Questions you thought were too dumb to ask E53 edition

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by THE VEIN

tmv said any mechanic can change the brakes except the brake sensor

Hmmm....that's not how I interpret what TMV said (that's if the quote below is what you're referring to):

Originally Posted by tmv

Any mechanic will do. Same concept as other cars, except for the brake lining sensors.

My interpretation (or rephrase) of the quote above is...any mechanic should be able to do a brake job on an e53 X5 because the brake set-up is the same concept as changing the brakes on other cars. There may be the exception of having to change the brake sensors since some cars don't have brake lining sensors.

[THE VEIN]

Originally Posted by TerminatorX5

i changed the brake pads and the rotors myself, with ZERO previous experience working on the cars. first i did the E53, then i did my E39... piece of cake...

things go back same way they go out, including the sensors... sensors plug into the plug (duh!!), and go into the pad - proper sensor will have correct length of wire to be routed ...

i would say, on the scale of 0 to 10, the job is about 2 or 3...

if you pay somebody, i would say, about $50 to a private mechanic, or no more than $100 to a shop, with your parts...

choose the rotors/pads (online more choices), get the sensor, get the job done...

I have no problem doing the job it's time I don't have

[TerminatorX5]

Originally Posted by THE VEIN

I have no problem doing the job it's time I don't have

time = money

if you don't have time, or desire, or the ability to do the certain thing, then you are right, it is time to pay for somebody's time to do the work...

the bad thing is, many shops don't want to use customer's parts, and their parts might not be to your likening...

do you have a shop/mechanic that will work on your terms?

[THE VEIN]

Yea I have somebody but he is always super busy and takes longer than I want

[admranger]

Originally Posted by THE VEIN

I have no problem doing the job it's time I don't have

There's 24 hours in the day. Then there's the nights.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by TerminatorX5

use three old plastic credit cards.

insert them into the inner seam between the outer shell and the inner ring, right below the edge of the mirror glass.

slide them, one card at a time into the seam - they will disengage the 3 tabs that hold the back part of cover to the front part of cover

once tabs are disengaged, the plastic pieces just separate from each other.

But you'll still likely break tabs...

As many times as my amex has been hacked lately (wife and I both used our different cards at Target during the data breach...), I should have extras laying around (except we shredded the olds ones).

I'll be taking my DS mirror apart this weekend and hoping the 'used' one I bought on ebay works well. I have my doubts.

[stackz]

so is the 3.0 engine in the e53 interference or not? I know its got a timing chain but still curious.

[lhordmclain]

To the trunk lid locking gurus ,

Need clarification , I'm perplex / stuck in figuring out the difference

replace lock servo
part# 51247111008 Priced at $355.40

replace list gate lock
part# 51248408492 Priced at $135.37

Thanks in advance.

[THE VEIN]

Originally Posted by admranger

There's 24 hours in the day. Then there's the nights.

I sleep at night

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by lhordmclain

To the trunk lid locking gurus ,

Need clarification , I'm perplex / stuck in figuring out the difference

replace lock servo
part# 51247111008 Priced at $355.40

replace list gate lock
part# 51248408492 Priced at $135.37

Thanks in advance.

BTW...I think a question like this should have been asked in it's own thread...1st because it's not "dumb"...and others may need to know or learn of this info. As of now...it's buried in a thread like this where anyone seeking the same information would have no clue that a question like this has been asked & answered. Just something to think about in the future.

There's some type of change that took place sometime around the face lift. Go back to the part database and do a part nbr search for each part nbr...take note that one nbr is for the 3.0/4.4/4.6is with the M54/M62 engines...and the other nbr is for the 3.0/4.4/4.8is with the M54 & N62 engines...plus a date of 10/2003 in the FROM column.

In the back of my brain...there's a foggy memory about a change in the liftgate.

EDIT: found it...the SCA (soft close actuator) changed at the 10/2003 mfg date: