I've had quite a few "first failures" in the past few months....

1; First FCAB failure (installed Powerflex)

2; First oil leak (replaced VC gaskets).

3; First window regulator failure (replaced).

4; First radiator failure (seam leak, replaced).

5; First PS fluid leak (upper hose at res, trimmed & hose clamped).

6; First door handle carrier failure (DS, 2 day ago).

7; First folding mirror failure (DS, last night).

Ordered a Genuine BMW door handle carrier last night, pulling the mirror apart soon.

Finally got the winter wheels on the e70. I bought these from a board member who parted ways with his 4.8iS. I thought they'd be an e53 fitment with CB 72.6 mm. I have hub adapters and tried to fit the wheels a week ago.

Amazingly these Rial wheels are neither e53 nor e70 (74.1 mm) CB, but actually 76 mm. After a bit of searching I found hub rings to match but I could not see any vehicle with a 76 CB.

Anyway, the delay while waiting for the hub rings gave me time to pop the pressure sensors in and now it is is good for the winter to come along :-)

Still waiting for wider rear spacers to arrive as they look a bit skinny.

Finally got my abs module back so I was able to drive it. I am really digging the painted diffuser.

http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/v...psn2jvoqnr.jpg

Nice Josh, now you can give the e30 a break for the winter.

painted diffuser looks sick Josh! Glad to hear the ABS module rebuild went well!

Thanks guys. The E30 is done with daily duty for a while, hopefully! Although it is pretty fun to take the mountians and on date night every once in awhile. Luckily they don't use salt here in the winter. I am pretty happy with BBA. Their turn around time was about 24 hours. Sadly it took UPS 10 days to get it to my house.

Wish they didn't use salt here in TX!

TX-DOT is brining roads today, freezing rain is expected tonight.

The X is washed/garaged, and on the battery maintainer, driving the Honda until the salt is gone.

Same, but I have to drive the X today. I'll avoid highways... still going to get dirty though. :(

The brine is good for the roads. Makes them more tender and moist.

so very new to forum...New to me(05X5 4.4i)
 

Got her some new tires......
New oil change......
found out the green blinking light by my headlight control is going to hurt my wallet......
found out the little black button next to the mirror control IS to fold mirrors.....
OH boy what did I get myself into......

LOL we are on the same path... look to spend at least $2000 when buying a used one of these unless you are paying top dollar and the PO had maintained it meticulously. :dunno:

Edit: We even bought the same year... you can check my intro thread in my sig for some common problems to look out for. You should put the details of your X in your signature too, will help people when you have questions.

That is what I thought...ouch...:(

Been away for a bit, but had the alternator preventatively replaced as I saw the lights starting to flicker.

I also had both front air bag units replaced (thank goodness for the warranty) as well as my adaptive headlight module. Sadly, I'm now getting a 'Self Leveling Suspension Inactive' warning after I hauled a bunch of gear for a shoot the other week. I pulled the 30A fuse in the trunk, but the error remains—green light illuminates the normal height setting, but won't engage entry/off-road mode.

After changing the oil the other day, it seems the hood doesn't like to latch properly anymore either. Always something to tinker with on this thing, haha. :stickpoke

Well, got an OEM hitch with harness for 150$
Gotta take it off my friends 4.8is and install it on mine.
Pretty happy I found one as it looks like no dealer in the country has one in stock at the moment.

@ mikem5, check your EHC errors with DIS. Chances are all the hauling may have overworked an aged compressor seal and you may need to rebuild it

I was thinking the same. :(

If it's the seal, it wouldn't throw a code, correct? I have a Peake tool and gave it a quick scan, but it didn't throw anything.

I was considering just grabbing the ECS kit to be done with it (knock on wood): 100698010A - Air Suspension Pump Repair Kit - ES#289283

Thoughts?

Nice score! :)

I wouldn't scan it with Peake. You need DIS to scan the EHC module. The could would be an accumulator filling requested code, EHC74. If the bags are holding air and level that is a very likely culprit.

Bagpipingandy's kit on eBay is a great one for $50. But either way if you repair the compressor you still need to reset the faults in the module for the dash error to go away. Good luck hope I helped

Good to know! Thank you! I figured if Andy's kit is $50, I might as well just be safe and get the ECS one with a new compressor unit in case more is faulty than the piston ring. It'll probably curse me to say, but I'd like to be done tinkering with the air suspension in one shot after all this, haha.

Don't forget to get the bumper support, bolts & frame rail inserts. They are different.

That says it is for a VW.

This is what a X5 search gets:
BMW E53 X5 M62 4.4L Search SiteSearch Air Suspension - ECS Tuning

That vw kit will work on our Wabco compressors. VW uses wabco as well, no BMW part # for the repair kit though

Ordered new DWS's for the front because my tires were mismatched.
Got my roof spoiler in gotta get it mounted now.

Got the new door handle carrier installed today, first time DIYing this repair, took around 3 hrs.

Here are the rest of pics from my mid winter detail and after skid plate install. Just need to finish up my Spyder headlight project, and then front end is done. Saving for running boards and Dynavin N6 after.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...edc69fd4aa.jpg

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...853283b14d.jpg

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...13cda34d0e.jpg

And just because I'm a whore about posting pics of my family here is one of my wife and our dog Chadwick from New Years Day, happy new year to all!

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...3486f1debd.jpg

RB,
Awesome job on the truck!
And great shot with Wife + Bulldog !

