And so it begins…
 

My wife and I are now “proud” X5 owners. We’ve wanted one for quite some time, but haven’t found one at the right price. It’s not that we’re poor, just that we wanted to pay cash for one (can’t STAND car payments). I currently own a 93 740i and an 89 535i. The 535i is pretty much a gonner (197,000 miles, and my son hit a deer (or more accurately the deer hit my son in the driver’s door)). The 740i is my daily driver.

Anyway, I’m not new to BMW, so I mostly knew what to expect along the lines of maintenance and cost. I have a couple of local mechanics who (as long as it’s just mechanical) are more than willing to take on repairs, plus I’m pretty handy with a wrench myself.

On to the story…

We’ve looked on and off for a couple of years for an “affordable” X5 that wasn’t already a lost cause. A couple weeks ago, I stumbled across a listing at Joe Machens BMW (Columbia, MO) on their website. It was a 2001 3.0 with 145,000 miles and a “call for price” notation.

Called and got one of the sales staff who said it had just come in on trade and he’d call me back.

To make a long story a little less long, I ended up buying it “as is” (at a huge discount from the estimated retail asking price) from them rather then them fixing it for retail. They had a list of parts it needed to fix a driveline noise, and it has a small oil leak that they hadn’t identified yet.

I took them at their word without doing too much of a look around, and I ordered the parts that Machens said it needed (ordered from fcpgoton), a left front axle shaft, and the two rear “wishbones”. Took the car to my mechanic friend, and he installed the parts. Machens estimate for the work was about $1,800. My parts and my mechanic’s labor totaled $405.

Unfortunately, neither he nor I actually looked around at all possible problems before I ordered the parts and he started the work. I took Machens at their word that this was what was needed. After it was all put back together, it had the same noise that it had at first. After taking it for a drive a listening, I’m “sure” that it’s the transfer case chain being stretched, just like here. http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/x5-e53-forum/63004-transfer-case-removal-pictures-2.html

Certainly not something I’d want to do in my basement, so I’m looking a shelling out a pretty good penny for labor, and either rebuild the transfer case, or order a rebuild for $1,135 delivered.

Not quite as much of a bargain as I thought I was getting.

Plus, one time that I started the car, it acted like it was only running on 3 cylinders and the check engine message came on. I drove it for about 100 yards and it didn’t get any better. I shut it off, started it back up, and it ran perfect. No clue what that might have been.

So, it’s going to take 2-3 times the amount I budgeted to fix what I know is wrong, plus it’s possibly got some computer problem that’s going to creep up again.

On the plus side, the “small oil leak” is most likely a leaking power steering hose.
Does NOT give me much confidence at Machens’ service department to get both of the problems wrong.

Anyway, I’ve done quite a bit of browsing on this forum before registering, and I hope that everything with this X5 works out fine and I get to hang around here a while.

If anyone has any ideas about that “3-cylinder” thing, I’d appreciate any ideas.

Sorry to hear about your problems.
I've seen the Transfer Case DIY somewhere here,didn't seem to be a messy one.
Leaking power steering hose doesn't sound as complicated as a blown head gasket,right?
3cyl thing..pull the codes first. some misfires?

Yeah, I've read that diy thread by dville front to back, and while it's not something I'd want to tackle myself in my basement, I'm confident that I'm not going to be killed on the labor by my local mechanic.

I'm actually pretty happy that the "oil leak" is most likely the power steering hose.

I'm just not very confident in the service deparment at the BMW dealer, to be 0-for-2 on the diagnosis on this vehicle.

Progress so far...

Remove drain plug from TransferCase. No fluid... Ok, it's not "dry", but nothing more than a few dribbles.

Chain is "sloppy loose"...

Wondering now if a rebuilt TC is going to be the answer rather than just replacing the chain.

Overall, I guess it's not "that bad"...

Had the work done by a local transmission shop who does damn good work. Parts were orded from Cobra Transmission to basically do a rebuild here instead of having a rebuilt one shipped.

Needed the chain, bearings, and a new planetary gear. It had been run without fluid in it for a loooooooong time. The mechanic showed me the gears, and each one should be held in by some washers. The washers had completely disintigrated and the gears were just wobbling around each other for lack of a better way to describe it.

Parts and labor to remove, rebuild, replace total just shy of $1,475. That's a far cry from BMW's $3,500 reman unit.

I am glad to hear that you've got rid of the issue! Good for you it was way cheaper than expected.

Actually this is a issue with the X if you turn in on and dont drive it and off then on again it will be rough. It was on this forum and also heard the same from couple of mechanics. The x likes to be driven and when you turn it on and off the engine is basically flooded and it will idle rough like you said. ive taken it to the dealer and they have said the same thing. I have 4 cars so at night i have to do a little rearranging and some times in the morning and its always when i mvoe in the morning and come down 10 mins later it does that. so now just rev the enging a little and off and it hasnt happened. but that is normal if thats the situation that happened to you.

Welcome to the club. Hope you get things sorted out on your X. When they are maintained they will run for a long time. I will hit 300,000 miles this week and to date I have had minor repairs and maintenance. The rough idle could be caused by a faulty air idle control unit. Pull it off and take a look.