What did you do to / for your E53 today??
 

Nice job!!

I bought a second set of 168s.....considering running a square setup :-x or powder coating one set black

GO SQUARE! I plan on doing the same with 87's as soon as i find a set, and use the 9.5s as dedicated winters.

welp. on saturday I replaced the front passenger window regulator/motor with a dorman unit (lifetime warranty and upgraded guides blah blah) works even better than the factory units I must say.

was all proud of myself for FINALLY doing that so I dropped the car off at firestone and got a 4 wheel alignment (badly needed for the rear tires).

firestone called to tell me the work was done but that my driver side window wouldnt roll up. I already had the clips for it since I knew what the rattle meant. didnt realize I'd be forced to do it sooner than later though lol.

opened up the door yesterday and the clips had completely rotted and separated from the window haha.

hour later and all was fixed and well.

but man I wanted to watch football instead of doing that.

Great job Garrett, now vaccuum those leaves from the X5 windshield cowl lol!

Dropped off the X to get the sunroof casette replaced :(

got rid of the ugly orange side marker lights on the front fenders and put the smoked LED` ones in . didn`t realize how ugly the orange ones were until I put the smoked lights in wow there awsome.:D

right? lol I replaced mine about 2 weeks ago and I love it. Blends with the trim perfectly.

could you do a writeup or PM how to do this. my lights look like balls too:thumbup:

Sure thing. It was pretty simple actually:

I used a spray bottle of water and a little dish soap as a lubricant. I kept the area very saturated during my sanding activities.

Make sure you tape up the perimeter of the headlight with painters tape to protect the finish on the car.

Sanded with 500,1000,1500 and 2000

Finished it up with my old variable speed makita buffer at maybe 1500 rpm and an old beat-up foam pad.

For polish I was using some strata cutting cream that I've had for about 11 years now. It's all dried-up mostly but throw a little water in there, shake it up and it'll do the job. The buffer and cutting cream are left-overs from when I painted my VW back in 2003. Pretty sure you can find something suitable at an auto parts store.

As a finishing polish I picked up some meguires "plastic-x" or something like that from harbor freight. It's much more fine than the cutting cream I mentioned above.

I found buffing with the lights on was helpful. After you are done buffing clean the lens really well with rubbing alcohol before you seal it.

Mix-up 50/50 (like a couple tablespoons each) minwax helmsman spar urethane and mineral spirits. Fold up a paper towel into roughly a 1x2 rectangle and dip in the solution.

Wipe around the entire perimeter of the lens then wipe horizontally across the lens to cover with a very thin layer of the urethane mixture.

It looks like a new lens. It seriously exceeded my expectations!!!


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Or, you can purchase a 3M kit and you will most of what you need in one package to restore the lens.

I bought one of those kits once with the drill-based attachment for both sanding and polishing (can't remember who sold it) and I found it horribly ineffective.

The paper discs it came with were far too fine to remove much more than water-spots and the "polish" wasn't aggressive enough to remove the scratches from the paper included above. In-fact the first pics of my CRV lens shows the aftermath of that debacle from a year or so ago.

Your mileage may vary - I just didn't have the patience for it.

The most expensive part of this for me was the urethane at $19 at my local ACE hardware. I had everything else on-hand.


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I agree with this. At sub $20 shipped on Amazon, you cannot go wrong. It works perfectly.

There are two 3m kits. One that you can do by hand, the other for an electric drill. I used the drill based kit.

There are several brand kits out there. Some much better than others. Many here have successfully used the 3M kit. The key is to work on a small area to completion and not use the course disk for very long. Spend much more time using the fine paper and polishing process.

In realtime demonstration:

Sanding and rotary
Chemical Guys - How To: Headlight Restoration - YouTube

Sanding and drill
Mercedes Headlamp Restoration Real Time - YouTube

I'm still looking for the best preservative treatment after you get them finished.

Depends what you want to spend. The urethane/min spirits mixture works well.

Or you can use Opti Lens.

http://www.detailersdomain.com/Optim...ing_p_911.html

I wish my headlights were repairable lol, some how the inside of the lens was affected as well as the outside...sanded the headlights so much I loosened up the headlight adjustment knob and it won't tighten/adjust now lol...shakey headlight FTL.

Oh I also plan on running my DIY seafoam kit through the brake booster line at the engine. I've been trying to remove most of the varnish and emulsified oil out of the engine and intake system...ran 7oz of seafoam in fresh oil 2wks ago, and it's already very very dark. So I know it's working :) cold starts are nice and quiet now too. Love seafoam.

So I guess a nice upgrade to Depo w/ AE's is coming up for you ? :thumbup:

that obvious eh ;) hahaha

Sunroof perimeter seal replaced. I removed the rear section of the pano, removed the old seal, cleaned up the surface, installed the new seal.

I was congratulating myself on a job well done as I installed the rear pano section. And dislodged a small section of the new perimeter seal.

BUGGER!

Anyway, it's still a decent finish, just if you happen to take a close look at that section of the seal you can see it sits a little lower than the rest.

Serves me right for thinking how easy the job was before I was finished....

Received the wonderful self-leveling suspension inactive warning today :roll eyes:

It's time for me to consider the KWs, but the Turner link is a bit misleading:
E53 X5 KW Coilover Kit - Variant 3 (V3) - Turner Motorsport

^ it reads not for cars with self-leveling, but clearly states that it fits the 4.8is. Anyone have definitive information on whether P/N 35220053 fits?

I think it isn't for the self-leveling only because you will get a self-leveling error code. I believe it will physically bolt up. You will just need to code out the leveling system.


Today I finally got plates for the X5, after two months of waiting. Yay for slow dealers from out of state....

I wouldn't trust the people at Turner. I ordered a wheel sensor from them because I wanted a Genuine BMW part. They sent me a wheel sensor, but it was for an E70. I knew something was up when I compare the old one and the new one and they didn't match. Email them and they informed me that the sensor that they sent was for my X. Tried putting it on, but the ABS was kicking in the minute I drove the car and locked the wheel. I looked up the part number and it was for an E70. Informed them about their screw up, they said to sent it back to them. Return the sensor and they refunded my money less the shipping from them to me and less my shipping cost to return their sensor. Total waste of time and money.

