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  #21  
Old 01-13-2025, 12:14 PM
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Sorry to hear you got sick. Hopefully didn’t ruin a trip to London. It’s been a bad end of the year for colds in our house too.

Is it the bolt that holds the two parts of the driveshaft together that is the trouble? Mine was very tight, but I was finally able to move it, one or two mm at a time with a crescent wrench, force the halves apart with a pry bar a tiny bit to make more room, rinse and repeat for a long time. There is supposed to be a small “shim” around the spline end according to TIS. I never found one, or maybe it popped off and flew into the bushes when the halves finally came apart. You probably know this already, but the shaft is balanced as a unit, so mark the halves before breaking it apart, and TIS calls for loctite on the bolt during re-assembly.

Is the center bearing not available any longer? I just did that job a year ago and don’t recall a problem finding it.

The M62 I’m rebuilding did come out of my e53. It had low compression on two cylinders, but so far everything measures to spec, so I’m thinking it was the heads causing that. They are getting a valve job and clean-up. I’d really like to get the motor on a stand a run it before putting it in a new project as I want to check my work for reliability, and figure out a good tune for a 4.4 with 4.6 cams.
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  #22  
Old 01-15-2025, 06:22 PM
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Correct spline stub appeared in the mail :-)

The trip to the UK went ok but for NYE and New Years day we were not able to go out and see anything. Was still not too bad as we had rented a nice cottage and we just stayed in and celebrated NY.

I split the rear drive shaft with an 18mm ratchet wrench which fit in the opening, but only just. With a jack stand under the rear half of the shaft I could break the bolt loose. Getting the old bearing off was a minute with a pneumatic hammer. First supplier I ordered the center bearing from got back with a two week back order. Second lot has not yet responded, we shall see.

The correct spline stub dropped in the mail today and tomorrow I will go to Baltimore to get it welded at one of the few surviving drive shaft shops.

Today I wrestled the radiators (and aux fan) back in place and hooked up the hoses. Filled the coolant and the power steering reservoir. It's amazing how fast the pile of parts shrunk once I put all the stuff back that I removed at the start of disassembly. I forgot to replace the o-rings on the oil lines going in to the OFH despite having them sitting ready, ugh. So, another bit of work tomorrow. Also need to connect the oil level sensor and starter motor wires. Given the wait for parts I will try bake open my modded headlights, I want to put in some better projectors for the low beams and instail a proper set for the high beams. Looks like it will take me until the end of the month to get done with this.

EDIT: Pulled up at the supposed location of A-1 Driveshaft Co in Baltimore only to find a freshly constructed coffee outlet. Their second location in Hyattsville had also closed. A call to a transmission builder in Baltimore rendered the name of a truck repair company with drive shaft facilities. The good folks at Middleton & Meads were hesitant on the phone when I used the BMW name but a look in person convinced the drive shaft builder that I didn't need anything exotic, 45 minutes later walked out with the weld done and dusted.

The OEM center support bearing is currently out of stock all over the place. I bought a no brand item in Florida and will keep my fingers crossed. An alternative is a Febi branded item from a supplier in the UK but the shipping almost doubled the price and not sure it would be better than what I am getting now. So, I will try order an original once supply comes back online and just pray the one I bought holds up for a couple of months. Another option is just to buy the ball bearing but the rubber on my original is not looking too fresh. The saga continues.

EDIT-2: The rubber on my center support bearing is still in good condition. So, I measured the dimensions of the bearing and found the SKF equivalent for sale for $15. Depending on a) what the "no brand" looks like and b) how the insert of the new bearing in the old center support goes, I will decide which one to install on the X5.

However, I'm off to Vermont for a week of ski with the kids, all this will have to wait until I get back. Put two new tires on the front of my Tundra and greased the drive shaft. Cover 600 miles and cross half a dozen states to get there tomorrow evening. Temperature should be crisp and snow will be good! Can't wait to get on the slopes a year on from the Whistler adventure last year. :-)
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2003 4.4i black ext./black int./black headliner (kid's runabout)
2014 535d X-drive, M package, silver/black interior

Sold but not forgotten:
2009 E70 35d, black ext./black int./black headliner (sold 2021)
2006 4.8iS Le Mans blue/cream int./black headliner, SOLD in 2012 sadly...

Other hardware:
2015 Cayenne S (wife's new DD and definitely wroooommmmm)
2016 Tundra 1794 edition crew cab, luxo hauler
2005 Tundra crew cab, weekend hauler. Sold after 150k very happy miles.

Last edited by TriX5; 01-19-2025 at 09:53 PM. Reason: The follow-on
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  #23  
Old 01-27-2025, 03:19 PM
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Installed the front and main drive shafts.

I'm back, VT was great but my truck was covered in a gross layer of salt and mud. After dousing my truck with copious amounts of water to get the salt off (including a sprinkler under the truck), I got back to wrenching the X5 yesterday afternoon. The drive shafts are on again and now I need to go back out and install the heat shields and the exhaust.

I used the non-branded CSB as it seems decent quality. If any issues the CSB is not that hard to replace. The front shaft was welded about 1/16 longer than I had specified which made getting the spacer back in a real puzzle but eventually I found a way to move the guibo, the thin plate centralizer and the spacer in such a way that I could get it all back in place. Few....I thought I was going to need to cut the splines by a 1/16" but somehow it worked out.
__________________
2003 4.4i black ext./black int./black headliner (kid's runabout)
2014 535d X-drive, M package, silver/black interior

Sold but not forgotten:
2009 E70 35d, black ext./black int./black headliner (sold 2021)
2006 4.8iS Le Mans blue/cream int./black headliner, SOLD in 2012 sadly...

Other hardware:
2015 Cayenne S (wife's new DD and definitely wroooommmmm)
2016 Tundra 1794 edition crew cab, luxo hauler
2005 Tundra crew cab, weekend hauler. Sold after 150k very happy miles.
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  #24  
Old 01-29-2025, 07:22 PM
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So close....

After getting the drive shafts installed it was time to start up the engine. I thought it was going to be a long crank but it to about a second and half for her to fire up. I added almost 10 quarts of trans fluid so I guess the torque converter was pretty empty when I put it back in. The trans engages all gears and so I am hopeful the new clutch cage replacement worked and nothing else is wrong. Popped the stiffening plate back on and completed the items under the hood. When I put it in reverse the odd noise reminded me to tighten the giant bolt in the transmission mount.

I used the remainder of a 3M headlight restoration kit to improve the OEM units. Haven't got around to working on my modded units. Tomorrow I am expecting some harness tape as the headlight wires are bare. The last item under the car will be to drain and fill the rear diff, not strictly necessary but since I already did all the other fluids I might as well complete the routine.

Also tomorrow I will dig out the winter tires and give them a little clean and check the balance. (A bit late to put them on but Punxsutawney Phil hasn't opined yet.... :-) By the weekend it should be ready to drive and next week my daughter will hopefully use it to get to college four times a week.
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2003 4.4i black ext./black int./black headliner (kid's runabout)
2014 535d X-drive, M package, silver/black interior

Sold but not forgotten:
2009 E70 35d, black ext./black int./black headliner (sold 2021)
2006 4.8iS Le Mans blue/cream int./black headliner, SOLD in 2012 sadly...

Other hardware:
2015 Cayenne S (wife's new DD and definitely wroooommmmm)
2016 Tundra 1794 edition crew cab, luxo hauler
2005 Tundra crew cab, weekend hauler. Sold after 150k very happy miles.
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