New to the X!

[xsx450]

Hey guys,

I have been lurking around here reading a lot over the past few weeks as I was in search for my first X5. I landed on the x5 because i wanted AWD for the snow (tahoe) and to be able to tow my light trailer with my dirt bikes. I also enjoy the luxury and aesthetics of BMW as well as the power and feel of a healthy V8.


My recent car ownerships have included the following:

06 Audi A4 2.0T Auto - Hated it, felt like a nice looking passat, cheap feeling
04 Audi S4 4.2l 6-speed - Loved it, absolutely amazing car, went through control arm bushings quick and dreaded engine problems and costly repairs ultimately led me to sell her.
01 325ci 5 speed - Loved/Love It! great car, ran very smooth, enough power to not be annoying, very solid feel while driving, great gas mileage, luxurious, and dependable.

I still have the 325 but on friday I picked up my 2006 4.8is Black on Black with 69,000 miles for what i think was a good deal (4k under private party blue book).

I work on all my own vehicles and I am not ignorant to the needs of a high end BMWs such as the x5. I had the vehicle checked out by m mechanic before purchase and everything was good except minor thins; high beams were out, slight leak from a power steering line, air bag light fault code.Few dead pixels in the Nav. Worn out Radius Arm Bushings. These all helped me get the price down.

I am keeping my fingers crossed on the transmission, it shifts very beautifully and there were no fault codes whatsoever. Previous owner seemed to take very good care of the car.

I have a few questions about some things I have noticed in the last few days;

SUSPENSION:
It has the front and rear air ride. The adjustment buttons work fine, although it is a little confusing to me why it just goes back to the middle once you go over a certain speed.

HARSH RIDE: I am running Bridgestone RFT's on the 20's which I know may be part of it. However it rides very tight and sporty like I would think and small bumps/unevenness it takes fine (no cadicallac, but fine) However Large potholes, significant changes in the road surface (sharp edges) going over 20-30mphs it feels like it is bottoming out. I hear a loud knock from both front tires and it sounds like metal on metal, very harsh and unpleasant.

Looking for any advice on that, I am going to start by replacing all the bushings on the car and then the tires next but It seems too harsh to just be that...

I also noticed the other night that with the lights on Automatic mode sometime only one xenon fires and i have to switch them off then on to get it to fire. It is random and has been working fine most of the time.

69,000 miles I plan to change all fluids except I am on the fence about the transmission. I have heard so many stories about transmission "life" fluid" and if it has gone over 50k without a flush its too late leave it, etc.

Sorry for the long post, as you can tell I am very excited and appreciate any/all of the help!!

[pink_roundel]

For the metal on metal sound, I'll say check to see if your front CV boots are torn and the grease gone. They start to make clunking noises after all the grease is gone. Bushings are a good idea. The air suspension returns to center at highway speeds for aerodynamics. The VW touareg/Q7/Cayenne does the same thing or goes to lowest setting. Not too sure about the Xenons maybe ballast starting to go bad.

I must say that S4 must have been a joy. I remember wanting one of those so bad after a friend loaned us one for a week. I still kinda do.
Good luck.

[Skyline]

Good lcuk with the X5.

The wear out rate on the front suspension components on the X5 is pretty rapid. You need to inspect the control arms, thrust arms, and each of their ball joints for starters. Sway bar end links as well. One quick test for the ball joints is a quick jab of the brakes while going about 20mph. You will feel a bad ball joint as a sort of clunk as the brakes grab.

[xsx450]

Originally Posted by pink_roundel

For the metal on metal sound, I'll say check to see if your front CV boots are torn and the grease gone. They start to make clunking noises after all the grease is gone. Bushings are a good idea. The air suspension returns to center at highway speeds for aerodynamics. The VW touareg/Q7/Cayenne does the same thing or goes to lowest setting. Not too sure about the Xenons maybe ballast starting to go bad.

I must say that S4 must have been a joy. I remember wanting one of those so bad after a friend loaned us one for a week. I still kinda do.
Good luck.

The S4 was a lot of fun. Tons of useable power. very smooth and very good looking.

The CV Boots look good, all clean etc.

I am going to start with the thrust/control arm bushings (these are different correct?).

Do you guys recommend OEM, Meyle HD, or PowerFlex bushings? What is the pricing comparison? I am looking for the more comfort but i dont want to do them every 10k...

I will also inspect the Ball joints (not really sure how to) But if the thrust/control arm bushings don't entirely solve the problem I will turn to the ball joints. again do you guys recommend oem? Aftermarket? rough pricing on these? When I Jab the brakes I can feel the slight play that you are talking about. But thats not bugging me like the hard bottoming out.

Im not looking to mod the car too much but i really wanted to change out the angel eyes to LED, after reading some of the threads about random other problems resulting after i am kind of scared. Any feed back on this? People who have done it without problems of any kind?

Thanks!

[Skyline]

Originally Posted by xsx450

The S4 was a lot of fun. Tons of useable power. very smooth and very good looking.

The CV Boots look good, all clean etc.

I am going to start with the thrust/control arm bushings (these are different correct?).

Do you guys recommend OEM, Meyle HD, or PowerFlex bushings? What is the pricing comparison? I am looking for the more comfort but i dont want to do them every 10k...

I will also inspect the Ball joints (not really sure how to) But if the thrust/control arm bushings don't entirely solve the problem I will turn to the ball joints. again do you guys recommend oem? Aftermarket? rough pricing on these? When I Jab the brakes I can feel the slight play that you are talking about. But thats not bugging me like the hard bottoming out.

Im not looking to mod the car too much but i really wanted to change out the angel eyes to LED, after reading some of the threads about random other problems resulting after i am kind of scared. Any feed back on this? People who have done it without problems of any kind?

Thanks!

I would recommend the Meyle thrust arm bushings. But it sounds like you definatley need at least some ball joints, (all four of the front arms have ball joints, but they can be done seperatley on the thrust arms.)

Get under the car with a pry bar and see if you can find any play. You can pry on the arms themselves, or with the car about 2" off the ground, you can pry under a wheel in an upwards direction. Another way to check for play is to have someone turn the wheel from side to side while you look and feel the components, (while the car is on the ground or an alignment rack.) Anywhere there's play, replace the component. Anywhere you see torn rubber, replace the component.