BMW X5 E53 DIY OEM Hitch Installation Notes and factory installation PDF

[e30cabrio]

Most of the recent purchasers have gotten lucky & gotten it locally there is a list in one of the threads within the last month with the U.S. availability.

I am up to the bumper support & am having a hell of a time with the damn plastic push fasteners. i have a trim removal tool that gets in there to leverage it up but the thin plastic head folds like partially cooked pasta. How did you guys tackle them?

[jcp240z]

I just got mine from Bloomfield bmw in NJ a few weeks ago. They had a few but they may already be gone.

[Junkycosmos]

e30cabro,
If you are not done yet....
On those little plastic pita connectors; I found some help by pushing the center pin out from back side of the connector. On most of the bumper cover ones I used small round bar (like a Phillips screw driver) from the back of the connector to push the center pin a little. Just enough to expose 1/8" of the head then grab the head with needle nose pliers and work out the entire fastener. Helped to have the entire plastic warmed up to 60 or so and most of the fasteners came out once the heads were up about 1/4".

Hope the rest goes smooth. That refinish job on your hitch looks great.


admnranger,
To your prior Q on the alignment bolts I "left very loose" until I had bumper cover fitted they are the long bolts coming out of part #3 here.
RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 4.8is Carrier, rear

Four bolts in total, 2 per side. Their heads are held in place with hammered tabs and the nuts (17mm?) are part of the set you tighten in the trunk which go horizontally from outside through hitch into rear cabin.

Next time I have my trunk emptied i will try to snap a pict. Might work to start by loosing these four and seeing how much wiggle you get on the alignment. I also lifted the bumper up a good bit when I tightened the two massive t55 bolts that point up to the sky however those are a lot more work to get after.


Sounds like I could take up a collection of the old factory bumper brackets, I may drop mine off at the local demo derby spot since it is built like a tank.

[e30cabrio]

I was doing it exactly that way, thanks I thought I might be missing something.

I quit after ruining the heads on about 6 of them. I have about 6 from my 350Z left but they are wider so I'll have to drill to use them.

Thanks

[e30cabrio]

I pray no one else has an aftermarket hitch installed by butchers like the ones that did mine added a full day to the job and I did not put the bumper back yet.

Bumper is going to be painted as the job that was on it is awful.

[Riggodeaux]

So e30, you had an aftermarket hitch on yours, and are replacing it with OEM? I didn't note that from your previous posts. The info in this thread on the plastic connectors, wrong head size on the 16/17mm bolts, and alignment are certainly helpful. Won't get to mine [sitting in the garage] until we get a warm weekend day .... Junky, my offer to sell you old crossmember when I do the install still stands ...

[e30cabrio]

It was a UHaul & a hack job it was.

From post 109:

Originally Posted by e30cabrio

Bumper & hitch off. What a pita the aftermarket hitch was.

[Riggodeaux]

HuskerX5, I PM'd you. My earlier post in this thread had the 'current' BMWUSA stock info attached as a .pdf.

[e30cabrio]

I brought the bumper to the shop last night. They wanted 2x what they quoted, weren't promising to use the correct paint and wanted three weeks to do it.

I just brought it home and put it back on. Man that was a PITA.

This whole job has been a nightmare from start to end.

[e30cabrio]

After I cleaned up the garage, I put the old bumper support leaning on the wall behind the sensor for the garage door opener apparently pushing a bottle of coolant into the sensor so when I left the door would not close.

I had to search a video to learn how to align it.