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

[workingonit]

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

I bought 12.9 rated bolts and nordlock washers so I could just torque to spec and get similar clamping force as using the torque to yield bolts.

Have you tried to turn the nut on top vs. the bolt from the bottom? I resize that may be impossible not a lot of working space.

IIRC there's not a lot of room above the plate to insert a wrench. I can't remember even if I used the open or boxed end on the nuts above the plate; it's been awhile, and I'm old, hahaha.


In another thread, I stated my belief that the previous owner had used his new Makita (or Harbor Freight...both are blue) cordless 1/2" impact on those fasteners, possibly with threadlocker added. Either of those impacts are much more powerful than my worn-out 25? year-old WEN 1/2" corded impact (couldn't even loosen lug bolts on the X5, as stated in yet another thread), so next time I try to loosen the stiffener plate bolts, I'll use a 4' cheater sleeve over my 4' breaker bar.

[andrewwynn]

Only 10mm bolt they will snap at about 150 ft·lb you won't need that big of a bar. They were likely over torqued use my trick I use for exhaust parts disassembly: turn clockwise.

I use my low profile through hole ratchet to hold the nut side it fits perfectly over the subframe bar.


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[Homerlovesbeer]

Looked for water ingress source........grr

[Bdc101]

I swapped on my Blizzaks - and I'm happy to report that I'm throwing away the crappy all-terrain tires that I have been using for the past 7+ years (Toyo Open Country). They are terrible tires and make the X feel like a truck. I am shopping for both new summer tires and new wheels. Currently I have been using Style 57s for both my summer and winter sets, but I'm looking on craigslist for something nicer - there's a set of Style 131s that need a paint job locally, or I'd take a set of style 58s or 130s too.



I also found the fuse that powers the 12v outlets in the car and replaced it. Been way too long since that has last worked.


Lastly, I bought a fixer-upper which is almost running (2010 Prius with a blown HG). Hopefully in a couple of weeks I can be driving that and I can put the X under the knife. I have two new giubos and a driveshaft spacer (from X5Chemist) that I need to put on, as well as some other deferred maintenance. I'm hopeful that the addition of a third car will go a long way towards keeping the X in top running shape. We were close to buying a diesel E70 recently, because we have to keep a tow vehicle around, but I kind of concluded that we should stick with "the devil you know." And with only 133k miles it hopefully has a lot of gas-guzzling life left.

[Henn28]

Originally Posted by Bdc101

I swapped on my Blizzaks - and I'm happy to report that I'm throwing away the crappy all-terrain tires that I have been using for the past 7+ years (Toyo Open Country). They are terrible tires and make the X feel like a truck. I am shopping for both new summer tires and new wheels. Currently I have been using Style 57s for both my summer and winter sets, but I'm looking on craigslist for something nicer - there's a set of Style 131s that need a paint job locally, or I'd take a set of style 58s or 130s too.



I also found the fuse that powers the 12v outlets in the car and replaced it. Been way too long since that has last worked.

Lastly, I bought a fixer-upper which is almost running (2010 Prius with a blown HG). Hopefully in a couple of weeks I can be driving that and I can put the X under the knife. I have two new giubos and a driveshaft spacer (from X5Chemist) that I need to put on, as well as some other deferred maintenance. I'm hopeful that the addition of a third car will go a long way towards keeping the X in top running shape. We were close to buying a diesel E70 recently, because we have to keep a tow vehicle around, but I kind of concluded that we should stick with "the devil you know." And with only 133k miles it hopefully has a lot of gas-guzzling life left.

Sounds like some fun under the X5. I wonder how many of us keep a third (or second if single) car to help keep the X5 on the road. In addition to my wife’s car and the X5, we keep my 93 grand Cherokee which gets maybe 400 miles annually and can be considered a whistling tin can of death at this point. I think about donating her occasionally, but then need to call her back to active duty. She’s never let me down tho when it comes to being available to run parts to the X5 somewhere, or drive while the X is on jacks, at the shop, etc.

On another note, is there a bushing r/r tool that will work on the rear diff bushings and the transmission/t-case bushing that anyone knows of? My diff will be coming out when I rebuild a donor with the LSD and might as well do the OE bushings. A t-case chain is also on the long term list and I’ve got that bushing laying around somewhere. If I’m going to by a specialty tool, I’d like one that will do all 4 bushings, and hopefully not break the bank.

