Yeah it was quite neglected. Passenger side was fine but I repainted it for the colors to match. Basically just lots of sandpaper. I went P180 > p320 > p800 > p2000. The hardest part is where the old paint matches the bare aluminum. Had to redo once because I didnt sand that area well enough and the line was visible when painted

Looks like new. Nice job!

Nice work!

Nice work! Looks great. :thumbup:

Changed the spark plugs since I had no information when they had been done previously. Easy task, only the driver's side was a bit problematic since the car has Eberspächer parking heater installed and its piping made the space quite tight, especially for the most rearward plug. Not sure if it is like that for all M62 E53's. I had to use a +60 cm (~24") extension and an access next to the strut tower to get it out.

Attached a picture of the old plug next to the new one, not sure how a well used one should look like.

The prongs and tip look normal. The burn through looks rough though. When ceramic looks that burned, plugs have been in for a long time. Or they were starting to fail badly. I swapped the OEM ones for single prong types too. After 1-2 tanks, the cluster adjusted to over a 510+ mile road range! It was the first time seeing it. Before the plug change, the range stayed below 450. Post back how you like the new plugs. Mine had new coils put on at the same time.

The car has been having a bit rough idle occasionally and also sometimes almost stalling when changing from P to D right after start up, all this last winter with colder weathers. No error codes though, let's see if the new plugs make any difference. For now, at least my wife reported a healthier start up this morning when going to work.

Evacuated and recharged the A/C system for the first time in its life. Was blowing warmer on the passenger side with the AC on max.

Now it freezes you at hwy speeds. With the ambient temps hitting 98 degrees here, the interior dropped all the way down to 65 inside. Nice and cold! Time for a road trip...

Oh, I am now at 64K

That is one of the best feelings with summer temps! My 4.6 was doing the same when I picked it up and recharging the AC with a professional machine was one the most important maintenance items going into the summer.

I had my AC recharged this week as well. This is the first time it’s been serviced during the 20 years my X has existed.

I thought it was odd the passenger side vents were blowing warm, while the driver side were cool. LoL..


E53 RiPPeR
XOuTPoST jUNkiE
ReVELaTiON 22:21