parts:
$120.64 | OEM floor mats (anthracite) | 82110008635


Pics:

[Salty B.]

I need to find me an OE 5-speed shift knob in the pale wood. I’ve got a crap amazon one on there that pops off the shift rod way too easily and I have yet to come across one from a sedan in the boneyards. But a new OE one is very very expensive.


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[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by Salty B.

I need to find me an OE 5-speed shift knob in the pale wood. I’ve got a crap amazon one on there that pops off the shift rod way too easily and I have yet to come across one from a sedan in the boneyards. But a new OE one is very very expensive.


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What if you filled the hole with epoxy then drilled and tapped it to fit the shifter threads?

[BenFenner]

I feel yah. A bad knob can be quite annoying.

Interesting you bring it up, because my stocker is (always was?) separating in an odd way where the wood gives way to the plastic down the right side. There is a seam there which has opened up, and it really bugs me.

So I've been on the hunt for a 6-speed knob that is the same height but just an all-leather affair. I'd love it to be weighted like the ZHP knobs, but I don't think I'm going to be able to pull that off.

So I got hunting, and I found some lesser E46 models with exactly what I want. So some day I'll probably ditch the wood and just go all black leather. I'm not a wood interior type of person to begin with, and I'm not completely sold on the concept of the wood-trimmed knob. If mine were pale wood I'd send it to you no problem.

And for completeness, here's the knob I'm currently favoring:

BMW part number 25117523817.
(ZHP on left, normal E46 on the right)

[BenFenner]

Originally Posted by Fifty150hs

What if you filled the hole with epoxy then drilled and tapped it to fit the shifter threads?

I don't think BMWs have had threaded shift levers and knobs since the 1970s, or maybe even earlier...

[Salty B.]

Oh hey I just remembered that the prior owner had a 6-speed knob on it. Which I have stashed away somewhere and I do believe it is the short one. Unsure if is is a real ZHP one tho.

Also not a big fan of the wood trim which in my rig is all cracked anyway. I wrapped all of it with this matte army green vinyl, except the center console which looks like a big pain in the ass to remove.

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