Replaced the alternator, belts, and all tensioners/pulleys on Friday.
Hopefully this thing gives me a break through the holidays.

I know what you mean on that lol

remember we are enthusiasts who love to take care of our E53's :rofl:

I've tossed around selling it and getting something else as I don't even drive it anymore (my girlfriend took it over along with the payment thankfully) but she likes it a lot and I still love it. I take care of everything I own this one in particular is just sticking it to me as of late :rofl:

I clean and re-oil K&N filters using the K&N kit and have for over a decade. I do so several times before purchasing a new one. Read the instructions carefully. Be careful of the re-oiling process. If you use to much oil it can suck it into the MAF.

yeah, it's a never ending process that's for sure

mine has a few minor dents and scratches I want to take care of eventually but finding some new rims and spacers is my next move

lol my bank account doesn't like this :nanana:

Ok, so I tried everything to get the stupid wheel weight glue bullshit off my rims.

Heat, does not work. Heat gun to area, paint and rim hot as hell. I manage to only scratch that sticky shit with my plastic scraper. Fail.

Lighter fluid, Fail. Like piss me off fail. I even soaked paper towels in it and placed over the sticky bs.

Sonax, FAIL.

Paint thinner, FAIL.

I almost gave up on this, and then as I was starring at my chemical shelf, brake cleaner was staring back at me. PASS. Holy shit this was a clear winner. Rag, a little brake clean, gently rub, and boom shit comes off as a film. I think it must have been designed to be removed with brake clean. The difference in removal was epic.

Then I decided to clean more of the baked on brake dust and grime from behind the spokes, I was about to say screw it, none of my old stiff plastic brushes were cutting it. I was hesitant about trying my soft brass brush, I should have used it right away. That, plus sonax full effect, really cut through those bastard spots. I still have little dots of nasty shit, but I will hit that later when I remove the rims, or hopefully the subsequent washes will break it down.

Happy the rims are starting to look normal.

Remove the OE tow hitch from the donor 4.4i for sale.
It seems like the OE airbags on my iS is leaking now.

Oil change [back to MobilOne 0w40 from Shell Rotella T-6], filter, reset, and added 500ml of MOS lubricant. I'm looking to see whether this combo improves the mileage a bit, which dropped, on average per tank, to around 19.5 mpg [on the summer tires] on a couple of changes using the T-6. It may be tires rather than the oil, we'll see.

I also lubed the rear wiper hinge/spring [sticking, so poor coverage of window] did some minor tidying up - cleaned and conditioned front seats' leather, swept out the crumbs, etc. More cosmetics to do, but short on time ...... I'm afraid the front suspension ball joints and thrust arm bushings are due, with a front brake job approaching, too. Unfortunately, I've been putting way to many miles on this vehicle in 2+ yrs ownership.

I still have my fronts if you want them. They are original removed at 69k.

Sure, you'll encounter those suspension wear issues, but the engine loves those miles - keeps the CCV running clean!

2002 X5 3.0 290,600 miles
2004 325i 123,000 miles