New to Us '15 35d Hope it's as Good as the E70 (Build/Maint. Log)

[blue dragon]

Those look great, hope you can get them patched up

[jbfrancis3]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

03/27/2021

Attachment 79915

What a combo. No one can deny that is great looking car. Strong and not overstyled. Wheel design is organic enough to be interesting but not WTF. We are now in WTF phase of BMW life.

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by jbfrancis3

What a combo. No one can deny that is great looking car. Strong and not overstyled. Wheel design is organic enough to be interesting but not WTF. We are now in WTF phase of BMW life.

Thank you. For much of the lineup I agree, BMW has gone in a poor direction aesthetically. The G05 X5, X3, and X7 seem immune to their styling issues though. Actually, I think BMW is designing for their SUVs first now and then dragging the aesthetic through the lineup as their crossover vehicles are the lion's share of their market. Unfortunately it means the rest of the lineup looks terrible. The poor 4 series is so ugly up front, I wouldn't touch it with someone else's p*nis.

Thanks blue dragon, if they can't all be salvaged, it's only a $100 investment. I think the wheel repair place will be able to handle it though. Thanks for the tip on the other forum as well, definitely more lively over there.

[srmmmm]

Originally Posted by jbfrancis3

What a combo. No one can deny that is great looking car. Strong and not overstyled. Wheel design is organic enough to be interesting but not WTF. We are now in WTF phase of BMW life.

I agree. The wheels that came with the "Luxury Line" option on mine just seem to have too many spokes. But the CEO isn't approving any change yet

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by srmmmm

I agree. The wheels that came with the "Luxury Line" option on mine just seem to have too many spokes. But the CEO isn't approving any change yet

Sorry to say, I agree with your opinion on the style of the lux package wheel. Hadn't seen those on our F15 search though, so can't be that common.

04/06/2021

- Nothing big to report. Repaired the driver's side floor mat that had lost the loop portion of the hook and loop system to hold it in place. It was sliding under the gas pedal if not careful and was a real hazard if you weren't careful. I glued some black speaker box carpet to the bottom (almost looks factory) and installed the "grabbers" that were missing. Had those on hand from previous OE carpet purchases. $0

[jbfrancis3]

This is all personal preference but I think you're lucky to have the luxury line. The contrasting polished trim looks great against the imperial blue.

If you put style 451 wheels on, that will gave a more stately look. Despite the somewhat compromised ride (over rougher road), the styling is helped tremendously by the larger diameter wheels.

[srmmmm]

I've been watching carefully and have yet to see another F15 with these wheels since buying mine. Perhaps there is a certain rarity to consider. I have been surprised at how clean they stay, and with the CEO enjoying time in the driver's seat more and more ("Honey, why don't you take the 4 to work so I can use your X5" ), and liking all those spokes, I'm just going to let it roll for a while.

[crystalworks]

03/15/2021

- Installed new rear wiper arm cover (missing from purchase) 61627294430 $5.87

06/07/2021

- Replaced engine air filter



- Replaced cabin air filters (3 of them)

06/08/2021

- Replaced torn door rubbers. 51767318509 & 51767318510 $41.18





06/09/2021

- Transmission pan and fluid service completed. FCP Euro kit comes with Liqui Moly Top Tec KIT-24118612901KT1 $186.05





Fluid looked pretty good. No metal shavings present like in the E70's transmission that failed. So that's good. I am a bit worried about how much fluid it took in. Only about 4 liters. Mainly worried because I missed the part of the fill procedure for the 8HP involving revving the engine to 2000rpms in park for 30 seconds. I filled it as I would have filled the 6hp in our other Bimmers. I think I am going to lift it again and go through the procedure correctly to see if it takes more fluid. I've seen people not do it and be fine... but I don't get the warm and fuzzies not following ZF's direction. It seems to shift fine, but again, need those warm and fuzzies.

