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

[mgbmwx5]

Originally Posted by jwilb4

I ordered a head gasket, of which there were only two in Costa Rica, to replace the one that is cracked which lead to water in cylinder number 4. It has NOT been a good week.

Wow that sucks. How did you detect the blown head gasket? Was it blowing white smoke?

[jwilb4]

Originally Posted by mgbmwx5

Wow that sucks. How did you detect the blown head gasket? Was it blowing white smoke?

Yeah. It was the end of a 3 hour road trip. Car felt fine. Temp needle never moved above half way (where it always is). Never felt a loss of power while I was on the highway but when I got into town and was sitting at a stoplight, I noticed the dreaded white smoke. We tore it town on Friday, measured the head gasket and it was slightly warped (3 thousandths of an inch). Fingers crossed all weekend but they pressure tested it this morning and it has a crack inside, next to cylinder #4. Honestly, I've been expecting something like this would happen ever since I bought the car. That's the only thing that kept me from losing it!

[mgbmwx5]

Originally Posted by jwilb4

Yeah. It was the end of a 3 hour road trip. Car felt fine. Temp needle never moved above half way (where it always is). Never felt a loss of power while I was on the highway but when I got into town and was sitting at a stoplight, I noticed the dreaded white smoke. We tore it town on Friday, measured the head gasket and it was slightly warped (3 thousandths of an inch). Fingers crossed all weekend but they pressure tested it this morning and it has a crack inside, next to cylinder #4. Honestly, I've been expecting something like this would happen ever since I bought the car. That's the only thing that kept me from losing it!

Man, So now you'll be looking for a new head. How many miles on your X? Did they find any antifreeze in the oil, crankcase?

[jwilb4]

Originally Posted by mgbmwx5

Man, So now you'll be looking for a new head. How many miles on your X? Did they find any antifreeze in the oil, crankcase?

Only 81,000. I've only had it for 5 months. Called the dealership in San Jose. A new one would be $3,564. I found two used ones. One guy wanted $2,400. Not gonna happen. Second guy wants $1,100. Looks like that's the only feasible option at this point. It's a pretty hard "spare" part to come by here. Thankfully there was no coolant in the oil or crankcase.

[mgbmwx5]

Originally Posted by jwilb4

Only 81,000. I've only had it for 5 months. Called the dealership in San Jose. A new one would be $3,564. I found two used ones. One guy wanted $2,400. Not gonna happen. Second guy wants $1,100. Looks like that's the only feasible option at this point. It's a pretty hard "spare" part to come by here. Thankfully there was no coolant in the oil or crankcase.

That's a relief re: oil. $1,100 doesn't sound too bad, have it inspected before you buy it, make sure it's solid. I was looking around eBay for you and found these heads, I hope this helps:
BMW X5 3.0 head | eBay

[jwilb4]

Originally Posted by mgbmwx5

That's a relief re: oil. $1,100 doesn't sound too bad, have it inspected before you buy it, make sure it's solid. I was looking around eBay for you and found these heads, I hope this helps:
BMW X5 3.0 head | eBay

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately mine is the M57 (3.0 turbo diesel). I'd fly back to the states for one that was only $350, but from what I understand they didn't start selling diesel X5s in the states until much later...

[mgbmwx5]

Originally Posted by jwilb4

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately mine is the M57 (3.0 turbo diesel). I'd fly back to the states for one that was only $350, but from what I understand they didn't start selling diesel X5s in the states until much later...

My bad, sorry about that. You may want to try some of the dismantlers in CA. This is the only diesel head I was able to find, unfortunately in the UK.

BMW X5, M57 , E53, 306D1, BARE ENGINE HEAD BLOCK ONLY | eBay

[ants_oz]

Originally Posted by jwilb4

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately mine is the M57 (3.0 turbo diesel). I'd fly back to the states for one that was only $350, but from what I understand they didn't start selling diesel X5s in the states until much later...

Try UK breakers. Diesel engine X5's are the norm over there.

[four.8is]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

Finished bringing my X to a swirl free result at 11 years old:
I would take full pics later but I figured the close up would show the correction better!

looking good RB, my friend just finished my X as well..
he advised to maintain the buff that I should hand wax it at least once a month...
On a side note, does anyone know how to remove dents ? Is it possible to do it yourself or do I have to take it in and pay 30-40$ per dent?

[four.8is]

Originally Posted by thrillcat

Something to keep in mind, the way I understand it, by doing what I did to the lenses, I've stripped off the UV coating, so they will now worsen faster. I'm looking at methods of recoating them now to avoid having to do this 2/3 times a year.

you are correct.use a sealant or lamin-x them.