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  #1  
Old 10-03-2013, 06:47 PM
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Maintenance thoughts...

So I'm taking a study break from school right now and have been thinking. I take the X5 to practice every morning, which is a 40 mile round trip through St. Louis into the surrounding suburbs. I also cart around 4 of my teammates at the same time. After doing this for a few weeks, I'm starting to notice the X5 is getting tired as it doesn't feel as good as it does with just me in it. It has 113k miles and is rising daily (40mi/day).

Now I have a few symptoms...
The brakes pulsate when stopping from highway speeds, and there is a slight vibration in the wheel at highway speeds. The front pads are fine, replaced ~3 years ago, but the rotors have probably been on the car for 65k miles. Thrust arms have been on the car for the same amount of time. Should I associate all these movements to rotors, or should I look at both my control arms?

The rear end compresses quite a lot with 3 college kids in the back. It also slams over bumps more now. I'm thinking to replace just the rear shocks with Billy HD's and leaving the front original due to cost concerns. The rear camber is also pretty negative...what control arm/ball joint would be the blame for this?

Fluid wise...never had a transmission fluid flush. I'm going to leave that alone. What about the differentials? 75W-90 is the common one for RWD non-LSD BMW's. Do the X5's get the same?

I'm thinking of doing the subframe bushings too (finally!), but I may not next summer. I'm looking for easy items I can knock out in a few hours in the summer. I've got another car that needs some serious work so I can't dedicate all summer to the X5.

By the way, I have some serious faith in the X5 for taking it from NJ to St. Louis with no tool box. All I have is 3.5 qts. of oil with me. It hasn't let me down after 1.5 months yet. Gas has been cheap too; my last fill-up was at $3.34/gal for Premium!
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  #2  
Old 10-04-2013, 02:01 AM
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Just peek in and look at the rotors. Shouldn't be too hard to rule them out.
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Old 10-04-2013, 09:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MINIz guy View Post
Now I have a few symptoms...
The brakes pulsate when stopping from highway speeds, and there is a slight vibration in the wheel at highway speeds. The front pads are fine, replaced ~3 years ago, but the rotors have probably been on the car for 65k miles. Thrust arms have been on the car for the same amount of time. Should I associate all these movements to rotors, or should I look at both my control arms? 90% of the time the pulsating when braking from highway speeds is the tension strut/thrust arm (I'm sure you are familiar from your E39), I replaced mine with Meyle HD arms bc of the solid bushings, and the small ball joint with a Febi ball joint on both sides. At your mileage, if the front suspension has not been overhauled, you are due. The only thing associated with rotors "pulsating" is when the brakes are bedded in wrong, which I don't think is the case. If your thrust arms have 65k on them, they are probably shot. Mine were replaced original at 65k and were BEAT, you can tell by going under the car and trying to wiggle the thrust arm, if you have too much play in the arm and can see cracks in the bushings, its time.

The rear end compresses quite a lot with 3 college kids in the back. It also slams over bumps more now. I'm thinking to replace just the rear shocks with Billy HD's and leaving the front original due to cost concerns. The rear camber is also pretty negative...what control arm/ball joint would be the blame for this? I would replace the shocks with OEM or an OEM equivalent, from what I hear, the Billy HD's are pretty firm, so you might be left with a "soft" front end and a stiff rear from the HD's (you don't have sport package right?). Does Bilstein offer an OEM equivalent shock replacement, or another brand perhaps if you don't want genuine BMW? (Also at your mileage I would replace the rear shock mounts if doing the shocks) At $96 apiece though, I would do the Bilstein's and probably be happy, its better than what you have on there now!

For the rear camber these two parts are to blame, again I'm sure you are familiar with the trailing arm ball joint from your M5, E39's notoriously wear these:
BMW E53 X5 M54 3.0L Suspension Control Arm ES#250972 Ball Joint - Priced Each - 33326767748
You need a special tool to remove and install them, I found a guy on the forums who has the ball joint tool and the subframe bushing tool who will rent them to us and lives in Sparta, obviously when you are home that would be advantageous as opposed to buying a 200 dollar tool.

