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

[TriX5]

In an effort to eliminate a clunking noise in the front end, I replaced a bunch of stuff which finally took care of a problem that had been worsening since the spring. I now have a set of front shocks (Bilstein Touring) that have about 60k miles on them and seem to still work fine. I'd guess they would last another 40k at least.

Willing to donate them to a good cause, maybe somebody resurrecting an e53? Can be picked up in Bethesda, MD or I can ship to recipient at their cost.

[zuvarak]

Engine oil change
1 diesel injector was restored (before sending the car off to get an oil change at my indy, I noticed that injector corrections were way off with 1st cyl value being 4+) Restoration went well and injector values are pretty good now and the car seems to run a lot better.
Turbo intake pipe was also changed (had a 1.5cm long hole)
Rear wishbones were changed. This was spot on as the car had too much negative camber before. Looks much better now and doesn't squeak anymore over bumps.

[guntherrex]

I had one foggy headlight, so since I've been home after a surgery walking around like a zombie, I decided to try and fix it. I had a turtle wax kit that I used on the real lights but that didn't really get the cloudy bits out, so I had the remnants on another cheap set that had a coating that wouldn't cure, so i sanded the light with 800-1200-2000 grit, then polished and finished off with the turtle wax kit. Came out allright though I made a boo boo with the UV coating so that will be repeated soon.

Also tried a polishing machine I got a long time ago to tackle some scratches on the hood, not perfect but 80% reduced. Small battery powered polishers are absolutely woefully incapable of tackling any size of car.... so just did two sections and let the puny thing cool off before it would burst into flames

[nick325xit 5spd]

Originally Posted by guntherrex

I had one foggy headlight, so since I've been home after a surgery walking around like a zombie, I decided to try and fix it. I had a turtle wax kit that I used on the real lights but that didn't really get the cloudy bits out, so I had the remnants on another cheap set that had a coating that wouldn't cure, so i sanded the light with 800-1200-2000 grit, then polished and finished off with the turtle wax kit. Came out allright though I made a boo boo with the UV coating so that will be repeated soon.

The 3M headlight polishing kit is pretty good. Comes with actual sandings discs and then polish. My experience is that the UV coatings aren't *that* beneficial. You're going to have to re-do eventually no matter what, and they can be finicky to put on.

Also tried a polishing machine I got a long time ago to tackle some scratches on the hood, not perfect but 80% reduced. Small battery powered polishers are absolutely woefully incapable of tackling any size of car.... so just did two sections and let the puny thing cool off before it would burst into flames

I just picked up the Milwaukee M18 orbital polisher. Thanks to delivery issues, I didn't get to try it on my pickup like I wanted to, but I'm looking forward to testing that out. All of the reports that I've seen were positive enough that it was a coin toss between that and the Rupes.

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by guntherrex

I had one foggy headlight, so since I've been home after a surgery walking around like a zombie, I decided to try and fix it. I had a turtle wax kit that I used on the real lights but that didn't really get the cloudy bits out, so I had the remnants on another cheap set that had a coating that wouldn't cure, so i sanded the light with 800-1200-2000 grit, then polished and finished off with the turtle wax kit. Came out allright though I made a boo boo with the UV coating so that will be repeated soon.

Also tried a polishing machine I got a long time ago to tackle some scratches on the hood, not perfect but 80% reduced. Small battery powered polishers are absolutely woefully incapable of tackling any size of car.... so just did two sections and let the puny thing cool off before it would burst into flames

Best way to go on the headlights is use the 3m kit, then, instead of the UV coating, spray them with high gloss. I used this stuff: https://www.amazon.com/Spray-Refinis...%2C137&sr=8-13

It works great and has held up very well and doesn't yellow. It's a two part material, so it is the same as what the body shops are using.

[nick325xit 5spd]

Originally Posted by Fifty150hs

Best way to go on the headlights is use the 3m kit, then, instead of the UV coating, spray them with high gloss. I used this stuff: https://www.amazon.com/Spray-Refinis...%2C137&sr=8-13

It works great and has held up very well and doesn't yellow. It's a two part material, so it is the same as what the body shops are using.

I'm just going to point out that I polished my in-law's E53 (now confiscated and sold to a friend) several years ago. It has been outside essentially the entire time since, and the headlights still look fine. I think that people over-value the whole UV protection aspect. It's not clear that this is worth it vs. maybe having to polish the lights again in 3-5 years.

Edit: I harp on this point because I have had many people tell me that they don't want to polish their badly faded / yellowed lights because they think it'll just come back immediately without some kind of protection. So they live with screwed lights instead of fixing it.

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by nick325xit 5spd

I'm just going to point out that I polished my in-law's E53 (now confiscated and sold to a friend) several years ago. It has been outside essentially the entire time since, and the headlights still look fine. I think that people over-value the whole UV protection aspect. It's not clear that this is worth it vs. maybe having to polish the lights again in 3-5 years.

If you shoot the lights with the 2 part clear after polishing them you won't have to repolish them in 3 to 5 years.

[nick325xit 5spd]

Originally Posted by Fifty150hs

If you shoot the lights with the 2 part clear after polishing them you won't have to repolish them in 3 to 5 years.

Most folks just won't do this. My experience has been that a meaningful fraction think it's necessary to the point where they won't polish their lights at all because they can't "do it right."

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by nick325xit 5spd

Most folks just won't do this. My experience has been that a meaningful fraction think it's necessary to the point where they won't polish their lights at all because they can't "do it right."

Their loss.

[Clavurion]

UV light is still the worst enemy on polycarbonate or acrylic. Either use polishing compound and then sealer like Nanolex Si3D Headlight (won't grind the worst imperfections but the factory coating stays mostly intact). Or sand them thru the factory coating and then 2K clearcoat with plastic base.

I've read mixed reviews on the quality of those SprayMax products. I think this is better but don't know the availabity in the US. CLICK