Beautiful example of a clean X! Very sharp... Looks like you have a beautiful/happy family!:thumbup: All the best to you and yours in the coming year...

Edit: Forgot to ask, but thought I read somewhere, is the X lowered just a bit?

The skid plate is great RB. I wasn't sure how the color match would look since I have only seen them in silver, but it looks perfect! It is on my short list for sure.

Thanks Josh, I think the color match gives a nice depth to the front bumper.

Matt, the X is at sport suspension settings and about 1/4 lower than stock in this picture. I may take it down just a notch lower in spring or when I get running tboards but I'm happy with how it sits now. I should have put it in access height for the pictures :banghead:

Looking good, J.

Good thing you didn't, you'd be lookin' so good, there would have be a lowering kit on my to do list!!:cool: :thumbup:

Looks great RB! Family as well.

Good work, RB! Love what you've done with it!

The running boards will really set the car off :thumbup:

Agreed looking great RB... I need OE running boards in my life as well. Now that the Avin is off the list I can start saving for those. Are they still available or are they an ebay find type of the thing now? NLA?

I clayed and waxed her, and she thanks me by shitting a door handle carrier lol!

Ouch... these things break those a lot huh? I've seen a bunch of posts about those. Is it just from people pulling straight out instead of up and out or just a poor design?

I gave mine an indoor bath today (Optimum no rinse wash & wax), re-installed the grilles with some strategically placed silicon since most of the clips were broken and I couldn't stand the movement it had while washing it, and inserted/siliconed some vacuum tubing into some torn door weather seals that were allowing too much wind noise into the cabin at highway speeds.

BTW, are the front door seals part numbers 51727025579 and 51727025580? I can't seem to find any pictures of them that show the black carpet portion and was surprised to see they are only $100 each. That's $150 cheaper than the e46's door seals with carpet were when I was looking. I may just buy some new ones if those are the correct part numbers. Parts 1 in the diagram appears to be them...

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/p/c/57.png

^ I think it's a combination of both. I'm just pissed because I did these already lol! Not that surprised though, I see posts from people who have done this twice or more.

Interesting tips on the weather strips, will keep it in mind if noise starts getting in the cabin.

Crystalworks, those are the right part numbers - you get the rubber and the furry felt part all as one piece. I just did my drivers door. Car noticeably quieter after - too a week or so for them to take shape as door took a bit more effort to shut.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@crystal, the running boards are still available thank God. $750 from the dealer though as a complete retrofit kit.

Got to use a few of the products that I ordered and so far really impressed with Adam's products
The blue towel is amazing I dried the whole car with it
The mitt is like a pillow and it holds two gallons of water-really liking it
The most amazing is the foam gun.The washing experience just got more exciting .Even the wife loved the cockpit cleaner by 1Z and the glass cleaner from Adam's polishes
She wants me to buy her a few products since they smell so good lol

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ps08bc748d.jpg

Works like a charm. Drove about 30 highway miles today and the noise was significantly lower. Am still going to order new ones, but the wind noise was annoying me so this is a good temp fix.

Thanks... will be ordering them in the future after taking care of some other maintenance items. I love bringing a used car back up to OEM + specs. Don't know how some people live with imperfections... but then again the wife and I are OCD so I'm sure we are the weird ones not others.

Thanks for the info... going to start saving... :thumbup:

PS: Does anyone else have a problem with multi quote on these boards? It's irritating to have to go and open a bunch of tabs to copy and paste people's quotes into my one response. Never had this problem on a forum before.:dunno:

Got it to work for me ONCE, never since! :tantrum:

Finally got around to ordering tires. Made a last second decision to go with the Michelin Latitude Alpins over the Bridgestone Blizzaks DM-V1 for two reasons, 1) tirerack was sold out and 2) I think I'd prefer to have a high performance winters over studless snowtires this time. Can't wait to get them on at the end of the week.

https://www.tirerack.com/images/tire...alpin_1000.jpg

Looks like so much fun! I'll be crackin open my box from DD on Tuesday...

empty catch can 1/4 full of mostly water and a bit of mayo, working awsome so far. thats for about a month of driving since the last emptying of it, the mayo is almost gone now. what a nice feeling. and haven`t lost a drop of oil since going to catch can.

Painted brake calipers to Silver and installed winter tires.
Since then it's been raining whole day, couldn't get any descent pictures.
Happy with outcome tho. :D

^^^nice haul! I have everything you have pictured, you'll never use regular drying towels again after the Super Dryer, and the Wool wash mitt is amazing?

How awesome does Adam's products smell? You'll be ordering All Purpose Cleaner and Glass Cleaner in gallons, I have a separate bottle for my wife and I to use in the house for our windows and countertops!

Cockpit is amazing as well as an interior QD, and PNS is a great LSP. Glad you're enjoying the Gilmour foam gun, I purchased a Griots foamer a couple months ago and love it! So easy to use with a hose.

While at the ex-indy getting the oil leak checked, they broke my driver's side door handle.
My valve cover gasket is leaking after all.
I'm in X5 hell right now...

^when was the ccv last changed? that could be why your vcg is leaking, building up pressure.

Hardly X5 hell.

The VCG costs around $130 and 4 hrs labor, the handle carrier is around $100 and 3 hrs. Those prices are for Genuine BMW parts online.

These are easy DIY jobs.

Indeed these products are great and I will never use anything from the auto parts stores ever again.

