E53 Blower unit replacement

[tobymueller]

Does anyone have any information on replacing the blower unit on the 2002 X5? I had it tested today and found that the motor was dead. I am hoping that I can DIY it and not have to pay the dealership $1400. In my case, it was not the FSU.

Does anyone have any experience with this? From what I understand, the dash has to come off. Is there a way to go in from the engine compartment?

Also, would it be helpful to purchase a Bentley manual? It may come in handy.

[amacman]

The dashboard needs to come oot I`m afraid . 5 hour job . forum member wally X5 did the diy , reckons he could do it faster next time . I let a dealer have the job of replacing my unit under warranty .
Bently manual is a must have .
this link to BMW TIS my help a bit BMW TIS Online • 5' E53 • X5 4.4i (M62) Offroad • Heating and Air Conditioning • heater with operation


and a link to another thread showing pics .http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...se-heater.html

[wallyx5]

You can do this job if you have a Bentley manual and some time on your hands. There is really nothing too challenging about the job other than there is alot of steps that need to be taken to get it all the way off.

I can report back that I do not have any creaks or groans from my dash, which was my greatest concern. $ 1400.00 is a lot of change....what is your time worth. That's what you will have to determine. Good luck, we are here to help.

[imalabil]

Need to do this on my X5, just did it on my Suburban: Cost $73 for the Delphi part and about 1/2 hour of my labor. There are a host of really great things about the X5, but replaceability of the blower moter isn't one of them.

Bill

[Zulu95]

If you plan on doing this or even if having it done check for other common failure item that require dash removal and do them while you are in there.
I once had to have my Explorer dash out and had my indy pull the heater core and replace it just in case. He noticed it had possible future failure points once he had the core out and it would have been only a matter of time until I was paying for the 10 hour R/R for the dash again.

[oztme]

Originally Posted by wallyx5

You can do this job if you have a Bentley manual and some time on your hands. There is really nothing too challenging about the job other than there is alot of steps that need to be taken to get it all the way off.

I can report back that I do not have any creaks or groans from my dash, which was my greatest concern. $ 1400.00 is a lot of change....what is your time worth. That's what you will have to determine. Good luck, we are here to help.

Thanks guys. I will probably give this a go. Not scared of a bit of car gutting, but I have no idea where to get the Bentley manual. Can someone please supply full name of the manual/pdf/ISBN #? PM is OK.. Thanks a lot.

Hope it was easier than my last car dash removal project!

[hoaesq]

Got my manual off of Amazon.com

[oztme]

Oh. Duh! Sorry: I thought it was Bentley like the car (for some reason I thought Bentley & BMW shared some parts/manufacture {dumb}).

Is this the manual to get?
BMW X5 (E53) Service Manual: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006: Bentley Publishers: 9780837616438: Amazon.com: Books

Thanks + pardon my ignorance!

[davintosh]

Yup, that's the one. I don't remember where I got mine from, but it was right around $60. Parts Geek has it for $70.

And yes, the blower is pretty much buried in the dash; I think they mount the blower to the bare chassis and then build the rest of the interior around it.