bloody hell that's some expensive headlight resoration kits. I've seen good reviews for the 3M but weirdly they are hard to come by in the netherlands. The two kits I used were about 15 bucks each (probably tells you something) but in fairness the result is not bad, and really makes a difference in how the front looks. Next up is some paint repair for the many stone chips. My plan was to just use touch-up paint. what's the general concensus here: do you prep the area with a dremel or something similar? Or just fill?

I mean you can buy two new Hella headlights for not much more than that!

the 3M kit is great because it includes a drill ready backing plate and appropriate sanding discs for cutting through serious damage. most of the other kits don't give you enough abrasive. if you have an actual polisher, you'll have a better time - drills aren't really meant for that work, but most people have a drill and it's good enough.

you don't need any prep other than a clean and tape off with the 3M kit. but if you're working with a kit that doesn't have adequate abrasive, you can absolutely source what you need.

I swore a curse to the X5 gods as I pulled in the driveway after running errands and noticed the trifecta. I pulled a raft of codes out of the car with my foxwell, reset them all, checked the belt (seemed tight) and did a general integrity look at the live data, and called it a day.

Lights are out right now as it was idling in my driveway, but I need to do some troubleshooting tomorrow am, before heading to the airport for a trip. My first take on the codes is an electrical burp of some sort. The alternator is an FCP Bosch and is less than a year old. But the car was in a zillion pieces last winter so it could be a ground perhaps.

***update: after some time on the Outpost, and perusing good old Bentley, I think its a reasonable bet that the ignition switch is going bad. Not certain, and still going to check the grounds tomorrow, but given the odd collection of codes I have, and the fact that it has never been replaced, I'm willing to order a $70 switch. I also grabbed some random lightbulbs (center overhead Xenon bulb and a footwell bulb) and a set of rear sunshade hooks. Not that my dogs use the sunshades in the back, but the holes where the hooks used to be bother me. Probably the 7th set of these things in 20 years. $4.75 at FCP euro and they popped right up so I couldn't resist.

***Troubleshot a bit this am. checked the big-ticket grounds and all seemed fine. I couldn't get INPA to run for some strange reason ("initialization error") so I used the hidden menu and got 13.4-13.6v at idle and 13.7v or 13.8v at 2000 rpm. No significant drop when letting the gas pedal up either. 12.6v with the car off - all seems within normal range from what I read. It also started fine and ran fine. This doesn't dissuade me from the idea that it is the ignition switch causing an intermittent power burp.

Being across town, I took advantage of not working today. A new front giubo was installed. It was missed during the oil pan gasket fix. The new one is slightly wider. The old one still looked good. I think it had been replace once. I could not get it to fit. The star metal plate was clocked incorrectly. The bolts would not fit. I had to look up how it fit properly. Once the plate was aligned, it fit perfectly. It's cheap to rent a lift at DIY shop. :cool:

Now I understand how a post face lift version is different. Guess I won't need that aluminum spacer from Russia. :p:

Did replacing the old giubo have any noticeable effect on the drivetrain/ride quality?

Bdc101, I would say yes. I don' have a heavy foot. At normal driving, the X5 walks away from city traffic light to light. The entire suspension refreshed and driveline giubo/carrier bearing all made a difference. Steering feels slightly lighter. We know X5s have heavy steering. Better power going to the front wheels does feel better. 255/60/17 tires feel better than stock 235s.

After picking up this nice OEM hitch from crystalworks a few years back, I finally got around to installing it over the last couple of days.

Installation was not difficult, really, but certainly a bit time consuming. But I'm old and work slow ... and I'm in Texas, so it's still freaking hot.

Chris

Just curious how US regulations are different so there was not a similar (totally hidden when not in use) detachable towbar available like on the Euro versions?

Did you make sure to install the bolts which are inserted from the spare tire well? Those were actually missing from my car when I bought it. They go through the unibody in the spare tire well into the pieces which are inserted into the frame rail through the back of the car.