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1a854de8.jpg

Installed an OEM hitch today...took me a good 5 hours since I had to remove it for my friends car, move the internals from mine to his and install the hitch on mine...
Pretty happy especially since I paid 150$ for it

Pretty awesome considering they are on indefinite backorder!

Btw you don't have any Dinan engine mods that I can recollect right?

Clean those exhaust tips!

Good deal by the way.

Nice score. You can see why they cost so bloody much from the dealers :). I hated how long it took, but felt it was worth it in the end. Balanced out.

Haha if I had time I would have polished them last night but I was in such a rush that I barely had time to put everything back on.
That's another project for another day.
By the way what do you guys use to polish those chrome tips?

Any metal polish will work just fine, you can also use some Sonax Full Effect on them to pull the rust particles out.

Just FYI the tips aren't bare aluminum they are chrome plated so any mild metal polish will work, you don't need to polish like you are doing mag wheels though. I use Optimum Metal Polish currently, Adam's makes a good metal polish as well.

Got back the Blackstone report from my last oil change - a relatively long [9k miles] interval on Mobil1 0w40 Euro formula, 2-3 qts added over those miles. Report attached. Good news for those interested in longer intervals. Though I could easily go to 10k interval changes, given this and my driving patterns, I expect I'll stick to changing every 7500-8k miles.

I just wish it wouldn't 'burn' or process so much oil through the CCV ....

Good looking oil report Riggo.

I run the same Mobil [1] 0w-40 at 60% change interval (drain when the 3rd SII light goes out).

I'll send a sample to Blackstone when I hit 200k miles, in about a year.

My tires showed up a day early. That's always a nice surprise.

http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/v...psds1ytcti.jpg

Can't wait to get them on.

Also I started working on the pass front window regulator today. Even with cutting the cables the window was still stuck up. Something must have happened with the track, although once I got it out I couldn't tell what. And it turns out my motor is dead, probably got burnt out from the stuck track. So I now I am overnighting a new motor from FCP (lifetime warranty). Gotta love when shit breaks.

Not today, but yesterday. Got my X back from having the alternator bracket oil seal changed! Hopefully no more leaks now!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Happened to me once on my old VW. Regulator was replaced a bunch of times and finally it burnt the motor out. I too, love FCP's lifetime warranty and AMAZING customer service.

This is what they are suppose to look like:

After seeing another forum member's 4.6is tips, I ran home and polished mine using chrome polish from Mothers and the Griot's best in show wax. It only takes 30/40 mins per side then a quick touch up when you wash.

Clean = happiness :thumbup:

well changed the battery with the eliminator battery in sept and finally got to test it out today in -40c and started the x no problem. with the 3 yr old bmw battery that was in it last year as soon as it got to -20c wouldn`t start the x so I figured i would change the battery out. well I made a good decision woohoo.

Both Flitz and Eagle One never dull will do a great job. Unless what I am working on is really bad I use the never dull because it is wadding and ready to use right out of the can. I have never spent more the 3-5 minutes a side on exhaust tips.

Had it in the shop for timing chain cover gasket (along with engine degrease) and steering shaft joint. I'll need to put a few thousand kilometres on it to see what leaks next :). Steering joint nice and tight - no play/knock in steering wheel.

just ordered a aux water pump :(

And.........my wife started it up this morning (a balmy -15C), squeal/marbles from idler pulley or alternator and the check engine light is on. Charging the laptop up today and I'll get plugged into it tonight to assess.

Ordered a Mann-Hummel ProVent 200 oil separator.

Finally got my smoke side markers on yesterday.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...arkers%202.JPG

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...%20Markers.jpg

Pulled codes:
5EB1 - steering angle sensor supply (might be from them messing with the shaft to install the u-joint)
279A - throttle actuator - relearn abort (that's a new one)
2742 - misfire cyl 1 - misfire with cyl cutout
2746, 5, 9, 8, 7 for misfires on cyl 6, 8, 2, 7 3 respectively

Most events were in the recent 2,000km. Some before and some after the shop visit. I grabbed some snapshots and cleared the codes. I'll see what gremlins re-appear :)

After doing some research, I decided to order the Afe Stage 1 intake. I know it won't bring remarkable improvement but more on improving the sound, but let's see what it can provide. Good thing is that 4wheelonline.com gave me a discounted price so it is still a good upgrade for my X5.

Finished my brake overhaul project:

Engine oil and filter change - Oil (see attach) and BMW OE filter
This time I pushed to near 10k miles
Next time I will do it 7.5k

I used DISv44 to make the adjustment. It's under the diags menu. After you do the short test of the modules, you hit the first button at the bottom (Function Selection or whatever it's named), then it is one of the selections on the left hand side of the screen. I can't remember off the top of my head right now. I'll post how to get to it once I get home. DIS allows you to change the setting to either .03mm or .08mm though it gives you a warning about .08mm. When I changed mine, my setting was at .022 which was out of spec. Sorry it took me so long to respond. I'm currently trying to resolve another issue.

Put in a Bagpipingandy kit to remedy my compressor today.

Strangely enough, when I started the car I heard a "psssst" from the rear and still got the suspension inactive error. No activity from the compressor it seems. Any thoughts?

Update: fished around the bottom of the trunk and found this piece. Any ideas?

Drove home fine...now all 4 corners are sagging. Really starting to lose patience with air suspension. :(

That looks weird. I went on ECS's site and looked at the compressor and reservoirs to see what that might be. Best case is to check all the lines from compressor to reservoirs and out. Seeing as you hear the "pssst" it should be easy to find the leak.