Got my car back from the detail shop the other day. Got around to uploading photos today, will also post in an intro thread now that I have good shots.

They did paint correction, paint grilles (hood & kidneys) gloss black to match sport trim, vinyl wrap interior door pulls graphite because they were scratched, re-tint the whole SAV due to scratches from failed regulators in the past, opti coat, deleted a sirius antennae (fix scratches left by said antennae), PDR 3 dents, paint wiper arms, and a light headlight resto. Wasn't cheap, but saved me about a month of detailing to get anywhere near their abilities.

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Muy bien. It looks so fresh!

Crystal, great work! Looks really clean;)

Very nice!

Looks awesome man!

Super clean! Great service work.:iagree:

Crystal, love the color, looks brand new!

Thanks everyone for the compliments. The wife and I really love this thing and wanted her to look her best.

Will get an intro thread up with everything we've done to it so far up soon... I promise. She still needs some love mechanically... but it's on the list and I already have the parts here... now if I can only find the time. ;

Did an engine flush and dropped oil pan to see if any plastic or metal bits were there. There weren't (yay), but the left over bits from the VCG didn't impress me much. Grrrr.

http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/u...1030-00877.jpg

She's getting a new rear drive shaft today. I pick it up after work, can't wait to see her again. Been apart for almost 2 weeks now....

Installed a new AUX fan today and now my AC works! Great success.

Josh, good to hear...only that today I had to use the heated steering wheel and heated seats...:D
Don't catch a cold with the AC on haha

Haha seriously. I want a heated steering wheel. At least I have heated seats. The AC will help keep the windows clear when the car is filled with wet snowboard gear this winter.

the heated steering wheel is a must have ,I couldn`t live without it now ,same with heated sits. (I guess I`m a bit spoiled lol)

That is why I have the viper smart start. I just get the whole car nice and toasty before my 5mile drive into work. Plus I like being able to start it any place I am regardless of distance to the X5 :nanana:

Mid week I finally fixed the steering wheel play/clunk/creaking which turned out to be the upper U joint bolt just need tightening. Then this morning (the first coldy we've had in Dallas this year) my battery was dead, so changed that. Fingers crossed nothing else for a while as the battery was $170 :(

I would be too paranoid to use one of those. What happens if you have a massive coolant leak and the engine over heats? Most recently, I had a coolant hose O-ring give out upon start up after sitting over night, and left all the coolant all over the ground instead of where it is most useful.

or a ccv failure . like had this past winter.

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Just gonna leave this here ....


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Is that yours?


Today I was driving and my wipers stopped and it's snowing heavy. Couldn't see a thing. Managed to pull over and discovered it was a loose nut. Luckily I had ONE wrench with me that fit it so I managed to snug it down so I could drive and get locktite! Fixed it!

No . close friend and member here on Xoutpost



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Wow love that half wrap in red. Any idea of what it took, how much $$??

Also how did the owner get that much brightness out of the AE's.

The line separating the 2 colors looks crooked..especially around the emblem..
And what is that emblem all about?

Does that banner sticker say "///MPACT"?

is banana-nana left on the ground by the driver's door on purpose? to prank on the driver???:thumbup:

this is a perfect get-away car
- officer, the car was a black bimmer... i am sure it was black...
- officer, don't listen to her, she knows nothing about cars, i am telling you, it was a red bimmer...
- officer, it wasn't a bimmer, the emblem on the car was not a BMW!!!
:rofl:

Don't know the dollar amount for the wrap , he did it himself , as for the headlights they were open and installed umitzas V4 halos . And removed orange reflector , About $900 to do including parts .


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Would look good all red. The badge looks like Alpina badge.

Looks good!

Did my front left outer CV boot last night, brake pad light came on (everything was hooked up and assembled great) so I tested it (no pulling or odd sounds) so I drove it about 8 minutes to my place, and the rim was pretty damn hot by the time I parked.

I'm HOPING it's the inner pad not seated properly causing a bit of drag. Only reason I suspect inner pad is that's where the brake pad sensor is lol.

Prob seized caliper?

Brake pad sensor only generates a warning light when the pads are in need of replacement it would not cause a pad to drag.

Check the brake pad thickness, if the sensor is in place on the pad and if the sensor wire is connected. Sometimes the connection corrodes so also try removing and re-connecting the sensor at the connection only.

Checking for sensor malfunction does not explain a hot rim. How hot is "pretty damn hot?" To me it would be so hot I could't keep my fingers on it. Heat to that extent would most likely be coming from the rotor which as mentioned could be a seized caliper.

I don't think much of coincidences. I suspect your problem is most likely connected with the work you just completed. Are there any other warning lights like ABS for instance?

Bought front right/left control arms, tension struts, ball joints and swaybar links by my 02 3L.
All from BMAparts and Meyle or Meyle HD where available.
Great price at $425 for everything and will be installed in next couple weeks.

After front is done, will move onto rear components. :D

pads only have 1500km on them and they looked fine when I had it apart lol and the caliper isn't seized. It's nothing major probably, I just haven't had the time to look at it.

Gave her some Techron fuel system cleaner then topped her off with some 91 octane gas.
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1b42d394.jpg

First window regulator failure today, DS rear. Over 11 yrs in service.

What did you do to / for your E53 today??
 

cost me $800 for wrap and another $100 for extra material tool for vinyl wrap cutting and lining them...



as the Angel eyes We opened them up and installed Umnitza V2's actually although i have the V4 here we played to see what the outcome will be when we opened the headlights...and there was no problem opening them ..pressure test them also made sure there was no leakage on the seams and no moisture gets in.... so if anyone wants them done send them my way turnaround for them will be around 1-2 weeks.... I will make a thread on the wrap in a few minutes and yes it was a little crooked on by the emblem by oh well...and the Emblem Logo is Ideas Machine Group which my friends makes wheels for any car they desire...

and



Terminator that banana was thrown on my side by a honda civic wrap in matte black..lol


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^^^ i didn't like this at first....now i love it!

Killer deal on Genuine BMW DR window regulator, $50.15 .

These cost over $180 from BMW and $150 online....

