Is it an easy DIY or do I have to have a shop do it... and how long should/would it take?

Never had it done on an X5, but for other BMW's I've always had a shop do it.

How much did it cost you Meister?

Better ask weasel for current pricing, he's the expert.

Well just to get a rough estimate, what did you pay?

Are you experiencing this "jerk" in any other gears? Symptoms sound to me like potential trany or torque converter issues. A friend was experiencing similar issues and i advised him to take it in for proper diagnosis at the dealer. Once he knew what the culprit was, he could then have my indy perform the service at a more cost-effective rate. He ignored it and ended up wearing out a couple gears, seals etc...

I then advised him to go a similar route as i recently did. I purchased a new torque converter from the dealer and had my trany rebuilt. Needles to say this solved his issues and his X (2002 4.4i) hasn't driven better.

I must say, after having the new converter installed, i swear it drives like my previous 4.6is with Dinan S2. My understanding is the converters have been updated. Hopefully, this isn't your issue as it's quite costly.

No idea, last time I had it done was >10 years ago and not on an X5.

And the parts cost is low, just the labor that costs you. And My dealer charges $99 per hour and I've recently seen that some NYC dealers charge $180. But this is a job that an indy could do as well.

Well factoring in the 100 for the tensioner we spoke about and the hour to labor that

we get about 200

and adding the price of the joint and labor how much am i at? you havent really told me the price of the item and the time it takes to replace it thanks though

Btw never do a tranny flush BMW uses LIFETIME fluid...so you dont wanna do that. maybe that caused it...idk, maybe your diff is shot because many people have had this problem and usually it is a diff...best sugestion is go to a dealer to see what the problem is and then just get it fixed by a KNOWLEDGABLE indy.

Good luck hope it isn't too serious...