If the compressor isn't even activating, check the relay and fuses

Yeah it was one single psst and then nothing which was strange. Tried to listen in for anything further but nothing made a sound. Hoping it's the relay or rods and not the whole compressor unit. Wish I had a GT1 at home to pull codes - driving this thing slammed is woeful!

Changed the VC gasket. Will see if this works.
Forgot to hook up the #6 coil pack back up.
They really don't run well on 5 cylinders.:(

Taking mine in to the indy tuesday for that. He's charging me $240 and i bring my parts. He said that he will also check the valve cover itself as he's seen that part get warped over time. Its a $350 part. I am hoping that not the issue. He said he's seen that part warp on the 3.0 when they get high in the miles 160+. He only works on german cars.

No more codes, but temps are warmer (around 0C). On the leak front, the timing chain cover gasket is good now, but there is another oil leak lower. Looks to be the oil cooler takeoff. I pulled lower covers off and there was enough oil on the "drip tray" to warrant another trip to the indy. He's about 1h away, but he has a decent office and wifi so I can work while he fixes the X5. Like a match made in heaven.

Anyone in the GTA, I would highly recommend this shop. Columbus Auto. Guy's name is Ivo. He has been awesome, fair and hasn't screwed up any of my X5 and 535 work.

I hate electrical problems!!!!. It has taken me many hours over the last week to find two problems in the nitrous bottle heater circuit. I ended up stringing a new wire from the console switch to the blanket and replacing the relay. While I was at it I upgraded the pressure gauge so I had to run new wires from the console to the bottle for that as well. Only salvation was I only had to remove all the stuff to run the wires once. What a pain in the a%s. Glad that's over.

I'm trying hard to feel sorry for you with nitrous problems. Getting stuck on the nitrous part. "Sorry" keeps changing to "jealous" and I'm stuck :).

The downside of mods is the more one does the more time and $$$ spent keeping what has been done to keep on doing. And there's always the concern something is going to break every time the button is pushed. It sounds great but----

So, the next oil leak is dealt with. It was the alternator bracket and associated o-rings. Engine degreased and we'll see what leak crops up next. From what I can see, that was it. Fingers crossed.

As for the misfires, we suspected intermediate levers, but I did check mine a ways back and they weren't part of the recall campaign. Went online with the shop's auto logic tool and found they were set to 0.1mm. Range is typically 0.3mm (min. and spec) up to 0.8mm (software adjust to compensate for crappy ones and/or wear). We set to 0.3mm and I'll keep an eye on the cold starts and see how it goes. You can increment by 0.1mm up to 0.8mm. At the upper range, it alerts that throttle response and fuel consumption would be adversely affected. Both sound so appealing.......

Cheers.

New CV boots and lower ball joints are currently being installed by mechanic.
I was going to do it myself, but didn't have time so took it to local mechanic.
He told me he will do it for $280 with me supplying the parts.
Heck, for $280 I've let him to do the work. After this my front suspension work is done with replacing control arms, tension struts, sway bar endlinks. Will move onto rear soon.

Not going to start a new thread or anytihng but here is a good video of an X5 showing handling prowess whilst switching from RWD to LWD (Right Wheel Drive and Left Wheel Drive).

http://youtu.be/oTRGPaiHM18

What's your model year & mileage? Just curious as a possible example of time measurement of suspension life span. :)

I just had the front lower control arms w/ball joints replaced on my 06 4.4 with 123575 miles.

I bought my 02 3L quite recently (about 9 months ago with 187500km or 116500 miles).
At the time of purchase, noticed the front suspension components were done due to clunking and vibration. I wasn't sure control arm or tension struts caused the symptoms, but decided to just replace all while I'm in there, because if one failed, the other is most likely done as well.

Bought all Meyle or Meyle HD stuff and everything went smoothly except removing lower ball joint which I ended up realizing I need to remove CV to bang it from the top.

I got my car back from the mechanic, and it drives great now minus squeaking from rear. Need to do the same for rear as well. Darn....

Thanks for additional info. :thumbup:

Today was nav projects. I pulled the unit out of the dash and replaced the screen due to dead pixels and while I had it out I added the factory Aux input, too. I added mine in the ash tray instead of the glove box. I just think it makes a lot more sense there.

Of course, once I got everything put back in and tested it I found that my screen is one that needs horizontal shifting to correct the offset. Which, of course, requires complete removal of the screen from the unit again. Another project for another day.

Then I washed it up nice now that we're mostly thawed here.

So I had myself a crack at the top of the radiator. No water pump problems, but decided to do clutch (wrong part arrived), waterpump, belts and hoses while I was at it. Put everything back together, only snapped one harmonic balancer bolt. Developed leak at base of waterpump, or so I thought. Removed waterpump replaced gasket, leak still there, but slower. Turns out it was the small pipe behind waterpump... argh

Finally got around to having my friend Sam install my rear spoiler and do my exhaust. If anyone in the New England area ever needs exhaust work done this is the guy. He did a completely custom xpipe because I wasn't a fan of the fitment and quality of my magnaflow on my previous 4.8.

It took him about 5 hours to get everything perfect but the end result is exactly what I wanted. I attached one half decent pass by and will get some more clips later on for anyone interested.