[crystalworks]

Update:

06/12/2021

- Installed a Thinkware Q800 Pro front and rear dash cam. Details on install can be seen here as I edited up a YouTube video on it. Nothing new, others have done the same, but it's there. Pretty happy with the unit itself. Form factor doesn't block driver or passenger views. Has some things I'd change and the mobile app is a little cludgy, but paired with the rear cam and install harness it was a fair price I think. $321.48



- Updated the maps to 2021 as they were original. Bought a lifetime key from Bimmer Nav. Files uploaded no problem using a USB drive I had on hand. $50



09/04/2021

- Had a new set of tires installed. The Continentals were getting long in the tooth at 6 years and 7 years old. Had about 45000 miles on them and tread was still okay. But with the Texas summer heat I didn't want to risk an old tire having a separation or other failure as this is the primary family vehicle. Went with a set of Toyo Proxes STIII in factory 20" sizes. Very happy with them so far. Ride smoother and quieter than the Contis surprisingly but I think that's because the old tires were getting hard and dry. OTD at Discount with certs was $1029.99.

10/06/2021

- Oil change time. Went a bit longer than I like to on this change, almost 9,000 miles. Typically like to do 7-7.5k miles but what are you going to do. Used FCP Liqui Moly kit. KIT-11428507683KT3 $69.86





- Replaced fuel filter with a Hengst from FCP. Note: X5 will stumble for the first few starts and throw a code for low fuel rail pressure. I tried to use the Foxwell NT530 to do the bleed procedure but it froze on me during the process. Scared the hell out of me as the pump just kept running. :bulge: I tried to start the X5 after disconnecting the Foxwell and it wouldn't start. Just cranked. Cycled ignition, and this time it fired right up. Cleared the low rail pressure code and moved on. Mahle is the OES for BMW in case anyone was curious and wants the original filter. 13327811227 $31.79

- Installed 3 new jack pads as 2 were missing and 1 was in poor shape. These are Rein branded from FCP and work fine. Side note, you can also see my metal pucks that I use for putting my BMWs on stands (or jacking from the jack pad). They are metal Potato pucks from Amazon. Used them for years and love them. 51717189259 $26.07





- Changed the transfer case fluid. I salute those who do this without taking the shields down and dropping the crossmember. My gorilla hands would not fit in there to get the plug back on so down everything came. Used S-Tec (Shell) trans fluid. 83222409710 $42.59





Notes on dropping the crossmember.

Because I was doing the fuel filter I had to remove the 3 splash pans anyway so dropping the Xmember was not much additional work. I looked at it as a plus anyway as I like to inspect the guibos, u-joints on the front driveshaft, and the trans mount bushing on a "new to me" BMW. These were all in pretty good condition ~92000 miles.

- First remove the 2 splash pans from the left side of the vehicle and the center trans splash pan. Some push pins, 10mm plastic nuts, and a whack ton of 8mm screws.

- Then undo the 1 small torx bolt holding the NOX sensor bracket.

- Next unscrew the NOX sensor from the exhaust on the right hand side of the vehicle with a 14mm open ended wrench. Or better yet, o2 sensor style socket. Undo from the 3 cable clamps and let the sensor hang.

- Now support the transmission with a jack and wide piece of wood, or a trans jack. Lift it slightly to take the load off the transfer case/transmission mount bushing.

- Undo the long bolt that goes through the mount. It's an 18mm bolt and an 18mm nut. You can fit an 18mm open ended wrench in there to hold the nut. The bolt is very long and doesn't need to come all the way out, just enough to clear the rubber bushing/mount.

- Then remove 6 16mm bolts to drop the crossmember from the body. You don't need to get it all the way off. It will be wedged by the exhaust and transfer case but it will swing down plenty enough to give you the access you need for the plug on the Xfer case.

- Use a level on your trans pan (or the piece of wood supporting it like I did) and adjust it until level. Now you can service your transfer case as normal. Easy right. :thumbsup:

Torque specs:

Transfer case fill plug (x1 14mm allen) - 60Nm or ~45ft lbs

Crossmember to body (x6 16mm) - 38Nm or ~28ft lbs

Transfer case mount (x1 18mm bolt + nut) - 68Nm or ~51ft lbs

[Happy]

Cleaning up real nice!