What did you do to / for your E53 today??

[bradb]

I have been noticing some drive line noise when getting off the throttle and being in gear. On throttle the noise disappears. The transmission gear oil was replaced with Redline about 25k miles ago. I am preparing to change the transfer case and front and rear diffs which I have never done since purchased three years ago and about 30k miles.

Brad

[andrewwynn]

Wife's e53 was starting to do that, I suspected the front dif. We traded in the car before I dug into the source off the sound to confirm.

[bradb]

Thanks for the reply.

About how many miles did your wife's E53 have when you noticed? How often did you change drive line fluids?

Oh, and what did you trade it in for?

I apologize for so many questions.

Brad

[andrewwynn]

Started noticing some noise coasting maybe 180,000 miles. Traded in at about 193,000. Never changed any of the "lifetime" fluids.

Traded for 2012 e70 50i with 75,000.

[Bdc101]

Is the transfer case and differential fluid considered "lifetime?"


I have done the transmission and the rear diff, but not the front diff or transfer case yet. I am only at 115k miles though. Since I drive this thing so little that I forget about maintenance.

[srmmmm]

OEM differential and transfer case fluids are good for 100,000 miles. Coolant goes 7 years or 150,000 miles. Brake fluid 3 years or 30,000 miles.


I never changed transmission fluid in my 2002 E53, but it was equipped with the GM 5L40-E.

[BigLion]

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

Those are all actual weights taken off my e53. And yes definitely rear weight bias. For me my usual weight distribution is 1200 front corner and 1600 rear corner.

I have run the tires 32/39 like the door plate suggests which gets me 1200/32=37.5 in.² and 1600/39=41 in.² contact patches. I just installed brand new tires and with the way I drive I tend to scrub the outer edge of front tires I think I'm going to add a smidge of air.

1200/36=33.333 psi
1600/40=40 psi

1600/32=50 in.² (nine more in.²). Prob would be good for acceleration but not great for tread wear.

I increased the pressure of my rear tyres to 38 psi and it feels pretty solid - 34 on the front. Also for the contact area, the rear tyres are fatter than the fronts

[andrewwynn]

I have square setup but that doesn't matter. Contact patch is force (weight) / pressure. Wider tire just means less length front to back.

It's worth the $ to get a weight measurement on your truck to know what the axles weigh with a typical load then do a little math and see how big your contact patches are. It's not ideal to have exactly the same as more weight will be helpful to have more tread on the ground but if you like to corner fierce like I tend to, finding a balance that is not entirely understeer is a good thing.

[zener]

Yesterday... But anyways new front output shafts. Old one's where shot after 260 000km.

[guntherrex]

new K127's make a BIG difference in handling and road noise

unfortuntely the wronmg clutch fan was delivered so that project is postponed... new HID ballast and lamp fitted and thermostat replaced for a 105 degrees one.