Don't mind the crappy pic quality.
http://youtu.be/FDHKoESRaeo


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I...o/IMG_5725.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-X...o/IMG_5721.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-R...o/IMG_5723.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-U...o/IMG_5728.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O...o/IMG_5729.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-x...o/IMG_5730.JPG

What brand of rear spoiler did you go with? Any links?

Gloss black? I like the contrast

Stephen that is the ACS rep spoiler, you can get it primed for about $50 or pre-painted and shipped from Taiwan (color matched) for about $90 delivered.

I got mine last year for $90, came in 2 weeks, perfect color match, and had double stick tape and prep solv pads for install, was hands down one of the best bang for the buck modifications I did. Search ebay for "e53 lip spoiler"

Second one I bought from
Carbon Fiber BMW 2000 2006 x5 E53 Sport Rear Wing Roof Spoiler | eBay

Both had good fit and nice quality. Takes 6 weeks to get it but I wasn't in a rush.

Pic of my Lemans for reference:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7353/8...7a985aa0_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7285/8...f542c2b8_b.jpg
Carbon Fiber. My first one took 2 weeks this one took way longer.

coolant circ pump installed the other day, now I have heat !!!

bad news is last week got a flickering battery light a few times. Last night came on and was on for about 10min of a 20min drive home from the red wings game. On at startup today and did not go off, battery voltage with car running is 11.3V guess I know what to replace next :banghead:

Took it to the mountian today. Turns out the folding tail gate makes an excellent work bench for fixing my bindings.

http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/v...psoy04izgf.jpg

how is the paint holding up on the rear josh?

Other than the look, any benefit this item?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say 'no'.

But that won't stop me from buying one. :thumbup:

RB, its holding up really well so far. Been traveling quiet a bit on gravel roads lately too. We will see how it holds up to sand if it ever really starts snowing this winter.

Man those lip spoilers look good guys. I think I'll add one of those to my list.

I also had my replacement led tails waiting for me when I got home today. I got them installed along with the capacitors and theynlook great! I'm stoked. Too bad I never get to see them on.

Nope - just looks.

so I finally replaced the rear shocks on my non-air ride 01 yesterday since I had mlk day off.

I also realized I'll have to back in later on and replace the shock snubbers (or whatever you want to call them). the ones on the front were just fine.

the ones on my rear shocks look like friggin squirrels have been eating them!

the passenger side was the worst one, heck, you could see the shock rod in it. the hole was big enough I could put my thumb through it.

regardless I need to drive my vehicle so I just swapped them over and put the shocks in.

is this a normal issue with these rear shocks? they have seriously taken some abuse lol.

on a side note, the back end rides sooo much more stable then before. my original shocks had 147k on them and both were leaking from the top seal.

What shocks did you end up going with?

Dust boots always go hand and hand with shock replacment

it wasnt the dust boots actually, its these things. http://www.bavauto.com/assets/produc...3531136395.jpg

I guess with the original rear shocks blown out, these took the brunt of the beating from the vehicle weight.

Sensen brand. I've had the front ones on for a couple months now and the ride is perfectly fine. Only thing with the front ones is that the way the dust boot attaches to the top of the strut itself, these are a bit more narrow than the factory ones so it all just bounced around and made some noise. I just went back in and glued some rubber to the top of the struts to dampen the chatter and everything is just fine.

rear ones fit everything perfectly after I knocked a random disc the factory put on the top of them off. probably was there because the rear ones will fit several vehicle types.

Replaced the two filter/grommets on the windshield washer tank at the pumps. I was loosing windshield washer fluid in the cold weather only, looks like the grommets had gotten hard. Cost $13 for both parts at the dealer and took me 15 minutes to RR. No more leaks.

So, about 1.5w has passed. Looks like some more wet on the front drip tray. I'll peel off later to assess. Some day I will be done :). As for the misfires, no check engine light, but temps haven't been very cold lately. I'm sure that saga will continue as well.

I also have a leak. What is annoying is that it isn't consistent. I have even removed the res and have not found any cracks. So I replaced the grommets a couple weeks ago and sure enough it all leaked out again. Sometimes its fine for days/weeks, some times it leaks out immediately. It looks like its coning from the windshield/rear windshield pump area.

Hi LVP and All

Where can we see the intermediate lever setting? I have the Romanian dis/gt1 package but was not sure where to see this setting.

Thx
J


>As for the misfires, we suspected intermediate levers, but I did check mine a ways back and they weren't part of the recall campaign. Went online with the shop's auto logic tool and found they were set to 0.1mm. Range is typically 0.3mm (min. and spec) up to 0.8mm (software adjust to compensate for crappy ones and/or wear). We set to 0.3mm and I'll keep an eye on the cold starts and see how it goes.

Junky - check out this thread - it has some info and screen shots. I haven't seen it personally in DIS, but the shop I had it in used Autologic.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...two-weeks.html

What issues are you having?

thank you LVP!

those screen shots help/ links, I will have a look in a few days

My issues are very infrequent, very rough idle following start up after sitting overnight with the air temp under 15F or so. Even have had this occur with the X parked in the heated garage (45F) (opened door as I started) and it bucked like a bronco for a few seconds.

Let us know what you find. Toss your findings in that thread, as I'm not sure I'm out of the woods yet either. I haven't had any really cold starts yet. I'll keep updates over there. Cheers.

just throwing this out there, but could the maf be the problem?

About how long before the idle smoothes out if you just let it idle and don't move or rev the engine?