BMW 51357125059 Driver Side Rear Window Regulator Lifter

Installed the new driver door lock, and swapped out the snapped hood cable.

Next: Tires. My rears have seen better days. If it was summer I'd let it go another 2k.

Installed new LED taillights
-replaced cabin air filter
-installed new aFe performance air filter (cold air intake will be in the spring after this extreme winter passes)
-weather tech floor liners
-installed new matte black grill
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^ taillights look good ,now you just need a pair of smoked led sidemarker lights for the fenders.

agreed ......just smoked or clear would look good ...amber kinda throws you off

True. Been looking into that. Never finished with her lol


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if you get the smoked side marker lights,I recommend the led ones. before you install them make sure the spring clips are tight if not you will lose the spring clip when it goes flying, I just bend the 2 corners up a bit so they stay tight.

Installed a Dell venue 8 into the X to use as a CarPC

http://i.imgur.com/esMlCmZ.jpg

I installed LED interior kit, new bonnet or 'hood' struts (after a week of ownership, I think I've worn them out putting the f'n bonnet / 'hood' up and down so many times). Also installed these UV Sunshades I bought from the UK. Not cheap but in Australia you need every bit of help you can cutting the UV/Heat down. I've already got 35% tints, so these black the car out nicely.

I am next to certain that these are the same as the OEM sunshades that are NLA:

UVCarShades and KiddiShades Brands

Yesterday got a change to look at the Xs caliper issue from what I did the CV boot. Turns out the front bracket wasn't seated properly and it was pushing against the pad backing.

As for the brake pad light, idk, reset the codes and it hasn't come back lol. Probably when I had the sensor disconnected to do the damn CV boot.

Also I got a reasonable 10.1L/100km out of the X when I went to get my steel winter wheels the other night, not bad!

Ordered 10L of Motul 300v power 5w40 from FCP Euro.Max price matched the lowest competitor's price I could find on the web.Still came out at 159$.

It's replacing the Motul 8100 X-cess I used for the last oil change.Although I only have 6k on it, I'll be replacing it with the 300v just before the trip we planned for the Thanksgiving to our relatives in California.when I get back I'll need new tires so I'm not too excited about that but I am excited to take the X down south.hopefully nothing will go wrong.fingers crossed haha

Lmk if you need tires. I get them cheap and shipped also
Tell me what brand and size.

315/35/20
275/40/20

As much as I like the summer tires, they wear out way too fast.I need all seasons.Let me know what you have in these sizes.Thanks;)

Four8 didn't you just do an oil change a few months back? Man you put miles on fast, I'm just about due for my annual oil change, I think I out on 6k this year LOL

RB I really put miles on like a camel in a desert.
I had 92k miles in February.Now after 8 months it's got almost 108k

New tires, new front bushings, new ball joints. I also got a good look at the under ride protection after the massive drive out west. I recall sliding over a pretty good sized rock at one point. :whistle: I was thinking how happy I was that the under ride protection was there, saving my transmission. Sure enough, one of the large aluminum tubes was a LOT more flat than it was round!

This expense would have been an OK hit if I hadn't also dropped a new clutch in the SC'ed E39 this month. :( Sometimes, momma says... there'll be days like this. :driver:

Also, the wife hit a deer this week in the E46. $4600 estimate on an $8200 car. And that's without raising the very broken hood. Oh well. We've had it since PCD in 2002 and only 95k miles. No intention to get rid of it yet!

Like some here, I'm putting miles on my E53 too fast. Oil change at 101,565 miles [i.e., 20k miles in just over a year .....]. Mobil1 0w40 Euro formula [LL01 rated] with a Bosch filter [oil and filter from a sale]. Since I was at almost 9k miles since the last change, with 2+ quarts added in the interim, I pulled a sample to have Blackstone'd. I'll post the results. Pending: polish/seal & detail, spark plugs, install aux sound system input, and another attempt at fixing the rear left light ['check rear/brake light' on again .....]. A bulb replacement/lube fixed it last time, I'm thinking I need to do the board rehab or replace the whole unit ....

Riggo you'll be chasing the repair unless you hardwire the bulbs (Mercedes part # for fix) or replace the units with LED aftermarket. It's just the defective design of the OE tails

Yep, I've had to solder new pads onto the factory contacts before to get it to work for any length of time.

Our current one doesn't have a problem... but I am switching to LEDs when I get a chance and figure out which software/hardware combo to order off of Ebay to be able to code my modules. Any suggestions from the more experienced here?

Got some winter tires... Didn't know Blizzaks were so noisy... turning up the stereo now lol

Need to do the tranny fluid soon.

Just get the $40 Romanian suite, it works great. I recommend using a dedicated laptop as well (windows xp)

I got a Dell D620 off eBay for 100 bucks

just repaired the rear taillights , cleaned corrosion out of the connectors and bulb sockets including where they contact on the housing. and one was so bad it burn`t a tiny hole through the contact on the housing, so I soldered that up so hopefully it will last to summer and then I`ll pick up a set of aftermarket smoked led taillights.

Was thinking about mods today, but decided to hold off cuz I wanna trade up to a diesel some time.

I gave our X a quick detailing today.

wow this is so clean:wow:

The shine off the inside of those rear rims brings a tear to my eye :)

i like the shine on that , looks lovely :)

oh and today i manage to find a motorola v50 new phone , complete with loads of extras. for about 30 $ or 35 £ :)

A clean black looks SSOOO good!!! Nice job...

Thanks for the complements everyone.

Do eeeet, than transfer them to the diesel :D

http://www.xoutpost.com/members/x5ro...-new-halos.jpg

New MTEC H8 Angel Eye Bulbs - Looks Cool!

A little hard to tell in the picture, but bright white. Nearly as bright and white as my '11 535 halo lights, well at least closer but absolutely white and brighter than stock. I really love them.

Going to code out the amber running lights when I get time to connect with my guy.

Ordered OE projector fogs, Morimoto HIDs, and a PS door handle carrier...

