Weird. Thought you had written you saw coolant in the oil. Glad that is not a problem.

You have the right idea - get the main bolt off first, don't use the timing pins to hold it, or accidentally stress them. Once it is free, you can always loosely thread the bolt back into place to turn the engine over to find the timing position and then lock it all down. Reverse is the same, set all the timing parts into place and remove the timing fixtures before trying to reinstall the new bolt. Without plugs in place, it will turn over pretty easily.

about the VANOS - you have to remove the chain to remove the VANOS. Follow the beisan procedure, but he expects you to leave the lower front cover on and set the chains out of the way - you will remove them. Same going the other way - install your new guides and chains, without the VANOS in place, then follow the beisan instructions.

@David - OK, thanks! That's what I was thinking.

Excellent.

OK, time for help!

Question 1: I've got the crankshaft bolt out, and all 15+6 of the bolts out of the lower timing cover. Now...how do I get the thing off? Does the power steering pump need to come off or something? I got the bolts off the bottom without moving the power steering pump.

Question 2: How do I get the dispstick out? Is there really a hidden bolt on top that is impossible to get at??

Those are my two questions...how to get the lower timing cover off and the dipstick out. Any hints would be appreciated! The Bentley doesn't cover removing the lower timing cover from what I can see, and I haven't found any good directions for doing this on an X5. The 5/7 series have different oil pans.

The hub (the big thing the main bolt was holding on) is keyed in place, you should pull that off first. I think I used a rubber mallet to get it moving.

After that, the cover should slide forward.

The upper front covers should probably come off first.

The dipstick tube will be in the way. It is held with a clamp and single bolt at the top (near where you grab the dipstick), another bolt halfway down and then a nut on a clamp that holds the far end into the oil pan. When I did this, the engine was out of the car and I pulled the oil pan, but I think people say if you remove those three fasteners you can rotate it out of the way to get the front cover off.

@David - Yep, the hub is off. The problem is...it's not sliding anywhere. :(

And OK, thanks for the info on the tube. Yes, it'd be easier with the engine out!

Does the AC belt tensioner have one bolt that goes into the front cover that may be locking things together?

I recall the power steering pump bolts into the oil pan, but do check that it doesn't have one bolt into the front cover as well.

I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but will have my X up on ramps in the morning and will look if you are still stumped.

Here's a picture from the internet showing all the the holes - hope it helps
IMG_8318.jpg Photo by Sm00th_j | Photobucket

This is where I'm at now. All bolts out, and the lower 6 have been removed too. Sorry for the pics, lighting isn't great.

@TECN1K - It's still not clean so don't look yet! :p:

@David - Yeah, that's actually the pic from the other site I've been using. I did see two bolts that appear to go "through" the power steering pump, and I've removed those two bolts. Nothing else I can see is attached.

You're saying the cover just slid off?