Taking this home soon. The white one needs a transfer case rebuild.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...psurl2s0xa.jpg

White one looks good! Love the 168's on it, does it have running boards as well like your silver?

Yum! I've been dreaming about a white one with an IS kit for some time now! Love that...

Yup. It's an 02 4.4. It's the one I put a motor in last month. Owner started driving it and within a day or so the transfer case started clicking under acceleration.
So back it came for a rebuild.

Gotta say I love towing with the air suspension. It handled the weight beautifully. Google says a v8 x5 is around 4800 lbs and uhaul says their trailer is 2k. The ole girl drove like nothing was back there though. :thumbup:

The rear air suspension makes towing a pleasure. I've done several runs between FL & TX (1100 miles each way) with a 6k trailer. Drives so effortless I had to set the speed alarm to 85 when the wife drove a few legs, I looked at the speedo and saw over 90 mph several times. She's not a fast driver, just says the X has a reduced sense of speed (95mph feels like 75 mph).

Even towed my brothers 7500lb boat/trailer with 4 people/cargo, from northeast PA (mountains) to Toms River NJ. After letting my brother drive a few HWY miles, he said the X drives better then the 2011 F150 he uses to tow it.

Went out in the snow for the first time with it today .. Fun :thumbup:

Bought a new Aux Fan Assembly. This price is a lot better than anything else I could find, they sell a lot of them with good reviews. :dunno:

00 06 BMW x5 E53 AC Radiator Cooling Auxiliary Air Fan Direct Replacement | eBay

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFgxMD...UJaAD/$_12.JPG

Hope it works out for you. I bought a cheap AUX fan assembly off eBay for my e39. It used to flex when it got hot and the fan would rub on the shrouds and sound like a pushbike with a playing card in the back wheel.

The cheapie I bought for my X5 has worked perfectly. Hope yours does too :)

Just curious how you figured you needed a new fan?

03/2003 E53 X5 4.4i M62 FB 33

How you guys diagnosed the need for a new fan. my AC/heater is not working so I might be next in line

03/2003 E53 X5 4.4i M62 FB 33

I don't think the heater would stop working because of AUX fan. If anything, the heater would work better if the coolant is hotter. I noticed my car will operate at normal coolant temp while driving around town. But when I turned on the A/C it would start to overheat if I was at a standstill (with less air flowing over the radiator).

I obviously didn't use the A/C. I had my father (mechanic) test it out and Aux fan is receiving electricity and all the wiring is good, but the fan motor was just dead.

If you turn the car on, let it get to normal temp, then turn on the A/C, I believe the aux fan should just come on immediately. It may even come on directly with the a/c button on. Go out, open the hood and look in there. That would be a starting point.

Yep, that was how I worked mine out. The AUX fan never came on with the AC operating and the vehicle at standstill (which obviously was the only time I could visually check it).

Figured a new fan was cheap enough, and seemed to be a common fault, so took a punt.

It paid off.

Yup. Looks my issue too. Thanks guys

Got my radio back from pixel repair. Looks great. Total cost $118, quick removal/install and 5 days mailing back/forth.

http://i60.tinypic.com/28irksj.jpg

Used these guys:
BMW MID Multi Information Display Radio LCD Dead Pixel Repair E38 E39 E53 X5 - German Auto Recycling

This guy does the best instructions for removing the radio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvV8iut1nrw

Also, if anyone is interested, apparently this is the correct battery for the keys. I bought a different one on amazon and the little pieces on the battery are not in the correct orientation so you must modify it. With the new battery, I followed the normal reprogramming and now the doors open via remote no problem.

Rechargeable Battery for BMW Remote Key 2pcs-in Alarm Systems & Security from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

thanks for your time to tell us ,I`m sure there are some x5er`s here that need there pixels fixed or battery replaced.

Replaced a dead ccfl ballast. Had to modify the connections a bit but all is good now. I think the old one died prematurely because it had a bad connection and kept going on and off.

Tore apart a friends spare transfer case in preparation for a rebuild. Ordering a new chain and a seal kit.
Probably won't get started on the tear down of the x for a while though. Have to wait for parts and next weekend I have to do a timing chain job on a 7.

Picked up a new key from the dealership. I have paid less for one of my motorcycles than I paid for that key... at least the wife is happy.

Did away with the air suspension once and for all and installed KW V3s and had my front wheel bearings replaced.

Thinking about selling my new OEM front bags that only have ~100mi on them—any idea what they may be worth?

Could you please give a rough idea of cost for doing this? I am thinking it is very straight forward, like changing the struts on any vehicle. Any custom work needed?

Do the X5s with air suspension have it in rear only, or all 4 corners?

Thanks

^^^some E53 have all 4 corners you would have the ride height switch next to the light switch if so.

It's not straight forward at all, unfortunately if you have 4 corner air suspension. I had to order upwards of $1300 of parts in addition to the KW kit but I figured it'd be worth the peace of mind. I can see if I have the parts list for you.

4.6is has rear air only whereas the 4.8is has all 4 IIRC.