[workingonit]

Originally Posted by Henn28

... I wonder how many of us keep a third (or second if single) car to help keep the X5 on the road. In addition to my wife’s car and the X5, we keep my 93 grand Cherokee which gets maybe 400 miles annually and can be considered a whistling tin can of death at this point. I think about donating her occasionally, but then need to call her back to active duty. She’s never let me down tho when it comes to being available to run parts to the X5 somewhere, or drive while the X is on jacks, at the shop, etc...

Regarding backup vehicles: my wife and I have 3, down from 4 a month ago; I never let go of my cars or trucks unless I have to. It's been that way for thirty years, ever since we moved to the sticks.

We bought a house 40 miles from her college, 35 miles from her part-time job (at that time), and 55 miles from my job (also 40 miles from either set of elderly parents, mine both in bad health, so we might need to get to them immediately). And, it seems, for thirty years, we seem to always travel widely separated from the other, so two primary and secondary vehicles (of varying capabilities) are desired.

We only had a vehicle apiece (an '86 Chevy S-10 for me, and an '85 Chrysler Lebaron 2.2l turbo for her), no spares, and if mine wouldn't run, at first, she'd stay home for that day, never the other way around, since I was required to be first-in and last-out at my work (and on-call 24/7/365). We had no friends, neighbors we knew well-enough, nor car rental businesses near enough, to get a spare vehicle on demand, thus the need for another car or two become obvious to me.

So, I started acquiring a second car for each of us, as that would eliminate the forced stay-at-home policy. It took awhile, as we were both newly divorced, after each of us divorced our exes that bankrupted us, separately. Short on cash for a bit, we were.

Since I was/am a life-long car-nut, my first back-up was a '66 Chevelle, which I'd drive occasionally to work (while it still was basically stock, with a 327 and 3.38 rear gears); but living a mile from a dragstrip, I soon started modifying the Chevelle to become faster to race it. Eventually, with a solid-lifter. 700+ hp 427, and a full-spool (no differential action) 4.88 rear gear (not to mention the 5-gallon fuel cell, and the race gas it needed), it became unusable as a backup car. I had already started restoring a '69 Chevy C-10, bought for a backup/tow truck for the Chevelle's trailer, so it became my daily driver, and the S-10 was our common backup.

Then, a large Oak tree fell on her Chrysler, and I bought her an '88 Pontiac Fiero (that she saw and fell in love with, and had to have). Along the way, her niece needed money and we bought her '92 Olds Achieva SC (with the Quad4 engine). Both of those were maintenance nightmares, so naturally I got another Chevy C-10 to restore and use as another backup/tow vehicle/project...see where I'm going with this story, yet?

Next, when my wife started "catastophe insurance adjusting", she wanted/needed a business/living space trailer for extended stays who-knows-where, an a truck to tow it with. Of course, my two old semi-restored C-10's weren't good enough, and she already had eyes on my racing team leader's '98 GMC, so we bought it.

I found good homes with racing associates for my C10's, after the S-10 got T-boned and I replaced it with a nearly-new '04 Chevy 2500HD (so the older trucks became expendable). About that same time, the wife used some of her insurance business money to buy an '08 Cobalt, and the Fiero and Achieva sat waiting for me to repair each (never happened...traded them to a tree-cutting service guy for removing several trees). Then, while using the '04 2500HD as my daily driver (also for camping and towing the race trailer), gas rose to $4 and I bought an '09 Chevy HHR Panel for my more economical daily driver.

Very long story made short: now both retired, not racing (nor even camping much, anymore), I traded the Chevelle for my X5 (bought specifically by my neighbor, at my request, to semi-restore prior to the straight-up swap). We ended-up with two GM trucks, two GM econoboxes, and my X5 project car...until I couldn't fix the Cobalt brakes to my wife's satisfaction.

With the Cobalt sitting unused for nearly 3 years, she was driving the HHR mostly (GMC pickup rarely), and fell upon a friend-of-a-friend's '14 Lexus ES 350 (55k miles) for sale. HAD TO HAVE IT. So, we sold the Cobalt to another friend-of-a-friend (a newly divorced mechanic in need), and used the proceeds to fix nagging problems on her GMC (new tires, brakes, A/C control unit). So now she's got a Lexus (primary) and the GMC (backup), and I have the 2500HD(my backup) and X5(my primary), both in dependable working order, so now the HHR has become expendable (but very handy for trips to the store).

You can never have too many spare vehicles, IMHO.

[Salty B.]

Originally Posted by workingonit

You can never have too many spare vehicles, IMHO.

The E53 IS my spare! I find myself driving it a lot more than its predecessor, a 1991 Volvo 240, because it's more fun and less bitchy.