Ordered these today for my black Spyder housings, 145mm semi-circle and 125mm full circle rings for the housings, should work out nicely I hope, and with China's 11/11 sale and a coupon for the supplier, they are a stupid steal at $45 delivered, including relay wiring harness (I love AliExpress):

RB, let me know how you get along with those... you wouldn't happen to know if they have the sizes I need for my permaseals would you? I'd like to get in on that discount as well if possible.

Referencing X5SND's thread: http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...s-you-say.html

He used 120/140mm full rings, I think mostly because those were what was offered from TRS/Morimoto. Post #51 he mentions that the 120mm is a tad small and probably a 125mm would work perfect. Honestly considering its probably 1 to 2mm difference on either side I would probably just try the same combo (125/145), or from hid.lighting order the 127.5mm and 146mm semi-circled rings, they should work. Again, it's not my housings but the tolerances are definitely close enough.

http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/t...psf8c21f84.jpg

Looking forward to pics on the progress, J.

Question, I think I'm gonna open my OEM prefacelifts and put on AEs and other projectors, just for the fun and practice. I'll probably end up selling them eventually.

From what I gathered, on OE prefacelift lights, I need a 127mm semi-circle for the low beams. Do you know what the exact size is for the highs? Also, are there any projectors that swap directly into the OE housing?

They make plenty of kits for the pre-facelifts. They should tell you exact size needed.

RB do you have a link to the ali express seller you ordered from? Would like to get in on that deal you got. ~$50 for 2 sets of rings is ludicrous.:thumbup:

Got a 3 ton low profile floor jack and 2 pairs of 6 ton jack stands from HF , transfer case fluid and an oil filter...
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Matt, EvoXR would be a direct bolt-in on the OEM pre-facelift and facelift housings, just like your Spyders.

The Chinese companies make kits already for OEM E53 lights, but in case you were wondering the size is 158mm for high beam.

Factory on AliExpress I ordered from is Newsun, still on sale (just leave them notes at checkout for the sizes you need):

2013 new style led angel eyes for bmw e46 non projector,3014 smd led car ring angel eyes kits 50W led headlight free shipping-in Angel Eyes from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

Cool, thanks! I thot the EVO-XRs would bolt right up, but wanted to make sure.

Haven't decided yet if i want to try and open my headlights and reseal them, or buy some pre-permaseal housings and swap everything over.

hit a big stick while offroading the other week and it tore into the boot on my new driver side cv joint.

nice that it has a lifetime warranty on it.

replaced it and the passenger side cv joint yesterday, scrubbed the inside of both front wheels to get the grease off, and changed the oil.

feels good.

Good luck with finding pre-permaseal housings in good shape, the problem I find is they are all beat to hell, and at the very least the lenses need wetsanding and protection to be clear again.

Apparently new lenses are available from Europe now, you could get a set of these, and just cut your old lenses off/out, and make sure the channel is clean. Lay down some fresh butyl after all is cleaned out and seal up with new lenses:

BMW x5 E53 99 03 Pre Facelift Set Head Lights Lamp Lens Cover Left Right | eBay

NICE! Definitely looks like the better option. Would be nice to use my housing. Wonder if anybody has any experience with these. Fitment? Quality?

None that I've seen yet, they just started coming through the market a few months ago.

Hmmm, guess somebody's gonna have to give em a try, might as well be me...

Put in a new auxilliary fan when the old one decided to crap out 150 miles into a 300 mile trip. Ugh.

good job!....

Got a BMW air freshener kit with some refills...the aromas smell great.
Kit comes with 3 refills, 1 of each but I bough some more of the kind I liked.Here some pics installed in the vent of my Chevy since I picked it up on my way to work..
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ps493e0394.jpg
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How much did that set you back lol! I been just using Ozium spray when I clean the interior for years now, I get about a year out of 1 can for 8 bucks gaga

Haha 25$ for starter and 12 $ for refills
I've been using the cartoys Japanese crap that's supposed to last up to a month with 10$ per refill...what a waste of money that was..will try this one for a while see how I like it..can I find ozium locally or online only?id give that a try as well .

Man, I don't know what air freshener my PO used, but I think it's half the reason I bought the X. I LOVE the smell, and I have no idea what it is. I'm hoping it never fades --- it's lasted since July. Who knows, maybe it's just the smell of a BMW that's never been used to transport food. :)

Ya, original BMW smell is the best...My E39 still smelled like that at 180k miles:)
Not the case with my E53 though

Ozium I get at Walmart or any other big box store, its an actual glycol base so it does neutralize malodors. The original scent is more of a "citrus fresh", while they also have Vanilla which I like a lot.

This is my "fresh air" regimen, and I haven't had to use an actual air freshener in 6 years or so:

-Keep fresh air intake clean of leaves/twigs (on the underhood cowl area)
-Replace cabin air filter with a fresh charcoal activated filter every 2 yrs, I just went 2 years on my most recent change and it was fine
-Once a year or each time you clean the engine out, pull the filter out, vac any large debris off, and leave the AC running and on. Spray some Lysol aerosol spray into the fresh air intake, in short bursts, for about 30 seconds, it will come out the vents in the X. Then go in the X (it will smell Lysol-y) a few mins later and put it on recirculate. Then spray the bottom side of the cabin filter with some Lysol, and reinstall


That's all I do to maintain a fresh smelling interior and it works on my wife's Rav4 as well, which our Bulldog is in every 2 weeks or so, sometimes weekly (I hate stale dog smell the worst so I'm constantly cleaning hers out)

A significant part of the new car scent is the smell of leather and new carpet. I treat the seats with lexol a few times a year, change the cabin filter once a year, replace the matts annually and never alllow anyone to smoke in it.

Fully agree. I rarely eat in my vehicle either. Your leather conditioner as well as your interior wipe product should have a pleasant scent because it will be a big part of the reason your interior smells nice!

+1 on the nice E53 smell. When I bought it, it sat right next to an X3 that smelled terrible. It enhanced the perception that the X5 was in a lot better condition, even with 84K miles, so it got bought. BTW, I was originally shopping Jeep Liberties, which all smelled terrible. The X was a couple years older with a few more miles for about the same $$, so...here I am, an E53 owner.

