And the bearing.

When you pull the belt spin all the pulleys including the alternator to try to see if any feel rough.

If THAT is your culprit, I think I bought two of the last few of these on the planet...not already attached to an alternator. Definitely overpaid to get them to me from Latvia, but if it was going to be a silver bullet to my squeal...I wanted it badly. They are VALEO pulleys. OP, If you find that you need one...I'll sell it to you for what I paid so you don't have to wait...VALEO Alternator Pulley E53 03-06 754015901


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Replaced two missing door lock covers. A 13mm socket was used to push them in. They won't fall out like OEM overs. New ones fit nice and tight. :thumbup:

Glued the left front seat back cover clips for a third time. The clips fall off while trying to mount it. :wow: Tried something a little different. Hopefully after drying, the clips don't fall off again.

This...

https://i.ibb.co/PGKFXdNL/20250309-151106.jpg

It's time. I completed the first drain and fill. Got ~5l (so 50%) of the fluid out with an overnight drain and added ~5l back in, checked fluid levels correctly and the transmission is working well. Noticeably better. I'll drive it like this for a bit to allow the adaptations to... adapt then I'll repeat (no rinse!!).

Another member of the MaxLife club, Wayne! I did the drain-fill two or three times back in 2019 when the seal on the mechatronic sleeve failed.

The second time, when we did the upper seals and solenoids, I think we put in 8L. I filled up my MityVac with MaxLife and was surprised we almost completely drained it.

First nice day of the year so I hit the pull-a-part. Found what has to be the last unmolested E53 left-rear door vapor barrier on the planet and jeez, what a mess getting that butyl adhesive to let go. WD40 dissolves it (even more of a mess) but I still managed to tear it a little. I'll install it when I'm back next weekend.

Hoping this solves the water intrusion into the rear seat floor... I've never had that door card off so I have no idea if the original barrier is intact (or even present).

Where did you get those door lock covers? For an expensive car BMW really cheaped out on this detail.

Trapazoid door lock covers. The covers fit so tight I couldn't push them in. I used a socket and short extension. A rubber mallet works great.

Thanks! I just ordered some.

A trick I discovered is an oscillating tool with a flat, non-serrated blade, removes the barrier easily and cleanly.

Hope you solve your water intrusion issue!