After getting a confirming scan at the nearest BMW dealer, I fixed what caused my 'service engine' light: replaced the valve to the secondary air pump and a post-Cat O2 sensor. Given my mileage [109k plus], I replaced all four sensors and did the spark plugs, too, along with an oil change. Had a valve cover gasket leak [oil in some of the plugs] so I replaced it, as well, with new rubber grommets. Spent maybe 5 hours in nice weather yesterday, taking my time, inspecting for other issues [thrust arm bushings [still ok] and power steering [need a flush, will probably replace the reservoir/filter when I do it, to get a fresh filter]. One tip: for these tasks, it really makes sense to remove both the windshield washer tank and the cabin air filter covers, even if you could reach back there without doing so. Much easier to reach the back of valve cover/back plug and to thread the post-cat O2 sensor lines through to the top of the engine with that stuff out of the way - and it gives you a chance to clean the leaves/dust etc. the accumulates under the cabin air filter. Heckuva lot easier maintenance job than doing the same tasks on my old E36 328iC .....

Facelift bonnet grills install on a prefacelift!
 

Started the install .One down ,one to go (cutting and dremel,I mean)

X5 nose job haha

lol ,,Already done the backside job:D!:thumbup:

Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Installed Whiteline rear sway bar. Stock one was 23mm, replacement 27mm. Haven't taken her for a spin yet but previous experience with upgrading RSB leads me to expect good results.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...2b5b191931.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...170b1988ba.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...a5cae7576b.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

#0 100,000 birthday week or so back
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...bc08917ec0.jpg

#1 Power fold mirror redux. This time the wire going into the micro switch broke off causing the mirrors to immediately bounce back open. Was very glad to see that the switches inside the left side and right side are the same. Quick swap the with switch in my old mirror unit did the trick. (Thank you X Outpost, fix took 30 mins)
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...9eabf7c602.jpg

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...583dba8b3b.jpg


#2. Adjusted the OBC KVBR down from 1000 in attempt to have more accurate mpg / miles left.
What level do you have yours set at (test #20 in OBC) ??

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...f21f15fa67.jpg

:thumbup: Very important too! hahaha

Installed these AE bulbs today and wired them up as DRL's.

2X 10W White Angel Eyes LED Halo Ring Marker Light CREE IC for BMW E39 E53 E60 | eBay

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...psynfoqczu.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...psbxefcdxj.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...psoydkrhhi.jpg

Changed the front and rear diff fluid while I had the stiffening plate off for the motor mount change out (attempt).

Found that both flex disks have seen better days (not fatal, but while I'm in there type thing). Ordered both up and awaiting their arrival...

Had some snow driving fun!

Took the 4.4 into garage today, for the rocker gaskets changing (£50 not bad)
got a phone call at 4pm saying got bad news on it , i asked Richard the mechanic ,while he was changing them, to really check the pipes and hoses as he was stripping it down.
he said...
"ive found the reason why its drinking fuel and slightly missing , .......
the thermostat i had fitted has shorted out the wiring harness and melted about 6 inch of wiring. thus causing it to be stuck on , and effectivly running cold all the time, and ive got to order the parts,. so , no car today http://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/Smileys/...smiley/sad.gif. good news is too fold
1. its not costing me anything to get the new parts and fit them ,:)
2. i get to go to work on my bike instead, which is always a bonus in this weather http://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/Smileys/...ley/smiley.gifhttp://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/Smileys/...ley/smiley.gifhttp://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/Smileys/...ley/smiley.gif


Cold
Steve

Waterpump shaft leak?

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps563a6373.jpg

Big reveal is coming next week. I have the ABS module sent out for repair so no sense in putting the headlights back on only to take it out again in a few days.

HUGE THANK YOU to Caesar and Rich at Lightwerkz for putting everything together for me on a day off of work, my lights came out beautiful and now I don't feel like my X is 12 yrs old anymore.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...944ccb68de.jpg

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...bc007de4d4.jpg

And another huge thanks to Phil @ Detailers Domain for the wrapping of the new lenses in Xpel Ultimate for long term protection

Looks great!

Those look great!

Very nice...

What AE's are those? Look like CCFL rings in the pics... and did you buy new headlights to retrofit or were you able to find new lenses? Didn't think they sold replacement lenses like they do for e46, e39, e83, etc.

Oh, and ring sizes? LOL, you are right it will really cut years off the truck. The dull stock AE's on mine are driving me insane.

Hi Jay,
Excellent!Looks great!Like the way you dremeled the turn signal transparent cover,looks much neater .Nice work ,mate :thumbup:

For your facelift housings you either need to have about a weekend worth of patience to open the permasealed housing without cutting it open, or cut it open and hope you can re-seal it properly. You won't get brighter rings unless opening and replacing with Umnitza, its the optics of the facelift rings that stop you.

These are PRE FACELIFT, aftermarket housings btw, although they look like facelift housings. They are discontinued by Spyder from what I have heard, are made for halogen equipped cars, but come with a projector mount that is made for the stock xenon projector. Fernando, btw that turn signal was untouched, it is how it came from the factory (see link below for another example of these housings).

They are NOT CCFL, although CCFL rings came installed on the housings from the factory. They were removed and I sourced SMD LED ring replacements from Aliexpress, and these are AT LEAST 2-3 times brighter than the CCFL, and I paid under $50 for the set, with included resistors for long life of the LED rings. My retrofitter said they looked like very good construction, no issues with quality. The sizes for a perfect fit on mine were a 146mm semi-circle ring, and 125mm full circle ring for low beam.

I also had EvoXR projectors installed instead of the factory Hella E39 projector, which alone will give me a ton more light on the road.