My Xs PO had 2 short dogs, and they stained the passengers carpet and the rear carpet up brown and the smell...oh god the smell lol. I've done a DIY shampooing twice and it's grey now, but damn you guys for posting how lovely your Xs smell haha. Been dealing with this crap since when I got the car in September lol.

Also Turtle Wax F21 super protectant leaves a new car smell behind for those who are interested. I've been using it for about 6? years now. I've detailed about 30 cars for side jobs, and they all come back saying it smells brand new, even a few weeks later.

My X smelled like cigarettes, but some Meguiar's and elbow grease got that out of the leather. I am ashamed, however, to admit that the carpet in the driver footwell is salt-stained from last winter, and I can't seem to get it out. :(

Steam machine and some good upholstery cleaner, you'll be amazed at the stains you can pull out.

Yup!!! ^^^ I plan on doing that after the winter, I don't want to have a wet carpet for any longer than I have to haha. It's still damp right now, but I have these containers that draw in moisture so here's hoping it all works out haha.

Got an average of 12.2L/100km on a 470km trip, does that seem ok? I hammered on it a few times (3 times?) til redline in 3rd to pass some slow people and have some fun lol, but other then that I was pretty reserved and used the apex when I could.

Baking Soda will clear any bad odor http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...558704c231.jpg

12.2 ain't bad on an X. Gotta do my tranny fluid soon... might get it done, as I'm still hurtin from the accident in May and don't want to crawl under the car. :P

If your carpet is big time wet..... your in trouble.

They(BMW) used a open cell foam backer that sucks up water like crazy. I have taken every car I have owned over the last 30yrs to the quarter car was and just power washed the carpet and then quickly taken the vacuum to it. Never had any problems before but.......

The foam is 4" thick in places and just holds the water. I had to take all my carpet out and let it sit in the yard for a week to get it to dry out. This is about 2 months after cleaning the carpet!!!! Only good thing was I was putting in a new stereo so it was already getting at least part way taken apart

Tell me about it. Removed my carpet i my E30 to pressure wash it, it sat outside in the sun for two weeks straight before it was finally dry. They hold water really well.

Don't the OE BMW cabin filters come scented. That is why BMW retains the smell.

I use mostly foam on the carpets, but the floor mats were power washed with the wand, but they're sitting in the back til they dry. I bring carpet cleaner soap and a bucket and scrub brushes, then use the car wash wand to make it into foam lol, it's what we use to do at the detail shop I use to work for. Then I take towels and hand scrub/dry the carpet after.

Also I do the same thing with the carpet usually too haha, but I know from tearing out a BMW carpet in the past that indeed they do have some THICK insulation foam going on haha. I think I used maybe a cup of water though, and 1/2oz of soap.

The motor oil arrived today..gonna change it tomorrow along with TC oil and F/R diff oil.
Tranny for next weekend;)
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ps32165095.jpg
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...pse00c549d.jpg

Love your designer oils bro :)

RB appreciate the sarcasm haha maybe with the 1.5qts left I can use it as body lotion at the price I paid for it it better smell good:rofl:

I'll have to post up my 8 quarts of T6 I'm picking up tomorrow :)

Did you get a free shaving kit with your oils? ;)

I swapped out my swat mats for the shovel mats. (Iowa: the land of two seasons-shovel and swat)

:thumbup:
It's a free world

I love the can.

It def is! By chance what is the cost per quart just my wondering?

RB..I paid 32$/can -2L...FCP price matched the lowest price on the net...otherwise would have been 38$/2L so right around 16$-19$/qt

LOL @ designer oils. I tried lubromoly last oil change... no noticeable diff, but since the leak I couldnt get anymore lubromoly so I had been topping off with castrol synthetic. Prob replaced most of the oil, so will prob wait till january for next oil change.

I didn't do anything today but did notice that the tire shop cleaned my rims. Does that count? ;)

Replaced the #^$&%*# CCV/oil separator. What a job. I'd like to meet the guy who decided it was a good idea to mount that thing under the intake. In a dark alley, please.

Otto makes it look easy. It's not. I've got about ten hours in the job. http://blog.bavauto.com/8003/diy-vid...lation-system/

In other news, the X5's new owner should be here tomorrow to take it home.

It's a fun job the first time you do it huh? At the shop I worked at guys were doing it in a couple of hours without taking off the intake manifold. I was like nope, no thanks... took the intake manifold off and did it in about 5 hours. I have big hands though and for my sanity was glad I did it the way I did.

What specifically are you guys having problems with? My stuff looks rather fresh, but is the uninsulated. I have been thinking of getting the insulated kit. It doesn't look too difficult.

No way Dave you're getting rid of it?

The CCV is a bear the first time, luckily I actually have small hands so its somewhat manageable. After all was said and done, and replacing the dipstick guide tube with the newer cold weather version, I was approx the same amount of time start to finish.

Sorry to see it go, but I guess the new owner would be happy you did the maintenance. Anything replacing it or are you just sick of the X?

Yeah, selling it. It's been a good car, but the wife has been hinting at wanting something smaller. A BMW friend from Michigan was shopping for a winter car a few weeks back & asked my opinion of the e53 X5; after some chatting, I mentioned that we may be selling, and next thing you know, he's made an offer, I've accepted, and he's on his way here on a bus(!) to pick it up. He was planning on driving out with another guy, but that fell through. I've steered him toward this site, so he'll probably show up here sometime and introduce himself.

That oil separator job was a lot more difficult than the Bentley makes it look. The Bav Auto video was pretty helpful in getting me through it though. I thought about pulling the manifold, but needed to get it done and didn't have a gasket set. I had trouble with the shorter hose that feeds through the manifold to the valve, so my son with the magic fingers did that one; sure glad I had him around!

I was really surprised to find that the valve that came out of it was NOT the cold-weather insulated unit. And one of hoses didn't have insulation on it. The documents I got from the previous owner said that it had been replaced with the cold weather unit, so I'm thinking somebody got taken by a shady mechanic. Bad deal.

It's getting to the bolts under the manifold to release the CCV and associated tubes. No way (for me) to get under there to release ALL the tubing without pulling the manifold. When I do it I replace everything... breather tube, dipstick drain tube, etc. As such it's usually just faster for me to pull the manifold.

It's totally doable with the manifold in place. Just unbolt the distributor air piece on top. Key is getting the wire harness junction box out of the way and the throttle body out.

Watch the BavAuto video. You have to get the bolts off blindly, but you can feel them if you stick your arm under there. It's a blind R&R of the 2 retaining bolts for the valve itself, and a blind install for the hose that comes up from under the manifold, you have to press it on the valve and twist it up into place. It's all blind, but doable if you're familiar with the orientation.

I replaced mine, and all hoses and the updated dipstick tube in June and took me approx 7 hours DIY start to finish taking my time. Would be able to do it in half the time now that I know what I'm doing.

Sorry to hear your leaving the family.
Your the only person I have met on the BMW boards who is from that area of country. My mom is from Emery SD which as you know is a few miles west of there. Sioux Falls was the "big city" to her. :rofl:

hi all, i have problem when i start a car after 2rd gear to 3rd gear, when the car is cold safe mode prog come on board and move is very slow.after i turn off car and start after 10 second , there is no messege and no promblem all day long, next day morning there is same problem!! today i checked by computer and there was problem slipping 2rd gear to 3 gear, can anybody tell what i do, some say me there is problem of brain some say abot transsmission problem but why its comes when the car is cold???

Installed my Nokian snow tires on my Kromag 9960 steel rims. Fitment was perfect for the rims, and ride is smooth. Checked tire pressure this morning and no drop, so looks like I remember how to work a tire machine :)

edit: speaking of CCV, mine also looks in great shape with no oil loss happening. Engine has 130,000km on it, runs strong. I use Quakerstate Defy 5w30 (great zinc and zddp content!) and 5oz of seafoam every oil change (reduces moisture build up, and helps clean varnish/emulsified oil residue, petroleum based).

Think I should look into the cold weather kit as well for safety though? It's winter time here now, and I'm only slightly concerned about it since there hasn't been any issues since the frequent oil changes (left film of oil in the valve cover breather tube after long drives before) now it's basically dry just feels oily. The seafoam really does its job well lol.

When I looked at the job as described in the Bentley manual, I thought it didn't look too bad either, but it didn't take long to figure out that the Bentley skipped a number of important things. Like the fact that you can't see any of what you're doing unless your head is the size of a baseball and you suspend yourself from the rafters of your garage, upside down, to do the job. And it helps to have hands the size of a capuchin monkey.

I was able to get it done without removing the manifold, but it's one of those jobs that would work well for a DaVinci laparoscopic robot, unless you take the time to pull the intake manifold off. It's not an easy job. Not impossible, but one where you need to budget your time wisely, and not dive into it when you've got a short window of time where it has to be done.

She may not recognize Sioux Falls these days; the city plus the surrounding "suburbs" is well over 250,000 people now. Not huge compared to some places around the country, but it's feeling a lot bigger than I remember it being when I was a kid.

I'm not necessarily leaving the family; I still have a herd of BMWs to care for, and this is one of the few boards with a decent signal-to-noise ratio where a guy can get some good answers to questions that come up. We just bought an e46 325i last week, which also has an M54 in it, so I'll be around. And who knows; we may end up in another e53 sooner or later. They're at about just the right age where the price/condition ratio makes them an excellent buy.

Tossed on the 19" staggered winters. There is something to be said for unsprung weight. My summers are the staggered 20" with run flats. The 19" non-RFT make the X5 feel nimble. Steering isn't as heavy, acceleration much better, softer ride with the new tread and taller sidewalls. Road noise on pavement at 100km/h+ is noticeable, but I'd trade that for the traction any day.

Splurging for an alignment at the dealer tomorrow morning. We'll see if I can get them to pre-load it and follow my instructions for the rear camber/toe. I'm bracing myself for a wonderful experience. I'm sick of the hack, lack-lustre alignment shops that have touched the X to date. Stay tuned.....

The dealer won't set the toe to .01 because that would be "out of spec" I've found only indy shops would do it. BMW low spec in the rear on toe is like .07 which is still too much.

Good luck with it, an I recommend if you want to save weight on the 20s to go with non RFT. That's at least 5 lbs per corner.

I won't let them proceed if they won't agree to 0.01" :). I want the camber set to minimum but within spec after the vehicle is loaded with a tank of gas.

As for the tires, I scored a set of used run flats for $320. I wanted a crap set while I sorted out the suspension issues. Well worth it :). But I agree and would prefer non-RFT.

I was going to use the argument that it's no different than trying to do an alignment on a car with bad suspension parts. They will release a car that is not in tolerance. In this case, it'll be because I wanted them to :)

Where do I start?

Complete suspension overhaul including but not limited to:
All control arms, including new OE bushings, tension struts (top bottom, fore and aft), integral links, ball joints, rear bushes, swaybar links and bushings, inner and outer tie rods, remanufactured my own steering rack (through rack doctor.net) - since they didn't have one in stock, all new PS hoses, reservoir and fluid. both front outer axle boots, rear shock mounts, rear shocks, shock boots.

Idle tensioner pully, all new belts, vacuum pump o-ring, front windshield plastic cowl, air filter housing, new air filter, cabin filter, front and rear wiper arms and blades (the old ones had rust on the springs that I would stare at from the driver's seat), new A pillars. Coolant flush.

Swapped out the interior for black / silver Alcantara sport seats and door cards.

Waiting for me new Arnott Air Pump (hence the video I posted over the weekend.)

4-wheel alignment at the dealer.

Where are the pics of the X after all that work lol!

Dude, I am getting pretty "done" with this thing. I still have susp. inactive lights, which after purchasing an airpump rebuild kit, failed to work (suspension wouldn't fill), I bought a $600 pump from Arnott, let's see if that fixes it. Once this is all done, I'll take some shots.

This truck really tests our patience and brand loyalty.

PS - I forgot to add that I installed the Winter Bridgestones this weekend.

cncmastr
How many miles are you at with that monster? It should drive near new after all of that!

Do you have the GT1 software to plug in a calibrate the suspension ride height? When I did my lower control arms even though I was cautious to re mount the ride height sensors in the same exact place mine levels were way off.

Also curious to hear more on your PS rack re-do, was it leaking?

