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  #1  
Old 05-03-2021, 05:42 PM
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Hi! New 3.0 6MT Owner!

Hey All!

Recently purchased a new to me 6MT 3.0 with 200k+ miles. Hopefully my luck with higher mileage BMWs continues! I previously had an E36 M3 with 220k+ miles before it was t-boned at an intersection. The other bimmer is the stable is an E90 328i. The wife always wanted a MT X5 so here I am! Looks like there's still some activity here and plenty of information to dig through!

Obligatory pic below!

https://imgur.com/a/cNGcooc
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  #2  
Old 05-03-2021, 07:49 PM
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Nice on the MT that is very rare.

Stay ahead of the oil leaks you can get another 100k miles.
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Old 05-03-2021, 10:07 PM
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Welcome!!

Nice colour and wheels!

Rear camber looks quite high - watch the rear tyre wear on the insides....
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Old 05-03-2021, 10:52 PM
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Def keep eye on it you can use smart phone to measure the camber angle. 1-2° is spec and that won't cause inside tire wear. That is caused from loose ball joints (ask me how I know).

Although the m54 not well known for self destruct of chain guides I would put in a new OEM chain tensioner (speaking from the experience of changing chain guides on a couple m62tu).

My wife's e53 we just traded in after it blew out every oil seal due to the CCV backing up and pressurising the crankcase. So that's a biggie to avoid.
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Old 05-04-2021, 11:15 AM
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Thanks all! Is there a good test for loose ball joints that isn't measuring the camber angle? Can I lift the rear and feel it by moving the tires? What do you measure the camber angle against with your phone? Do you press your phone against the tire sidewall?

Oil leaks should be good for a while! The oil pan was done recently, and nothin visible on the valve cover so will just need to keep an eye.

Will have to add chain tensioner to the list! Right now I have DISA rebuild and belts to do. The previous owner already took care of the cooling system.
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Old 05-04-2021, 11:24 AM
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The CCV is probably the most important thing to check. Do you have any sludge under your valve cover cap? If you live in the warm parts of CA it might never be a problem, but if you're in the bay area, or if you drive a lot of short trips you may need to replace it. Cooler temps and short trips are what cause the sludge to form. If you see sludge and moisture under the oil cap, I would prioritize this over the DISA, unless that is showing signs as well.



The DISA rebuild is a good thing to do as well. Glad you have already got the cooling system done. Those three things (DISA, CCV, and cooling system) are all the major threats to the M54.



Glad to see another manual transmission X on the board. This car is quite the unicorn and only becoming more rare.
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Old 05-04-2021, 11:32 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bdc101 View Post
The CCV is probably the most important thing to check. Do you have any sludge under your valve cover cap? If you live in the warm parts of CA it might never be a problem, but if you're in the bay area, or if you drive a lot of short trips you may need to replace it. Cooler temps and short trips are what cause the sludge to form. If you see sludge and moisture under the oil cap, I would prioritize this over the DISA, unless that is showing signs as well.



The DISA rebuild is a good thing to do as well. Glad you have already got the cooling system done. Those three things (DISA, CCV, and cooling system) are all the major threats to the M54.



Glad to see another manual transmission X on the board. This car is quite the unicorn and only becoming more rare.
Sorry for the ignorance, but what would I be looking for under the oil cap? Is it that mayo like substance that I see clog up the CCV lines? Or just general dark sludge is a sign too? I will need to check the oil cap soon now!

I know there is a hose from the valve cover to the CCV but I'm worried on breaking the potentially brittle plastic to check on the state of sludge and then having to replace it all anyways .

Appreciate the tips, fingers crossed I can bring this car to above 300k+ miles! The shifter does feel just a bit on the sloppy side, but I'm not sure if that's how they feel, or if I need to look into rebuilding some of the shifter parts.
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Old 05-04-2021, 11:48 AM
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Yes, the stuff that looks like mayo. It won't be dark, it will look pretty much just like mayo. You will probably see it under the oil cap. Even if you don't, you should probably unplug a couple of vacuum hoses and check, because there will be more in the vacuum hoses and vacuum distributor (the big long plastic pipe that goes over the intake manifold) than in the valve cover. Pull off any hose that attaches to the vacuum distributor, and if you see any mayo inside then you need to do the CCV. Like Andrew said, that is one thing that can really mess up your engine.



When I bought my X about 5 years ago, my car came from the PNW, and my valve cover was almost totally clean underneath (except for right around the oil cap), but when I removed the CCV and all the vacuum components, I found that it was totally caked with mayo.



Fortunately it's not a terrible job to replace all the parts, and maybe only $250 or so to replace the CCV itself and all the affected vacuum lines and hoses.
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  #9  
Old 05-04-2021, 12:28 PM
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Hi! New 3.0 6MT Owner!

DISA can be rebuilt for 20¢. Find my thread showing exactly how. The plastic part that wears out can be replaced by some common 6-32 screw hardware and some heat shrink tubing. Literally better than new.

AWR-fix: repair DISA for 20¢
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/top...ink_source=app

I found the thread.

My car I bought the aluminum/titanium kit which is amazing but when I needed to fix wife's, I took it apart and quickly realized I could just make the broken part from parts on hand.
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Last edited by andrewwynn; 05-04-2021 at 12:51 PM.
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Old 05-04-2021, 12:46 PM
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You usually can't check for loose suspension joints when under tension; if you have air suspension you can pull the fuse/s and crack a line to let out the air and then you can check for play.

The easiest test is: wear on inside edge of rear tire. If it happens you have worn ball joint/s. (which can coincidentally increase your camber angle but it's not the cause of worn tires).

Here's a good video where to check for the most likely candidate for inner edge wear on BMW;.

https://youtu.be/rL_3U0Ui9j8

He was able to move the joint even with spring tension, he mentions the lower ball joint aka rose bushing which is the second most likely culprit to cause inner tire wear.

I have the problem on my car and will be replacing the upper control arms and as needed the rose bushing/s. I will post an awr-fix thread when I finally get to that
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