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

[EODguy]

Got 50% of the parts....

Missing struts/bearings, PS hose and sway bar bushings!!

I will probably replace the front guibo too!

FML!

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[andrewwynn]

Giubo :-).

(I have to look it up every time myself to remember iu or UI).

A giubo (/ˈdʒuːboʊ/ JOO-boh; etymology: giunto Boschi, "Boschi joint"), also known as a 'flexdisc', and sometimes* misspelled as guibo.

*I would suggest either often or usually vs. sometimes.

Also people usually try to pronounce in English and say gweeboh or similar. Once you know it's painful.

[andrewwynn]

Giubo :-).

(I have to look it up every time myself to remember iu or UI).

A giubo (/ˈdʒuːboʊ/ JOO-boh; etymology: giunto Boschi, "Boschi joint"), also known as a 'flexdisc', and sometimes* misspelled as guibo.

*I would suggest either often or usually vs. sometimes.

Also people usually try to pronounce in English and say gweeboh or similar. Once you know it's painful.

[Henn28]

Things that should be super easy on the BMW turn out to be such a hassle sometimes. Space limitations, brittle plastic, crazy engineering, you name it and what should be a 15 min job turns out to be a pain.

My right front headlight bracket has been broken for some time and the light hasn’t been very secure as a result. I made a parts order a few weeks go and along with a right front door airbag, replacement gaskets/seals for 3 of the 6 roof rail attach point seals and a new fan clutch with the new fan it goes with, I ordered the headlight “tray” or bracket as BMW calls it.

Headlight pops out easily enough, which allows me to also fix the small painted trim piece below the headlight which has had a broken plastic clip for ever.

The bracket is only held in by two dinky 8mm screws, which is surprising. I popped it in and then found that the headlight wouldn’t slide in and engage the bracket in all the right places. There are three tabs on the bottom of the light that slide into slots on the bracket. Only one went easily and the other two needed persuasion. The light screws into the bracket in two spots…one is easy to get to (left side) and the holes were aligned, but the right side is under the power steering reservoir of course, and won’t line up.



Pic of the new bracket installed. Note two small screws in front…these are all that hold the assembly to the car. Note too the dust on the bracket. Likely it was sitting on a shelf in Germany for 20 years!



My next move is to pull it back out and mount the bracket to the light before installing it. Hopefully it will fit into the car as a unit. More to follow.


….it’s in. It wouldn’t fit as a single unit, but taking it out, fitting the bracket and seeing where it needed persuasion helped a lot. Should have learned this lesson before now.

I put the bracket in and threaded the screws just a couple turns, leaving enough movement in the bracket to tweak it and get the headlight to engage the slots on the bracket. One more project down.

[Salty B.]

Originally Posted by Henn28

I put the bracket in and threaded the screws just a couple turns, leaving enough movement in the bracket to tweak it and get the headlight to engage the slots on the bracket. One more project down.

Mine was missing half the bracket on the left side. $20 on ebay for a used one.

I have had that left headlight out of the car at least six times. First to replace the cloudy lens cover with a new Chinesium one from ebay. I thought I did a good job of sealing it to the housing with fresh butyl mastic. But apparently not, as water would get in. Baked it and re-sealed it a few weeks ago with clear RTV. Thought that fixed it.

Nope. Been pretty rainy here, and now water is back inside. I don't really want to glob on more RTV, so what other entry points might there be? These are xenons. The high-beam socket has a thick rubber seal, but none of the others do besides than the twist-on collar or receptacle. The little rubber vent tube is pointing downwards and is not clogged; there was a little crumbly foam in there that I removed.

I could pull these headlights blindfolded now...

[andrewwynn]

Helped somebody refurbish a light the other day we filled the assembly with water to check for leaks (then oven to dehydrate). You could pressurize and use soap spray.

Hint: you said crumbly foam that might be key to keep water out. Open cell foam so only air no water gets through.

[Salty B.]

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

Helped somebody refurbish a light the other day we filled the assembly with water to check for leaks (then oven to dehydrate). You could pressurize and use soap spray.

Hint: you said crumbly foam that might be key to keep water out. Open cell foam so only air no water gets through.

Very possible! I will pull it again once it dries out here and bake it again, and try stuffing open-cell foam in there (we have plenty at work). Might as well run another bead of RTV around the lens while it's out... that vent tube behind the turn indicator is pointing to the rear and down but maybe there's some weird aerodynamics going on at speed blowing water in there on wet days.

[andrewwynn]

Originally Posted by Salty B.

Very possible! I will pull it again once it dries out here and bake it again, and try stuffing open-cell foam in there (we have plenty at work). Might as well run another bead of RTV around the lens while it's out... that vent tube behind the turn indicator is pointing to the rear and down but maybe there's some weird aerodynamics going on at speed blowing water in there on wet days.

The Bernoulli effect can play really funky things. Best example: put a piece of paper in your hand with hand cupped slightly. Blow over the top and the paper will come right back at you.

I like the idea of using air pressure and soap spray to find leak.

[wpoll]

Once more into the Frey...

[80stech]

Looks like it could use a bit of lube