Anyway, today I installed the NOS leather manual shift boot that's been sitting on my workbench aka dining table for two months. The old one was so nasty. Not cheap tho. Took 30 seconds.

Replaced the lower door lamps with these LED units from the hamazon. SO much better. Gonna upgrade all the interior lights next.

Also replaced both xenon headlight bulbs with 6000K ones, much better now, tho the driver's side is still dimmer than the other one. Maybe the igniter/ballast is fading? Could not believe how much cheaper these no-name Chinese ones are than Osram, $18 for two vs $80 for one. Jiminy!

[workingonit]

Originally Posted by Salty B.

The E53 IS my spare! I find myself driving it a lot more than its predecessor, a 1991 Volvo 240, because it's more fun and less bitchy....

The E53 was going to be my spare/project car, but it drives so nice I try to use it whenever I drive (not much, anymore, being retired but stuck at home with all our critters). I was going to use my HHR Panel as my basic transportation (it's very handy for shopping, utility trips, and for two-person transportation), use my 2500HD pickup for hauling or camping (it's set up for both, and only has room for two), and relegate the X5 for bad weather trips (ice or snow) or when my wife and I planned to take her parents out for dinner, occasionally, which I'd need more seats than my two vehicles (though my wifes' two vehicles have four or five). If I'm driving, I now want my X5!

When my wife's Cobalt went down three years ago, with a hard to solve brake/ABS problem, she took over the HHR Panel, and I started to use the X5 in its' place, and won't go back, now that she returned my HHR and got a used Lexus to replace the Cobalt. The X5 is sooo much better than the HHR! Actually, the X5 needs less work than the HHR now, after three years of my wife's driving it.

Coincidently, I had a '73 Volvo 142 (simple & reliable, basic... the only weakness was the primitive Bosch Jetronic F.I.), which one of my brothers "borrowed" and totalled (back in '79 or '80) Sad story: it was just one of three cars that my two brothers "borrowed" unknown from me, two were totalled and one seriously damaged, I wanted to press charges, but my parents begged me not to...so I got retribution in a physical manner, instead...never got any money back either...my brothers took me for six figures each, over the years. I still fondly reminisce about those three cars. I wish I had all of my departed favorites, listed in my signature!

Those 15 vehicles listed there are out of the 26 I have owned singly or personally, or shared with my brothers (yes, I actually gave them 3 other cars not listed, not the 3 "borrowed" ones), or with my wives (the 2 wives, not at the same time, hahaha, 4 cars not listed).

There were two more cars I don't count: 1) another '56 Chevy 2-dr post, I won and lost in poker games, on successive nights (I shouldn't have let the guy have a chance to get it back!), and 2) a '65 ChevyII 2-dr post, that I had bought to create a straight-axle altered race car out of, but never did, and traded the empty shell for racing parts for my Chevelle (PGlide/Transbrake, extra intakes & carburetors, a fiberglass hood, etc.).

[Bdc101]

I would have more cars except for how obscene insurance prices are these days. When I went to put the Prius on insurance, it was almost 2x as expensive for the same policy as my X! And the premiums on my other two cars didn't drop either, when I added the third vehicle. Every time I have added a third car to our two-driver household, the other two premiums have always dropped. Apparently that is no more.



Henn28, if you find the tool you are looking for, make sure to post it up here. I am planning to do rear subframe bushings but would like to do the rear diff bushings and a few others too. I would prefer to find a tool set that can handle them all without removing the subframe and differential.

[Henn28]

Originally Posted by Bdc101

I would have more cars except for how obscene insurance prices are these days. When I went to put the Prius on insurance, it was almost 2x as expensive for the same policy as my X! And the premiums on my other two cars didn't drop either, when I added the third vehicle. Every time I have added a third car to our two-driver household, the other two premiums have always dropped. Apparently that is no more.



Henn28, if you find the tool you are looking for, make sure to post it up here. I am planning to do rear subframe bushings but would like to do the rear diff bushings and a few others too. I would prefer to find a tool set that can handle them all without removing the subframe and differential.

Willdo...but no luck yet. It seems that there is definitely a bmw special tool, or perhaps two, for the diff bushings. There are two different sizes of bushings in the diff, a larger diameter one and two smaller diameter pieces. Or maybe I have that reversed.

I ordered the Lemforder kit from FCP and am hopeful a rental autozone bushing kit will take care of business. Of note there is a lubricant BMW calls for on these bushings, which Bentley refers to as "Circolight". Alternatively, it seems like some guys just use regular anti-seize. I'll try to get the specific stuff if its not too expensive.

Did a bit more work on the diff today and will update the overland thread.