New X5 5-speed owner!
 

Hey guys and gals, just excited to make my first post here! Recently purchased an '02 X5 with a manual transmission. It was a steal since it seems to have all the major, common problems all the e53s seem to have lol. I always enjoy a project car though. It is blowing fuse #48 occasionally/randomly causing tha a/c to cut out, it shimmies and shakes under high-speed braking, it has gone into engine fail safe program a couple times which feels like eco mode honestly, AND it clunks if I don't shift correctly. So it is a problem child, but I believe I know the fixes for these thanks to this great resource. The only thing I'm unsure of is why the factory navigation/dsp will not receive radio stations... I know, seems trivial. I can play music through the cassette adapter, or CD changer, if it would read discs, but sometimes I just want to turn on the radio and not have to think about what I want to listen too. I'll continue scouring the web, but any input would be great. Issues aside, the suspension is fairly fresh so it drives like a dream and there are no engine or driveline leaks whatsoever. :D Also, are there any modifications that y'all would definitely do to a standard X5 3.0i?

Clunks when shifting - Subframe Bushings
Blowing AC fuse? - Final Stage Resistor (I think)
Shimmying while shaking/braking - needs a front suspension overhaul including thrust arm bushings (do it all and align it once)


The Radio not playing is confusing to me -


I know you posted the suspension is fresh but there is something wrong in the front suspension and unless you know the quality of parts and they were installed correctly, I would do my due diligence and at a minimum do the thrust arms.


Other than that, keep an eye on the typical M54 wear items, change the oil hot once or twice, I use T6 5w-40, in the South where its hotter the engines will benefit from a 5w-40 IMO vs. a 5w-30 which was really only spec'ed for fuel economy -


Flush the brakes and clutch as well, and enjoy

Awesome, thanks a lot Ricky! I did figure most of that out, but the radio issue is strange.

The shake is from some resurfaced rotors. I've replaced the brakes on every car I've ever owned anyway. Seems like nobody ever wants to touch them or spend money on quality parts for such an important safety item.

And I am in Georgia so thanks for the oil suggestion. My Mercedes uses 0w-40. Would that be too light?

I'm actually very happy with the mileage. 19 mpg seems pretty good for a rig of this size imo.

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Welcome to the family. You are in the right place for answers to any and all questions you have with your new whip. :thumbup:

0W-40 is good choice for the engine oil

+1 for T6 5w40. For the shimmy, resurfaced rotors can cause that, but how are the tires?

Yep I would get some better pads and some rotors - Centric (parent company of Stoptech) makes nice rotors that are coated in the non contact areas to prevent rust - Centric pads or Power Stop pads are a good aftermarket choice which will get rid of a lot of dust! I just got done overhauling at all 4 corners, only unforseen circumstance was my brake master cylinder took a dump, oh well, it lasted 15 years, replaced and had to have a full DSC bleed procedure done but she's working well now.


5w vs 0w vs 15w is cold start flow - don't worry about that. Mobil 1 0w-40 is way too expensive and shears to a 30w too quickly. Trust me, your engine will thank you, there are a lot of top quality additives in the Shell T6 formula, a lot of anti-wear and its a super oil.


Also its $19 a gallon at Walmart so just pick up 2 for $40 and enjoy the savings vs the boutique oils and heavily marketed Castrol and Mobil 1 etc



and YES it says heavy duty diesel oil, but its a secret between us car people, not only does it work fantastic on gasoline engines, but we use it in our motorcycles and lawn mowers as well - check out some used oil analysis from people who had it tested if you don't believe me.


My wifes E70 35D runs it, my E53 runs it, my Triumph runs it too - Easy on the wallet and great for your engine -



And yes for a rig our size, I have no complaints with 19 mpg! Thats about what I get with my 20" staggered wheels and my 5 speed.

@white_335i The tires are all matching Continentals with even wear on them front and back.

@Ricky Bobby Stoptech is what I was referring to. I've used their Z23 or Z26 performance brakes on my past 3 cars and never had anything but positive results.

Mobil 1 is what I have for the Merc, but I never thought very highly of them. It's just what all the Benz guys say to use because of the sticker under the hood [emoji849]

I've heard of people using some Rotella oil in their gas engines with positive results, just never tried it myself. I'm still apprehensive to stray too much from what's proven since another car community recommended Royal Purple mtf/gear oil and the trans went shortly thereafter...


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Royal Purple is garbage

I did Redline D4 ATF in the transfer case, Redline 75w-90 gear oil in the diffs, and Redline MTL for the manual transmission when I did my fluids, 45k miles ago (I have 106k now and did them shortly after buying the truck)

I'm not recommending Royal Purple or Amsoil or any other big marketing snake oil companies - T6 has a proven formula that just works, but use what you'd like, I just can't complain for less than $5 a quart. IMO, they have not only the top fuel quality on the market but also the top oils.

Agreed, all those heavily marketed products are garbage. Redline is good stuff. I'll be changing ALL the fluids soon enough. I'll look more into the T6 stuff.

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Radio reception could be an issue with the antenna amplifier. From memory it is powered by Fuse 86 in the rear right hand cubby.

Thanks! I'll check it when I get home later.

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If driveshaft has a center bushing that could be the source of the clunking or the differential bushings. If subframe bushings you should be able to get the clunk in circumstances such as going over a speed bump.

Huh, it doesnt clunk over bumps, just when I take off, or shift poorly lol. It is a rather difficult car to get used to driving. A bad gumbo would make sense. I forgot I had that problem with my old E30 too.

And fuse 86 and all these are good, but is there supposed to be a fuse in the large socket farthest back? The one behind the other two large, pale green ones...

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There are 3 slots for relays behind the 3 pale green relays. There are blue. The first is to lock the lower tailgate. The second is a rear backrest relay. The one closest to the rear is for air suspension and upper tailgate lock.

Trust me at your mileage the rear subframe bushings are shot - the clunkiness when shifting is a definite sign I had - mine were clunking well before 80k miles - The manual trans models seem to be harsher on them than the V8's because of the lack of torque converter -

I think the clunk that you are talking about is in the Dual Mass Flywheel.

Can you feel a clunk almost as if there's slack in the drivetrain? Even under the smallest of throttle movements? I think I know exactly what kind of clunk you're talking about. I didn't catch the mileage on yours. Mines been bad from the day I picked it up at 158K miles

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=647338

@bcredliner cool I suppose that back spot should be empty since it doesnt have air suspension.

@Ricky Bobby I'm sure they're worn as well. Guy I bought it from said he'd fix the clunk so I'm not terribly worried about it. He's also replacing a bad O2 sensor so it'll pass emissions.

The front suspension all appears newer than the rest of the underside and it drives like it. I've got brakes, an alternator, and auxiliary water pump on order, replaced the tailgate handle which was broken, and the driver's door seal. Oh and I restored the headlights and the clearcoat is being fixed on the roof. This X5 will live to be a road warrior again!

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I'm fairly certain it's not the flywheel, though I'm sure it will need to be replaced at some point. I don't have the lack of throttle response, weird engagement, or vibration really. It just seems like the symptoms I've experienced in my old e30 with unknown mileage. It would clunk over speed bumps and jerk/clunk without correct clutch engagement. Once I fixed its guibo and rear subframe bushes, it was fine. I've also gotten more used to the X5 now and the clunk seems to be a more rare occurrence. It's mostly due to me not driving a manual for 4 years lol.

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Did you ask him if he deleted the CDV (clutch delay valve) - it will cause odd clutch operation, different from most standard cars, if its still in there -


The flywheel and clutch is probably not the issue - I've rarely seen them go unless the owner doesn't know how to drive. At a certain point, yes if you replaced with new parts, sure it would drive better, but I don't know at what point we can consider "complete failure"


After you do the brakes if you still have the shuddering, I would look into replacing the thrust arms, because if the brakes are fine and you're still getting shaking while braking from high speed, those are the culprit.


My guibos at 15 yrs/106k miles still look new, the driveshaft has no play. The only other thing could be from the transfer case, sometimes the chain gets slack over the years and needs to be replaced.

So I didn't want to start a new thread and I've been doing some reading on the Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 oil, but I see it's mostly been used in older BMWs with iron blocks. The M54 has an aluminum block. My question is, with all the detergents needed for diesel applications, would it not have a negative effect on the internals of a newer aluminum engine? Just asking, I am clearly not a scientist. I've already put 1000 miles on the x5 and haven't noticed any oil burning, but I want to change the oil since I don't know when it was last done and the T6 appears to be a good choice...

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You're overthinking it - its a great oil and by all Blackstone analysis I've seen it breaks down and the wear metals on samples with 15,000 look like they are 7,500 mile samples and the TBN is amazing on it



I'm 45k on my E53 with it, and my wifes E70 diesel has been using it for 25k now, both run fantastic.

Okay, fantastic. I tend to do that (overthinking), but never when it counts, like when buying a car [emoji23]

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