Did you reset the SLS module with DIS after rebuilding/swapping the compressor? You need to to clear the faults

Alignment done. All units below are degrees.

Before:
LF camber -0.7
RF camber -0.5
LF toe -0.16
RF toe +0.34
Total toe +0.19
Steer ahead? -0.25
LR camber -1.1
RR camber -1.9
LR toe -0.12
RR toe -0.07
Total toe -0.18
Thrust angle -0.03

After:
LF camber -0.5
RF camber -0.4
LF toe +0.15
RF toe +0.13
Total toe +0.28
Steer ahead? +0.01
LR camber -1.2
RR camber -1.9
LR toe +0.02
RR toe +0.02
Total toe +0.04
Thrust angle 0.00

Said RR was maxed out at being able to get less than -1.9 camber. Not as close to 0.01 on the rear toe as I wanted, but overall I think the numbers moved in the right direction. I'll keep an eye on the wear as these are brand new winter tires.

Cheers.

.02 is good enough. The RR is always maxed out before the LR in my experience in regards to camber, but I've been maxed at -2.9 on RR and -1.9 on LR for over a year now, toe is set to .01 and the tires are wearing evenly.

the camber maxed out is due to the rear control arm and/or lower ball joint being worn out.

Looking into replacing the OE radiator with an all aluminium unit (coolant is seeping from the seal between the LS plastic part and aluminium core).

Only been able to find this......

Zionsville Autosport: BMW X5 Aluminum Radiator

Anyone seen it for a better price then $1000?

For the Zionsville unit? Nope. OE radiators are cheaper, but the Zionsville is a bitchin unit for sure

if you can find a Mishimoto for it I would not hesitate, put one in my M3 back in 2008 and has been flawless!!

Can't recall the costs, but the Zions is like 4X the cost of OE....and the OE on mine was changed around 95K just because...

I'd say take that extra money and use it for the hoses and such.
And or, if you're lucky like me, save the extra coin for the unexpected like the high pressure steering hose, I replaced 2X within 15K miles if my memory recalls. I was not a happy camper spending $$ on this $$$ hose

I checked Mishimoto first, they only produce rads for 1 & 3 series BMWs.

I plan on design/fabbing an aluminium coolant tank in the spring (CNC machined fittings/TIGed tank/flush sight glass level window (PresSure Products, pic below)/low pressure BMW cap).

that is a bummer, they make a great product
Need to email them and see if they are willing or going to in the future?

I started my rear suspension overhaul project. Got the upper control arm and one guide link done this evening!!

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...aa510f2bbd.jpg


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Aux Fan died. Put in a new Behr.

Still not 100% so put in a new Sachs fan clutch.

Ahhh, BMW cooling systems...:tsk:

One side finished up. Maybe I can knock the other side out today. Just need to torque a couple more things then I can release the "preload" I have on the suspension (via floor jack) to simulate ride height (18.5 inches from center of wheel to fender lip).

I'll tell you - getting that lower integral to play nice was not fun. I think I learned the secret after an hour or so of fiddling. You cannot have the suspension arm and the balljoint 100% aligned and ready for the long bolt to slip through. If you do there is not enough room for the integral link to slip-in. Things get more rigid and tight and it just won't go in. It looks like it might, but it won't.

Here are my observations after 110k miles (driver side only)

Integral link - looks okay!
Upper control-arm. Looks okay. Rubber bushing does look slightly distorted though. Just a wee bit. Ball joint side seems okay.
Guidelink - looks okay
Ball joint - worn out. A little floppy and can feel the looseness (click click) in the joint.


Note - that balljoint removal/installation tool is awesome!


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Thanks for the updates Garrett, you're doing great! I'm due to do these parts next year, my miles are low but my right rear is already out of spec with camber and at the age of the parts anything with rubber bushings or ball joints is going to be worn.

Interesting on the integral link, I'm wondering if letting the air out of the spring would give more wiggle room to play

Air suspension has been drained! (Which is a piece of cake btw)

Maybe someone else with more experience with this repair can chime-in but my experience here what I found

If you install the integral link first - it's difficult to slip the suspension arm past the balljoint to line it up. It'll end up hitting the rubber boot and that's not good. The ball joint needs to pivot slightly to allow the arm to pass over it. Maybe if I had a lift it'd be easier? I am working in contorted positions on the floor

The other side of the ball-joint has a little raised collar portion that fits into the end of the integral link. Once the suspension arm is aligned with the balljoint - the balljoint can't pivot anymore which causes issues with getting that collar to fit in the IL squarely The IL needs to swing (arc) into its final place. I found its about 1mm or less too much interference.

The solution was to start the alignment process on the ball-joint suspension arm-side, but just slightly so the balljoint can still pivot. Don't align the holes. Then start the integral link side - then you can coax the mess together with a plastic mallet. I know I fiddled with this for more than an hour last night before figuring that out

It's a little hard to explain without pictures.






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Replaced Battery, it was original OEM BMW battery, 68k miles, garaged, Ohio winters, 11 years. Can't complain, died while in garage. Replaced with AutoCraft Platinum AGM Battery, Group Size H8, 900 CCA with 30% off online coupon found in xOutpost forums. :-)

Soldiered my tail light to fix bulb out warning

^ I did the same with my taillight also.

Got my 1.4.0 scanner in yesterday, so going to bring it over to my friends shop on the weekend and have some fun haha. Not sure what I'm going to mess with other than the DRLs, but I'm sure I'll find something haha.

Also random question guys. I changed out my wheels/tires last week and I noticed the rear suspension has play at the wheel, but requires a LOT of force to show signs of play.

It's only present in the rear wheels, it would feel how a lightly warn front tie rod end would feel. Slight play side to side, but the play from left to the right side are identical.

Any ideas? Am I smoking crack? :) lol

You might be smokin' crack, I can't see you.

There should be no play. How many miles are on the suspension?

Wheel bearings maybe? Do they make any noise while driving? Any loud humming (or even faint humming).

