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

[LVP]

Finally caved. Needed valve cover gaskets, valve stem seals, and RMS. The RMS has been leaking since I got her at around 180,000km. She's at around 420,000km now. The stem seals were hard as rocks. I had a shop in Burlington, ON do it - a guy I know/trust. Plus a lot of "while you're in there". She's back now after a week or so in the shop with a new lease on life. Ready to tow some sleds

[omodos]

Originally Posted by wpoll

This task rose to the top of my list in the last few days, with a couple of near non-start situations. Couldn't put it off any longer...

Removed the starter (easy to say than to do!!) out the via bottom after removing the transmission under-shield. The alloy sub-frame reinforcing plate stays in place. It took two long extensions and two universal joints, making a tool over 1m long!! Dr Suess, I believe Andrew would say... This was inserted from behind the transfer case, over the top of it, alongside the transmission and then (via the universals) up onto the starter bolts at the top edge of the bell-housing. Fun...

(censored swearing happens here)

The "rebuild" of the starter was very straight forward, with no parts needed, just a damn good clean and re-grease. Couldn't exactly diagnose what caused the high current draw and slow operation - possibly a combination of old, dried grease mixed with a small amount of carbon dust from the (barely even worn) brushes and said carbon dust shorting the segments of the commutator. Anywho, once it was all cleaned down (using the only spend on this job - a $12 can of CRC non-flamable parts cleaner), greased correctly and re-assembled, bench testing showed it to perform well, so back into the car it went.

(more swearing happens here)

Moment of truth, holding my breath.... Wow!! This thing now spins up so fast and the engine is running almost instantly! Very pleased... esp. since the OE Bosch starter could probably last a million kms if serviced occasionally, it's so darn well made. Can't actually say if it's better than the aftermarket options but I'm betting it is...

You are the man, this ISSUE caused me grief for years indeed was a known issue with alternator, on each crank eventually draining more current....i got it swapped out with aftermarket, could not be without car if i had gone for revuild otpion, the old one is in a box now...

[X5chemist]

Originally Posted by omodos

You are the man, this ISSUE caused me grief for years indeed was a known issue with alternator, on each crank eventually draining more current....i got it swapped out with aftermarket, could not be without car if i had gone for revuild otpion, the old one is in a box now...

I replaced mine with a Bosch during a coolant pipe refresh. Preventative maintenance. The new starter spins the motor up fast. The OEM one is in a box. I was going to take it to a shop and donate it as a core. Now, I'm tempted to open it up and inspect it. It still worked find. If it doesn't have small pieces that I need 8 hands top put back together, I'll take a stab at it.

[Henn28]

Originally Posted by omodos

You are the man, this ISSUE caused me grief for years indeed was a known issue with alternator, on each crank eventually draining more current....i got it swapped out with aftermarket, could not be without car if i had gone for revuild otpion, the old one is in a box now...

No kidding….great work. I now wish I had my OE starter to try to rebuild. But it died in the grocery store parking garage a year or two ago. Had to get the X5 towed to my house. I was pleasantly surprised that the Oreillys near my house had a rebuilt Bosch in stock, but I turned my old one in.

[EODguy]

The Witch decided to suck in a semi-tractor tire tread at 120 (RF) at 0415. I now have a dicked-up front valance, a dripping leak from the transmission cooler and a driving light removed from the backside along with a super ventilated inner fender liner...

On the plus side I can now reach in and replace a driving light without tools..


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[80stech]

At least it didn't trigger all your air bags!

[EODguy]

Originally Posted by 80stech

At least it didn't trigger all your air bags!

Hell, I almost triggered the airbag with a punch to the horn...

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[TriX5]

I needed a set of 18s for my F10 winter wheels. So, decided to sand down the 74s one more time. The F10 is silver and I always wanted to see how the 74s would look in a mid-gray metallic. Quite like the way they came out. Here they are, I need to take a picture with them on the car. Not strictly E53 news but hey, the 74s did come off my X5. :-)

[andrewwynn]

F10 & e53 share the same hub? I have a full set of e53 wheels from my e53 and wife has an f10. Hmmm.

Problem is they also have e53 size tires on them.

[TriX5]

Yes indeed, they are the same hub bore but you need at least 15mm spacers otherwise the wheel inner edge doesn't clear. My F10 has IS33 wheels and the 74s are IS48. I'm running mine with 20mm.