Thanks! A happy accident.

I second this, looks pretty cool!

I didn't do all of this today- but it was this week!

Spent some time wrapping interior trim with a pretty decent carbon film off amazon- it has a high gloss finish and a little bit of depth, not bad! (not looking forward to removing the center trim for wrapping, oof) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hkvw6nqGunrIjqMQdpxrMFG7W_VkBQnA/view?usp=share_link

Also got the front windows and windscreen tinted- highly recommend- I love the way it looks!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16iJ...usp=share_link

Installed some new fog lights and wrapped them with the yellow- it's subtle but I dig it!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GUH...usp=share_link

Had to do a quick temp window due to the window just falling down the other night- throwing a new regulator in tomorrow morning, woo!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jdl...usp=share_link

Dropped the car off to have the Avin Advant 4 installed and they totally goofed the install- the radio doesn't work, lights on the unit dont light up, steering wheel buttons dont work, they didnt plug in the apple car play, and AVIN didn't send the IBUS module making the whole unit essentially useless for now- it does look really nice though- super hyped on the OEM feel and once we get the kinks worked out I'm really looking forward to messing with this thing!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C5U...usp=share_link

When my customer's rear window dropped I used some gorilla tape to grab the glass and pull it up, then a strip left and right to hold the glass pp until the repair part arrived.

Realized after the new part came I could have repaired with a single screw.

For future reference, 7/64" drill makes a perfect hole for a 3mm screw, night as well be tapped!

oooh dang this is good info! Thanks mate!

Another fall with a lot of E53 fixes :-(
 

So, here is an update, I feel like this car is taking up all my time lately! In 2021 I had a whole bunch of stuff go wrong but since then it worked great including a 1000 mile trip to Toronto, Canada. This fall normal service resumed….. Last October the X5 began having misfire problems. I thought it might be the fuel pump as I had replaced it with a cheap item that whined a bit (only thing available in a hurry when the original broke 20k miles back). This time I implanted a Bosch pump unit using the original plastic rig and level sensor. (A story in itself as there were some items in the original setup that were literally crumbling.) Also replaced the fuel filter but no improvement in the misfire. Next checked the idle roughness with INPA and all the cylinders were off the chart. However, no codes and no SES light. I figured that after 160k the original coils were probably at the end of their technical lifespan. Got a set of eight new Bremi coils from FCP with the exact same part number and as soon as I started the engine after implanting them, I knew this fixed the misfire problem.



While working on the misfire I started to notice an intermittent coolant leak and a few days later the water pump was too far gone to drive it. I also found that two more washer pumps were broken after replacing the main washer pump last August. In the midst of working on all this I noticed the right rear air spring sagging…..absolutely delightful!! At this point putting it on Craigslist felt like a real possibility. ☹ Swapped all of the pumps and it was drivable again.



I had done an alignment after swapping the thrust bushings and the I/O tie rods but discovered later that the ball-joints on the lower control arms were shot (dumb oversight but they were only 25k old…). So, I swapped the front LCAs and then started to plan a complete rear suspension overhaul. Replaced the air springs with Arnots, also swapped the rear wheel bearings, ball joints, rear lower control arm bushings, integral links and the two upper control arms. After another alignment it now rides perfectly. 😊 Did an oil/filter change and replaced the fluids in the front & rear differential as well as the transfer case. Topped up the transmission but the trans pan is sweating some liquid and I think a new trans filter and gasket is coming up. New air filters for engine and cabin air just came in as well.


On a different note, last week my driver side window got stuck in the down position. I thought it was only the clip holding the glass but it turned out that the bracket holding on to the regulator cable was also broken. My passenger side had also got stuck a few weeks back but I finagled it back up. Nevertheless, I suspect the passenger side has the same failure. Yesterday received some replacement brackets, when the rain lets up, I will have to take off the door cards and install these brackets.
The lenses on my modified headlights were never great but had lately turned cloudy and some spider cracks are getting worse. The passenger side at some point had some water in it. Although they look great with the new halos, the light output of the Xenons had become awful and the high beam output is non-existent. I have decided to open them up again and swap in some Morimoto projectors from a project that did not materialize. Also will see if I can fit the Morimoto LED high beam projectors. Today I ordered a set of replacement lenses and finished putting my original headlights back on the car so that I can work on the modified ones without having to rush. I still have to fix a small issue with the headliner but I may have to take it out to do it right, ugh.



Since I bought an F10 diesel X-drive last July from a friend leaving these shores, I have been considering selling the E53 next summer. Let’s see how it does with my daughter using it to commute for the spring semester…..

More of a journey than a destination.

hahaha, yes a journey, the X5 will run fine for a good while and then throw everything at me all at once providing me with a couple of months worth of wrenching.... Thankfully the rest of the stable is less finicky.

Drove across town 30.4 miles for a hitch. Not an OEM one but better than the single bar types. Curt S019 seems to be the part number. Two harnesses came with it. I'll have to work out wiring for each harness. One has a dual 4/7 pin connections. One harness has only a round 7 pin connector. A black box is attached to one harness.

Post a better picture of the electronics box if you can. I'm not sure if that's the Curt hitch, it doesn't look like what they're selling today but might be an older version. The attachment points look right to me for the OEM hitch.