So basically I accomplished my goal which was to have a better looking housing than the Depo E53 solution, but the same brightness and reliable LED rings, as well as superior lighting from the projectors (the Depo projector from the factory is a downgrade from the stock E53 projector)

EDIT: There is a chrome set of my housings on Ebay now (you would have to just spray the chrome shroud with flat black paint while the housings were open), $242 shipped:

2001 2003 BMW E53 x5 Halo Projector Headlights Lamp Head Lights Set Left Right | eBay


When they are reinstalled I will make a thread with better pics installed so all can see the look on the car, and run down the total project upgrade list.

Put in a new fuel pump last night and took it her out for a test drive.

WOW, Jay!! Just perfect..! Can't wait to see those babies installed. You'll love the updated look, and won't ever want to be without EVO-XR projectors again!:thumbup:

Thanks for the info RB. I was fooled into thinking they were facelift housings... can't see the side of the housings. :)

Looks great, and that info should help other pre-facelifters decide on what they want to do with their headlights.

I'll be baking my permaseal headlights open, but my lenses suck... so I might have to buy another set just to get new lenses. :(

getting new taillights, exhaust, got spacers to get more ride height and well as offset. Gonna mount 20 inch ATX Artillery rims with wrangler duratracs or i'll stick with nitto terra grapplers. Got the Rigid LED pods wired to a hidden switch, for the exhaust I got the X-Pipe running straight back to flowmaster 44s. The whole engine I going to be rebuilt, new rockers, new valve guides, springs, head gaskets, valve covers, timing chain, and guides. Just pulled trans to rebuild that as well. got skid plates fabbed for the undercarriage. Last thing is going to be to swap the tcase to make it a true 4X4

New pump in.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps2971cec1.jpg

Phwoar. I'm liking the sounds of this!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Drivers side acle
 

Well, I've been an X5 owner for a week. Bought this rig with 88,000 miles. I noticed it had a torn drivers side CV boot. I opted to just replace the whole axle shaft. I did notice when I was under it, the passenger side has been replaced before. It took me about two hours to actually r&r it. I spent a little while cleaning the back side of my rims. They were greasy/dirty so cleaned them up too.

Did Valve Cover gaskets, CCV's, all CCV hoses, belts, pulleys, and an oil change on Friday.
Got my sport seats installed and coded today.

I need to do my VCGs and CCV's. That's up next for me.

Facelift bonnet grills install on a prefacelift!
 

Just an update
All the cutting and dremling done,the bonnet protection paintwork and sealant applied,now just need to work on the grills a bit and spray them black chrome with a few clear coats .
Pics of the grills in place but not secured or sprayed.

Looks good. Nice work!

good job, Fernando. That would have taken a steady hand and some big balls!

Thanks Scooby :thumbup:

Thanks Smokey:thumbup:
Yep,a very steady hand but very ,very slow job and I was scared shi*less everytime I went to cut it and dremel it :(..Not doing that again ,at my age :D
ButI think it was worth it in the end,now it just needs "wrapping up":)

Looks great Fernando! You sir have a huge set of cajones, and that makes you and your X unique!

Thanks Jay:thumbup:
My set of cajones,have definitely shrunk,after that.:DNot doing that again:(

Facelift grill mod COMPLETE
 

All Done!

WOW Fernnando it came out absolutely perfect!

Wow, agreed. Very nice work there

Thanks Jay...:thumbup:..Now just need to sort out my Depos and AEs ;)
Thanks Junky...:thumbup:

Started it in the garage.

Been sitting on the battery tender the last 2 week, because of treated roads and snow/ice/slush (been slogging the Accord).

I think BCRedliner and I have the only two E53s that have never seen snow/salt treated roads.

https://scontent-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...68&oe=557978C9

My spot at work, I have been known to back up onto that snow hill :rofl:

is that a NON IS Imola?????

YEP

that is 2 rare/strange combos I have now
2004 Imola with black leather, running boards and trailer tow and 3.0
1999 M3 estoral blue with Mulberry interior 2dr 5spd

both came out of Orange Co Cali and driven back to Mi

I've got one of those too, only mine is a 4.4i. Fortunately I let someone else pay the big upcharge for Imola! :thumbup:

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album...0/p/X5_001.jpg

I found out that I did something when I put the motor mounts in that is causing the inner cv joint to spew grease...:( So I bought a new boot kit to repair it tomorrow.

OMG there is 2 OF THEM?

Thats so awesome guys, congrats and take care of those! If I could find an Imola with a 6MT I would drive it until I retired.

^Paint yours :D

BIG money doing a color change right, MAJOR disassembly/prep/re-assembly involved (over 6 grand at a good shop).

Priced having Hennessey Motorsports refinish the sig pic Viper in GTS-R white/blue stripes, they already had it for the Venom conversion. $11,000 job!

I used to see that imola 3.0i regularly when in OC for work and was going to approach the owner at starbucks one day but didn'the. Hadn't seen in a while so wondered where it had gone!

Or you could always vinyl wrap it.

Nice work. That looks really good.

I put 2 new high beam bulbs in( Sylvania Silverstar Ultra Halogen Headlight Bulb, 2-pk) ,as 1 on the driver side burnt out, and the passenger side didn`t look healthy,so I just replaced them as a pair as you should anyways.

Destroyed my serpentine drive belt. Disassembled and discovered I need an alternator. Bearings are screwed. One day good. Next day crap. No tell tale signs? The wife heard it one morning, drove another vehicle to work. We drove it down the street and it !@#$% the belt within a couple hundred yards.

Thanks Jung :thumbup: