Nice pic! Cold A/C would be an absolute must in a black SAV.

Just wanted to report back that the AC did just fine on the trip to Chicago and back, which is a darned good thing as we hit some mid to upper 90s temps passing through Arkansas. Not a single other E53 did I see the entire trip.

The car ran beautifully, but I did make a discovery on the trip that's facilitating a bit of maintenance. I was parked with the wheels angled and as I got out of the car noticed a substantial rip in the drivers side outer CV boot, along with a fair amount of grease on the back of the wheel.

I started ripping into it as soon as I was back home in the garage, and am currently waiting for a replacement axle assembly to come from FCP Euro.

Best regards,
Chris

Cool, I was waiting for a trip reply. Nice to see an X5 run so many miles. Are you only doing one side? So no A/C work done on it so far?

This is actually a point of interest for me. I'm coming up on my one year anniversary with mine and I can count on one hand the number of E53s I've seen around Austin in that time.

I've had my E53 for two years now, and have never seen another E53 on the road, but have seen many much newer X5 models. There's a mixed-bag of SUV's (SAV, in BMW-speak) locally, with a surprisingly large representation of X5 & X3's.

I drive very little, and we're semi-rural, so I didn't expect to see many old BMW's anyway. But, my X5 seems to have the only working set of turn signals, among them!

We need a TEXAS X5 round up!

Agreed! I would attend (schedule permitting)!:thumbup:

Sorry for the long time getting back to this this thread - work has been running me ragged. I have done no AC work so far other than the recharge. I'm hoping I can either get it into a shop or get the tools together to start doing the work myself before the next road trip.

I was only planning on replacing the one side, as the other boot is fine. But now you've got me wondering ... think I'm going to pose this question to the collective wisdom of the group. if it's best to do both sides at the same time, I'll do it.

Best regards,
Chris

Same here! I run around Austin all the time. I got my first E53 in 2018, and the next in 2019. I've seen maybe a half dozen around town since then.

Chris

no E53's nearby, but hordes of later models of many makes
 

I've never seen another E53 around where I live, in the boonies SW of Dallas/SE of Fort Worth. When we moved here 30+ years ago, there weren't many high-dollar vehicle dealerships (nor homes) within many miles of us, therefore limiting the number of affluent-y cars out here.

However, now, we're sorta surrounded by the upscale growth that I thought I'd left behind me, after I moved here after years in the far north Dallas Co./Plano area, where every other car was a $$$$ one (though I did remain working in that area, until retirement in Jan. 2016, so I still saw many $$$$ cars everyday). I must've seen hundreds of E53's over the years, while living/working up north for the best part of 25+ years. And, now I see lotsa X3-5-7's out here, living semi-rural, as well as tons of Audi, MB, Toyota, and Jeep SUV's, mostly new-ish, unlike in the past.

Nearly bought a '73 2002 new, but instead bought a '73 VW SuperBeetle (and paid off a '72 VW SuperBeetle I handed over to a younger brother, who needed one for his family), which left me short of cash, and my BMW itch never got scratched. Still, I wanted to get one, eventually.

Fast-forward to 2017-8, when I was camping a lot after retirement, and desired a semi-capable semi-offroad SUV, so I could load up in minutes, and travel to any campsite in my local area (no mountains) with the ability to traverse unpaved roads (my 2WD pickups aren't so equipped). The idea was to swap my idle (since 2007) drag car for a 4WD or AWD SUV, one-for-one, with my next-door neighbor.

I stated a preference for an everyday-type 1996-2004 Jeep XJ/WJ or S-10 (I loved my old S-10), or an older Jeep Wagoneer (big, from 80-90), or as an aside, maybe an early X5 (just saying). And that's what he found, and semi-restored for me. I wasn't displeased, since I'd admired the early E53 from it's beginning, never daring to get one (weird finances, for both of us as a couple, stemming from our divorces).

Now I have one, though my health prohibits me from camping with it now, and I don't drive it much (about 1350 miles in two years, but I finally scratched my itch for a BMW, after 50 years

I'm enjoying the BMW forums which I follow now, after having followed mostly GM/Chevelle/drag racing forums forever, so I guess I'm vicariously participating by watching other guys enjoying their E53, though not directly joining in.