Also on the camber, your "wishbones" might be shot, the straight control arm or guide link is usually fine:
BMW E53 X5 M54 3.0L Suspension Control Arm ES#257324 Rear Upper Control Arm - Left - 33326770859

Fluid wise...never had a transmission fluid flush. I'm going to leave that alone. What about the differentials? 75W-90 is the common one for RWD non-LSD BMW's. Do the X5's get the same?

Can't speak on auto trans as mine is a 5-speed. I flushed my diffs and refilled with fresh fluid last year, at 65k miles. I used Redline 75w-90 in both front and rear diffs (you need 3-4 quarts total I believe)
BMW E53 X5 M54 3.0L Maintenance Drivetrain ES#10752 Manual Transmission / Differential Fluid 75w90 - 1 Quart - 8352257904

Also on my non-Xdrive transfer case I used Redline D4 ATF, you need this kit (I got new drain and fill plugs for both the X-fer case and the diffs just because I hate rusty old drain plugs!)
BMW E53 X5 M54 3.0L Drivetrain Transfer Case ES#2528669 Pre-XDrive Transfer Case Service Kit - 27111226467KT


I'm thinking of doing the subframe bushings too (finally!), but I may not next summer. I'm looking for easy items I can knock out in a few hours in the summer. I've got another car that needs some serious work so I can't dedicate all summer to the X5.

When you're home next summer maybe we can rent the tool from the guy in Sparta and do both cars one weekend? (I know we talked about this last year but I ran out of time with all the work I've been doing on my house)

By the way, I have some serious faith in the X5 for taking it from NJ to St. Louis with no tool box. All I have is 3.5 qts. of oil with me. It hasn't let me down after 1.5 months yet. Gas has been cheap too; my last fill-up was at $3.34/gal for Premium!


Hey bro, college in St. Louis? what do you play? hope its a blast out there! See my items in bold above, should help you out!
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  #4  
Old 10-04-2013, 11:59 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MINIz guy View Post
So I'm taking a study break from school right now and have been thinking. I take the X5 to practice every morning, which is a 40 mile round trip through St. Louis into the surrounding suburbs. I also cart around 4 of my teammates at the same time. After doing this for a few weeks, I'm starting to notice the X5 is getting tired as it doesn't feel as good as it does with just me in it. It has 113k miles and is rising daily (40mi/day).

Now I have a few symptoms...
The brakes pulsate when stopping from highway speeds, and there is a slight vibration in the wheel at highway speeds. The front pads are fine, replaced ~3 years ago, but the rotors have probably been on the car for 65k miles. Thrust arms have been on the car for the same amount of time. Should I associate all these movements to rotors, or should I look at both my control arms?

The rear end compresses quite a lot with 3 college kids in the back. It also slams over bumps more now. I'm thinking to replace just the rear shocks with Billy HD's and leaving the front original due to cost concerns. The rear camber is also pretty negative...what control arm/ball joint would be the blame for this?
Take the kegs out the back
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Old 10-04-2013, 12:06 PM
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The thrust arm bushings were replaced 5 year ago. The ball joints probably are original and that is the main cause of my shimmy. The rotors are also on their second set of pads, so improper bedding in may also be a cause. What about the tension rod (ie. the upper control arm that is in front of the thrust arm)? Does that one wear and cause a lot of play? I'm thinking of going with the MTC polyurethane bushing for $20 a piece, cheaper and easier to install than Powerflex or OEM. The ball joint looks to be an easy fix too as it just unbolts out rather than be integrated in the arm itself.

I don't like working on the rear suspension due to the need of all the special tools. I may do the rear upper control arm first since that seems easier than the ball joint and integral link. I skipped those on my M5 as I didn't have he tools for it.

I'm down for renting tools to do the job. I also ran out of time between my summer job, repainting the garage and fixing the M5.

And I go to St. Louis University. I'm a rower.
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Old 10-04-2013, 12:13 PM
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I would focus on RBs mention that is due for a suspension rebuild and I would do so at one time to save time and alignment money.

Sounds like the rotors were not changed with the pads. Obviously, the thinner the rotor the more likely it is to warp. It is also harder to get the pads to seat properly if that was the case. I would check the rotors for ridges on the outer edge and for 'burned' areas, though, as mentioned, it is not likely the cause in your case.

The front and rear suspensions have similar rebuild schedules though the rear tends to last a longer. I would do it all at once including the subframe bushings--they are not always bad but the only way to know is to drop the frame to check. At that point, if you have the proper tool, might as well replace them.

Unless you are interested in a firmer ride I suggest OEM or OE shocks. You will know what to expect as far as ride and you are maintaining the BMW design intentions.

If you are concerned new transmission fluid might instigate transmission problems you could drop the pan, change the filter, saving the old saving the old stuff to put back in if it doesn't smell burned.

Regarding transfer case and differentials, I also go with aftermarket lubricants. Right or wrong I feel there is better stuff out there that cost less the OEM.
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Old 10-04-2013, 12:14 PM
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I would look into replacing all the bushings. I had vibration issues not too long ago. Replaced the bushings and it was good as new. Even if they are not the problem, with the mileage that you have, it is probably a good idea to replace them now.
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Old 10-04-2013, 12:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MINIz guy View Post
The thrust arm bushings were replaced 5 year ago. The ball joints probably are original and that is the main cause of my shimmy. The rotors are also on their second set of pads, so improper bedding in may also be a cause. What about the tension rod (ie. the upper control arm that is in front of the thrust arm)? Does that one wear and cause a lot of play? I'm thinking of going with the MTC polyurethane bushing for $20 a piece, cheaper and easier to install than Powerflex or OEM. The ball joint looks to be an easy fix too as it just unbolts out rather than be integrated in the arm itself.

I don't like working on the rear suspension due to the need of all the special tools. I may do the rear upper control arm first since that seems easier than the ball joint and integral link. I skipped those on my M5 as I didn't have he tools for it.

I'm down for renting tools to do the job. I also ran out of time between my summer job, repainting the garage and fixing the M5.

And I go to St. Louis University. I'm a rower.

The ball joint and integral link in the rear is easy with the special tool, all you do is unbolt two bolts and drop the swing arm lower with a pry bar, everything else stays bolted on the car. At your mileage doing the control arm in the rear will probably help, but still may not get enough adjustment for rear camber without doing that ball joint too.

I noticed the MTC bushings for 20 apiece, I'm surprised at the two piece bushing design which does look easy to install but at the same time knowing MTC's reputation as cheap replacement parts I hope they are designed stoutly enough, I know the bushings install dry and you probably just need to grease the "pin" if anything. I guess what to lose at 40 bucks, if they are crap you can always drop the one bolt/nut and take them off and replace with Meyle HD, OEM, or Powerflex.

The front control arm "wishbone" has an integrated ball joint, and if its original I would replace both, the bushing is integrated on that one as well. I used Febi/Bilstein on mine, but it seems ECS now stocks Meyle, which I've also had good success with:
BMW E53 X5 M54 3.0L Suspension Control Arm ES#2649612 Front Lower Control Arm - Left - 31126760275

And like you said, the original ball joints on the thrust arm side are easy to R&R, just unbolt the joint from the spindle and whack that fucker out when you are replacing the thrust arm bushings, I used Febi's on mine and was happy:
BMW E53 X5 M54 3.0L Suspension Control Arm ES#252748 Front Ball Joint - Priced Each - 31126756491
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Old 10-04-2013, 01:04 PM
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I like the MTC bushing as it reminds me of the Powerflex E39 ones I did on the M5. The X5 Powerflex bushings are one piece and need to be pressed in, as well as the new M5 ones which are irrelevant. I just don't like that new design. I am also worried about the polyurethane quality of the MTC parts, but they should be stiffer than stock until they start to disintegrate due to not allowing any lateral flex.

But I guess I'm looking forward to a lot of car maintenance to my new car and the X5. Looks like big suspension overhauls for both.
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