X5 Has A Bunch Of Problems, Need Some Input...

[SLK_X5]

Hey Everyone, I had some Problems with my 2004 E53 3.0i and I need some help with them:

1.) Major Water Leak in driver side foot well: I read all over the forum and the net about our sunroof drain problems, So I took it apart and found that the drain tube on the Driver Side A pillar was kinked so I fixed it and I tried pouring some water down the side of the open sunroof gutter and what do you know, I have water coming off of the corner of the sunroof cassette as located here by PTE: http://www.xoutpost.com/503062-post8.html

Now the problem is that when the sunroof is closed and it rains I don't have a noticeable problem but when I pour water down the area Then I get leakage on both sides in the same area of the sunroof. Is this a design flaw? Should I Silicone the mess out of it or leave it lingering with the possible future problems? If anyone has tried pouring water in the corners as I have please let me know if you had the same result.

2.) Front Left Suspension Crunch when going over bumps: I had a dump truck driver run me out of my lane which and lightly brushed the median barrier, the problem was that my front left tire popped sending the entire spindle backwards breaking my front left suspension. I had it fixed under insurance but they can't seem to figure out what the crunch is after bringing it back two times already.

3.) 4WD question: I don't know if this is normal but my two front wheels spin independently meaning when I secure one the other one still spins free or I can spin them both the same direction when up in the air (Noticed When Changing the Brakes), is that normal? My 325xi has all 4 wheels locked so none of them spin freely when independently raised and spun. I hope it goes into RWD and jumps into 4WD when wheel spin is detected.

If needed I could record the crunch with my highly sensitive microphone recorder and post it up too.

I'm going to bring it back under warranty for the suspension issues this friday so any input would help a great deal.

Thanks for the Input,
~Vic

[SLK_X5]

Can Anyone Throw Me An Idea?? Anyone? I'm really stumped.

[SLK_X5]

I did figure out that we have variable torque split on the 04+ models but that still does not answer the independent wheel spin aspect of it.

For the suspension issues I did check all of the rubber bushings for play and really didn't see anything that looked out of the ordinary. I think when the spindle was dislocated I had a Stabilizer and a bent tie rod end replaced. Sounds kind of like a tennis ball in the plastic container bouncing back and forth.

[JCL]

Your 325 is the same as your X5 with respect to the wheels spinning.

When it is lifted and in neutral, you can spin either or both wheels. That is because the driveshaft is spinning freely.

If the driveshaft can't spin (such as when it is in park) then spinning one wheel will spin the other wheel in the opposite direction.

It doesn't ever go in rwd, it is always in awd. Only the torque split changes.

[SLK_X5]

Originally Posted by JCL

Your 325 is the same as your X5 with respect to the wheels spinning.

When it is lifted and in neutral, you can spin either or both wheels. That is because the driveshaft is spinning freely.

If the driveshaft can't spin (such as when it is in park) then spinning one wheel will spin the other wheel in the opposite direction.

It doesn't ever go in rwd, it is always in awd. Only the torque split changes.

Thanks for the response JCL,

So It looks like I have a problem then. I had a feeling that was the way it worked as in the 325xi. In park I can spin them in any direction individually, specifically when I was changing the brakes and rotors, i noticed that when I had one wheel up in the air using a hydraulic jack in the front that it would spin freely on both front sides.

Now the question becomes do I have possible front diff damage, or something else?

Trying to get an understanding as to how it is linked up, my thoughts are mid transmission connected to transfer case which has both a front and rear drive shaft coming out going into a differential in the front and rear?

O Boy I hope I don't have to do this: BMW TIS - 31 50 000 Removing and installing / replacing front differential (M54)

[SLK_X5]

So now its at the dealership and their tech tells me that the front can do that but the back can't?? OK this is getting strange... Must do some more research.

[SLK_X5]

So after bringing to Paul Miller BMW in Wayne and their Body Shop (Which is The Worst to Deal With), the Third time they tell me it's the front left ball joint. The funny part is that this was replaced when the car was repaired. When it was under warranty 3 months ago for the same problem they replaced a bunch of other things which made the problem worse now all of a sudden when its out of warranty they tell me its the ball joint??

An important note is that BMW provides a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty on their parts.

The part that really got me annoyed was when he said that the insurance company would not cover them anyway since they have to be replaced every 2 years??? The car was only driven 2000 miles since the 2nd time I brought it there and less then 10,000 highway miles total!! I guess it was my mistake for not being able to bring it back a couple of dozen times more while it was under warranty lol.

I've only got 48,000 miles on the truck, is this a common problem? If so how hard is it to just do myself? BTW, I know he was BSing me about the 2 year replacement talk.

Update: Now I understand that the Ball joint is just a generic name for a Tie Rod End? Is that correct?

Thanks Guys!!

[flatlander]

There are more than one ball joint on each front wheel assembly. There's one in the steering knuckle, for the forward thrust arm. Theres one include in the wishbone arm. There's one in the tie rod end. And technically there are two in the sway bar link.

The most likely one to cause problems is the wishbone or rear control arm ball joint. The forward thrust arm ball joint is also a possibility but in my experience it's only failed a third as much as the wishbone ball joint.

[SLK_X5]

Originally Posted by flatlander

There are more than one ball joint on each front wheel assembly. There's one in the steering knuckle, for the forward thrust arm. Theres one include in the wishbone arm. There's one in the tie rod end. And technically there are two in the sway bar link.

The most likely one to cause problems is the wishbone or rear control arm ball joint. The forward thrust arm ball joint is also a possibility but in my experience it's only failed a third as much as the wishbone ball joint.

Thanks For The Reply flatlander

I think that makes much more sense, I had an issue with them saying what it seems to me like a tie rod end because the crunch was very consistent with areas of the road that are not level regardless if I was turning left, right, or going straight. So in my opinion it had to have some weight on it to flex and cause that noise. I have to check and see if that is what they are talking about and see if I had them changed or not.


Is there any distinguishing feature to look for to get a better idea of the cause? like a mark or broken rubber?

[SLK_X5]

Is this what you are referring to?

Thanks Again