Rock Crawler Build - E53 3.0L

[Sarek]

Sorry. Dont know why its duplicating my posts.

[beamertruck]

Sarek your build is what I have been wanting to do for a while. This thing is definatly one of a kind! Anyone that thinks these mods are "useless" or "a waste" are obviously not enthusiasts. Anyone can build a jeep but you have an off road X5! Btw do you have the rear self leveling suspension?

[Sarek]

No leveling. Just springs. Air suspension 8 cylinder would be fun to do. I have the prototype adapter and shaft to retrofit a low gear transfer on to the zf transmission

[brptrailrider]

Originally Posted by Sarek

No leveling. Just springs. Air suspension 8 cylinder would be fun to do. I have the prototype adapter and shaft to retrofit a low gear transfer on to the zf transmission

I dumped the air suspension for regular springs on my V8 for reliability.

[bcredliner]

How much would you be willing to bet? Betting means you could lose.

If practical reigned supreme none of us should have purchased a $70,000 SUV. Further, since the vast majority of us never go off road, paying for (potentially) more off road capabilities of the Porsche Cayenne is even less practical.

If practical applied to off roading in any way no one would be doing it.

Assuming the BMW ABS system would be a problem, while the Porsche may not have the same problem, it makes sense that the Porsche would have other problems that BMW would not as neither is factory prepared to do what Sarek is doing.

Finally, which one would would be better off road from the factory is clearly hypothetical at this point.

I can identify with Salek. I used to drag race a nail head Buick with an automatic transmission. It wasn't cool to have an automatic. It was easy to make a Chevy go fast. The Buick was a huge challenge, cost more to be competitive, and took some time to get there but can you imagine the feeling of accomplishment, gratification and the fun I had when I started winning? Not much has changed. My X5 is a big sleeper, not the practical way to go. It pegs the fun meter and you should see the expressions on peoples faces at the Cars and Coffee. I'm guessing you would one of those by expression think I am crazy--I hope so.

[Sarek]

The ABS 18" off the ground comment is interesting. Not sure I see a problem there. The unit is pretty well sealed for the occasional splash or swim. Not like it is going to stay under water.............wait a minute, just had another idea..........X5 submarine project!

[g300d]

Guys, skyline is right.












































...which makes what Sarek is doing all the more cool!

[Sarek]

The reman route can be a nightmare. I had one that I sent to a certain company. They said that they could not rebuild it. Then I had to pay to have them send it back.. then it was totally dead. U might want to find someone with a wholesale account that can get bosch parts. They have a new unit that is way cheaper than 1500. Its about as much as your rebuild and it is new. Just fyi for the rebuild route. Read the fine print on that lifetime warranty too.

I am going to look at the abs unit again and look at sealing it. Not a bad preventative measure. Cant hurt really.

They have vent pipes for the transmission and both differentials that come up quite high. The front diff vent goes to the top of the engine bay. Rear diff goes up into the top of the left rear fender liner trim area. Pretty surprising to see how long the vents are. The transmission vent can easily be extended a bit if the shifter box is not high enough. It is about as high as your knees are when sitting in the car. Granted, the manual transmission does not have that hose type vent for some reason. It has that check type vent stack on the top. Probably going to vent it higher.

[Sarek]

Its a 2001 x5 so there is no tc actuator. No xdrive . Just open transfer case.they have the torque on demand transfer cases in the 04 to 06 x5. No worries on that front for me. The electronics only come into play when wheels start to slip. So in theory you can run a dana 300 off the back of the transmission and the car doesnt know the difference. So you can drive in 2wd and once the wheels start to spin and the fronts do not, the traction control will cut back the throttle (unless you have dsc off) and then apply braking to the wheels that slip. There are no electronics in the transfer case on the 01 x5 case. Just 1 to 1 open . When you lock in 4 hi or low, the traction control doesnt know either since on front and one rear will always be driven. I drive off road with dsc off. It doesnt cut back throttle but still applies the brake to the slipping wheel (automatic differential braking). I have installed an xdrive tod transfer case in this x5 and locked the tc motor to full lock 50/50 and it did not have any traction issues, so I have tested the locked transfer case theory and it works well. Just no low gearing. Thats why I am retrofitting a dana 300 and a doubler strongbox to get that. I think the big problem will be breaking CV axles.

[Skyline]

Originally Posted by Sarek

I think the big problem will be breaking CV axles.

Talk to Tom Wood:

Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts - Tom Woods Custom Drive Shafts Custom Driveshafts Specialist

Maybe he can make you stronger custom axles shafts. He made me a drive shaft for my Jeep that replaced the weak CV joint with a U Joint.

Also, the folks that drag race FWD and AWD cars have been having stronger axles custom built for years, with super strong CV joints, but I don't know who does that.