Starter....

[CLS70]

So..came back from work on Friday and the X5 did not start.....lights/everything worked but pressing the Start Button did nothing; I could hear the lock on the Shifter, the pump working and all the other sounds.

Tried to jump start using 2 different sources, my other car and then when called a tow/truck service....nothing. Battery voltage checked ok so it everything points to the starter....

Had to tow the car back home; called the dealer and they quoted -over the phone and with all sort of caveats- that will be roughly $1,500 CAD (~$1,100 USD) to replace the Starter (Parts & Labour).......!!!

How bad is a DIY replacement? have seen some videos over internet and seems not complex but a PITA.........parts seems only around $350 CAD...

Thoughts?

[Stockx5]

Good voltage on the Battery does not mean the battery is good. when they fail they still show proper voltage. but when you try to crank there is not enough AMPs to get it to crank. getting another car to jump it does not help either.

how old is the battery? if it's more than 5 years that's probably your problem.

Starter failures are very very rare...what engine do you have?

most likely is your battery.. if not possibly your harmonic balancer.

even if you buy a new battery if it's not properly charged it will not start the car.

[CLS70]

Thanks,

It is a X5 3.0si

Battery is 7-8 years old.

I tried already using another car (using the jump posts in the engine bay) with no luck at all.....the AAA (CAA) truck also used a larger one and no luck either. I would have expected that jumping from the engine bay connections will be independent of the state of the battery....

I have been looking in the forum and seems starter failure are not that rare - regardless, will do another try, is worth a shot.

Thx

[AlpineX]

Originally Posted by CLS70

I tried already using another car (using the jump posts in the engine bay) with no luck at all.....the AAA (CAA) truck also used a larger one and no luck either. I would have expected that jumping from the engine bay connections will be independent of the state of the battery....

An E70 with a dead battery can be surprisingly difficult to jump start.

If your battery measured at 12v, that doesn't qualify it as good. Battery is immediately suspect in any no crank scenario. At 7 years, you're due or coming due.

[CLS70]

Update

After checking the Battery (it was good) everything pointed at the Starter.

There are a few videos out there that showed that it could be removed WITHOUT taking OUT the Intake Manifold (and more importantly, without disconnecting all the hoses/connections/etc) so I decided to tackle it over the weekend.

Parts needed:
- The Starter (obviously)
- New (2x) Aluminum Bolts
- Intake Manifold Gaskets (6x)

Tools
- You definitely need an E14 Wrench (this is mandatory IMHO)
- E14 Socket (same)
- 12" (or similar) socket extension(s), 3/8 ideally
- Your regular metric sockets (10,11,12...)
- Rope (See below)
- Rags
- Flashlight/Worklight

Optional
- Long tool retrieval pole (or a telescopic magnet)

Steps

1. VERY IMPORTANT: Disconnect the (-) Battery Terminal and put the cable aside securely. Note: remember you will not be able to open the trunk gate so ensure you leave it open OR that you have a way to reach out the Battery from Inside the X5.

2. Remove the Air-Intake, Air-Filter housing as well as the side pipe; this one is a bit tricky as the clamp screw is very difficult to access. There is an electrical connector at the back of the Air-Filter Housing - disconnect it. Protect the air entry in the bottom-rear side.

3. Remove the Engine beauty cover (the one(s) with the BMW logo). Optional: My engine was quite dirty (end of winter) so I vacuumed it a bit to reduce dust that could go inside the engine.

4. Disconnect the electrical connector that goes to the Oil Filter Housing - put it aside. this is just to make space.

5. Remove the Screws/Nuts that hold the Intake Manifold; be careful as the screws have washers that may fall below. Remove them slowly and hold the washer.

6. Remove the Support for the Air filter Box (it is supported by the previous Nuts/Bolts). There is bracket that holds a pipe at the top-back of the manifold, you need to unscrew to be able to do the next step

7. Carefully, move aside the Intake Manifold and use rope/cable to keep it away (see pictures - I used Yellow rope). Protect the open intake holes (I used blue paper rags)



8. You should now have a view of the Starter - is at the very end/below.



8. Use a extension to remove the Nut that holds the electrical cable (Red cable in the pictures) and move the cable aside to make room (you can tie it up temporarily)

9. The starter is held by 2 Aluminum bolts (Torx E14), these need to be replaced.

- A Small one that goes front to back, which is relatively 'easy' to extract. I used a 12" 3/8" extension & ratchet to reach it out. Is not torqued hard so removal was easy.

- A Long one, that goes from back to front and it is VERY difficult to access (see white arrow in the picture) and even when you reach it, there is no space to apply force to it.

I ended up finding -by pure coincidence- a way to remove it:

I was worried that I will drop my E14 wrench so I had tied it up with a small rope to pick it up, when I was trying to get it in back there, I realized that I could use a stronger rope to "pull it up" and make the bolt turn.

So I tied a second stronger string(s) and 'dropped' the wrench in the back of the engine, used my right hand to secure the wrench in the bolt head, then with my left hand, I pulled the rope 'up' so the bolt will be unscrewed. Repeated this process a couple of times. This ended up working perfectly, after a few turns, the bolt was just easy to take out by hand.



For reference, I took a picture of the starter out and the wrench / rope to show how that will look like:



One of the pictures attached shows the wrench 'floating' in the back of the engine, just about to be put in the bolt.



After the bolt is out, the starter goes out easily and you can install the new one in no time, same process to put back the bolts.

10. You need to replace the 6 gaskets of each cylinder input on the Intake Manifold, these can be removed with a thin screwdriver and put back by hand.

11. Put everything back and torque accordingly.

12. Check electrical connections and that everything is back where it should be; re-connect the battery.

The Car started immediately with no hesitation and much faster than it was before. It was obvious that the starter was getting 'weak' but is was hard to notice if you do not have a way to compare.


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The above worked for me; do it at your own risk.

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Have more / better pictures that will load later.

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[ard]

Very nice!!!

Thanks for posting....

[giaka]

Originally Posted by ard

Very nice!!!

Thanks for posting....

X2, thanks for the pics and info.

[Aquamania]

Great write up!!

[Mackskibum]

Having performed this myself, a couple of points.
1. You can close the hatch. It is possible to power from a jump battery under hood using the 12v and ground points designed for jump start.

2. For others using this thread as a diagnostic tool, before going down the starter path, try to jump an additional ground from the engine to the body. On my 535, the starter wasn't at fault- the ground was. May save someone some $$$.

Nice documented procedure. Well done.

[greg328]

I don't see pics---can you possibly re-post them? Or is this due to the server migration?
Greg
Austin TX