Replaced the battery with upgraded 790CCa. Everything is perfect for now. Goes to sleep and all that good stuff. Then, fixed the rear license plate light. Corroded over time, replaced it with a brass washer. Works perfect. Sealed all the electrics off in the handle /light bar too. Now onto the Steering angle sensor replacement and then maybe serpentine/tension replacement. Possible to do all drive train fluids too. Have a great pic but can't get it to upload.. sorry

Ive got loud humming, but thought that was my blizzaks :P

If your wheel bearings are bad, you'll know it. Your X5 will sound like a WWII bomber above 40 mph

That's why I was asking if he had any noise. My 325 is making this noise and I have both front hubs on order... One side will get silent depending on turning direction.

No noise at all, and I just installed my winter wheels. Both rear wheels have the same amount of play too, chassis has 180,000km, but like I said it takes a lot of effort to show play. it feels like it's coming from behind the spindle/knuckle area, it's hard to tell doing it solo, I'm assuming bushing related?

Going to hop on realbmw and get a screen shot maybe

EDIT: ok looks like it may be the integral link pt# 33326770749 from the website, I know it's not the bearing as the complete spindle/knuckle moves. Part #4 in the diagram.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/q/e/230.png

Ahhh, gotcha. Yeah might be best to just have someone under there while you are moving it around.

Does the X keep it's rear alignment? If so... I'm not sure I'd worry about it until it made noise or couldn't keep an alignment.

What does everyone else think?

alignment seems to be fine by the looks of it, I can push the car side to side without any noises. It's the weirdest thing lol, my one friend said not to worry about it either til it started showing more signs. Hopefully it'll be sold by then haha.

Its def not the integral link,those last a while. Its prob your lower ball joint on the swing arm

yea seems there's a joint on either side of the integral arm, which is where I'm assuming the play is coming from lol. I'll try to get it on a hoist this weekend and get a video.

Not overly worried about it though lol, only asking another 10,000km out of this BMW before I sell it lol

This is likely the case. I just pulled/replaced my rear ball joints over the last couple days

The upper control arms, integral link and guidelines were all in reasonable condition so it seems but the ball joints were obviously trashed. Lots of play in them.

I have the tool for pulling the joints available if you'd like to rent it from me. Alternatively you can buy it for around $120 plus shipping.


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Rear suspension refresh complete! The X is back on the ground! Next-up:

1. Front (lower) control arms (maybe this weekend)
2. Alignment! (maybe next weekend)

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...c997375d77.jpg


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http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...psso7nuam9.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...psgbmcegvh.jpg

And the "ricer" in me won :p:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...pstcmkjwie.jpg

^tmv, what happened to your front bumper?
Funny thing, I was just thinking the other day of some LED's in the bumper...
Was thinking to go get some from Mercedes or porsche and put them right under the fog lights in the black piece of plastic..but it would involve precise cutting and refinishing of the cut-out...I bet it would look awesome paired with some bright AE's like V2's from umnitza

I installed a new rad, old rad had a serious leak, while I had the rad out I installed a new AC belt. One of the PS muffler supports broke off so I removed the muffler and took it to work and welded it back on. The rubber isolator support for the other mount on the muffler broke due to having to support the whole thing by itself so I replaced that as well. I had to drive my old 95 Jeep Grande Cherokee for a week while waiting for parts, I LOVE driving the X5 again.

four.8iS, my X was rear ended and pushed into the tow hook of the SUV in front. That's the mark left from the ball.

soldered the other taillight contact today.

What did you do to / for your E53 today??
 

Finished up my suspension project by changing the front lower control arms. I picked up a balljoint removal tool from harforfreight ($19 plus 20% coupon!) which needed a little modification (grinding) to make it open-up a little more to fit over the balljoint screw. The tool isn't quite big enough as it is, but with a little modification worked great!

I took the X for a ride around the block and it feels and sounds so much more solid with a refreshed front and rear suspension! Now I need to get it aligned!



http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...fa471915aa.jpg


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Backed into a trailer in the dark yesterday. Scratched the driver's rear passenger door, rear quarter panel, kissed the lower part of the bumper. I wasn't too impressed. It definitely won't "buff right out" as they say.

Had a good chat with my Indy a couple of weeks ago about a slight leak from the plug sleeve on the gearbox housing. Told him that, although I wasn't having major problems with the box, I felt it was holding onto the gears for longer than it should. Not slipping, per se, but the car seemed to spend virtually no time below 1500-2000 revs. He immediately said change the fluid, along with a new pan, filter and sleeve. I mentioned the horror stories I'd heard about doing this at my mileage (95,000) and he said that previous to having his own place, he was a master tech at BMW and spent some time working with someone who had been an employee of ZF and was brought to the UK by BMW to work with them. This guy had said categorically that the fluid should be changed before 100k miles, no matter what. I didn't hesitate to book that job in.

Whilst there it had:
2x drop links installed.
2x trailing arms fitted (the bushes were shot which was making the car wallow quite a bit.)
All brake lines/rear flexi hoses replaced as a pre-emptive maintenance job.
Handbrake tightened up.

All in £668, which is about $1100, but the car has been totally transformed.

Car is so much quicker going through gears and revs sit at just over 1,000rpm at 30mph now.

Oh another thing I should mention is that the ATF was really clean when it came out, and still clean when it overfilled on the second stage of filling, so it does appear that the fluid was still in good condition at 95,000 miles, however despite this, the gearbox is behaving quite differently since the fluid change, so there's definitely a case for changing it even if it doesn't appear black or full of metal particles!

Installed a new Air Pump in the X, only to still find a leak somewhere in the front passenger side. I had the truck towed to Circle BMW because I don't care any more.

I also filmed and uploaded a procedure video.



Installed Winter wheels too. One day I'll get to drive it...

Did my winter detail prep this weekend, lubricated door seals with Gummi Pflege, and a nice coat of Collinite 845 wax, I already had some Menzerna Power Lock on there from about 2 months ago so I should be good to get through winter now.

After 3 ABS Trifectas in the last 2 weeks I am also going to actively park the X in the next week or so and send out my module to get rebuilt (finally), put it off too long.

In the pic below, which parts are you referring to as the drop links and control arms?

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/q/e/230.png

Drop link is number 7 Here RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 4.4i Stabilizer, front
The trailing arm is listed as wishbone here: RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 4.4i Service Kit for A-arm / Value Line