Welcome to the Board and helluva hobby!
That is one butt ugly/beat to a pulp 2001...
I had to go down to the garage and gaze at our '01, to cheer my spirits. ;)

Non-sport, and 17" wheels.
Hope you didn't pay much and can make a few bucks after doing that laundry list of repairs.
GL, mD

I threw a bucket of water on it and it made a big difference - it already looks better! It's actually in very good condition (mechanical issues notwithstanding), it's just really, really, dirty.

I'll post updates as I progress with the restoration. I'm very curious to see what's going on with the front end and will have a look at that tomorrow. I'll probably also swap out the expansion tank as that seems to be source of the coolant leak.

It's definitely a great hobby, and it is immensely satisfying to see the transformation from "bow-wow" to "Wow!" I've slowly worked my way up from a very sorry E36 318is with a gutted interior (pic also attached). This one will probably be the most challenging project so far, though.

I agree that aesthetically, the Sport package with big wheels/tires is the way to go. If I were shopping for an X5 to keep, that is what I would seek out. This car needs a set of tires, and the upside to the 17's is that it won't cost me $1200+ to replace them. I have an E85 Z4 and an E39 528iT with the Sport package on each one, and they are tire eaters. Both also have staggered tires and the rears wear twice as fast as the fronts.

I have worked on an X5 4.4 Sport for a friend and she was stunned by how much a set of 20" tires cost for that car, and by how often they had to be replaced. She "knew a guy" who worked at a tire distributor who supposedly got her a deal and it was still over $1500 for the set. Plus, they still had to be mounted/balanced. So I'm okay with 17" wheels on this one! :cool:

Welcome! :)

Alpine White always cleans up nice, it will be amazing what a clay bar and a polish job will do for that paint!

For the rear seal leak, how bad & do you really know that the rear seal is the origin of the leak? As the car likely needs an oil change, you ought to try a thicker oil (5W40 rather than 5W30) to see if these lessens the issue.

I remember 20+ years ago when I was really quite sure on a E12 that it was the rear main seal. After a few hours (I did it myself, I have the tools, I have the technology but am not the $6M man) of work and driving the car, it turned out to be the oil pressure switch that was leaking (high on the back of the cylinder head). Over time it would leak and drive down on the bell housing and transmission making it look VERY much like a rear main seal.

Check everything and everywhere else, it may be something else which might also prove to be much easier to resolve.

MID pixel is easy, been there & fixed it.

Stick with the basic 17" wheels (I have the same), tire replacement cost is modest.

FYI, a square set of (4) Bridgestone Dueller HP Sport 315/35/20's from Roadway is $1091.44. So I imagine the traditional staggered set is even less. Food for thought if you do end up going the 20" route.

Thanks for the tip on the rear seal leak. I plan to get everything cleaned up, get all the old oil off, and find out for sure where it's coming from. Going to a heavier oil is a good suggestion and I may try that. The oil filter housing and valve cover gaskets are probably also leaking, so I could be seeing runoff from those. But then again, I've seen enough rear main seal leaks to know what they look like. ;) But maybe I'll get lucky.

Good to know about the 20's. Although I doubt I'll go that route on this car unless I happen to stumble across a good deal on a set of wheels.

very true JB, and remember OP, the Duelers are a high end tire as well! So i don't know where the $1500 comes from, thats ridiculous dealer retail pricing in my opinion.

FWIW, a traditional staggered set of Toyo Proxes STII (what I run and what several members run on their 20s, great mid-priced all season tire!) will run you around 850-900 bucks.


Good luck with the oil leak, I hope its not the rear main, definitely switch to 5w-40 though, i have been seeing reduced consumption with it. And you're absolutely right, if the VCG and OFH gaskets have not been changed with that age and mileage you very well might have those leaking and it might be tricking you!

I spent some time with the X5 this weekend getting to know it, and taking a complete inventory of the work needed. The good news is that in the recent past, somebody did care about it. It has brand new rear brakes with OEM rotors, a new serpentine belt, the valve cover gasket has been replaced, and it looks like it has a new radiator. I can't tell for sure about that radiator (couldn't find a date code sticker), but it is noticeably newer than everything around it. I may pull it anyway when I replace the water pump, thermostat, and hoses.

I also addressed several items on my previous list:

I was able to repair the broken door handle carrier, using this technique: http://www.xoutpost.com/801519-post46.html

We'll see if it holds. While I was in there, I could see a previous attempt at repairing it, but I'm not sure what the thinking behind it was. A bunch of safety wire was looped around parts of the carrier and tied to the latch mechanism. It was totally ineffective, though. I pulled it all out and made the repair to the carrier itself. The vapor barrier is missing, so I added a new one to my parts order. Several clips and fasteners are also missing, so I have ordered replacements for all of them. In fact, most of my parts list is stuff like that.

The problem with the driver's seat belt was because it was twisted over itself behind the b-pillar trim and stuck in the guide about halfway up the pillar. I untwisted it and the belt retracts perfectly now. Thankfully no new parts are needed there.

I ran a full diagnostic scan with DIS and cleared all the existing fault codes so I'd know exactly what I'm dealing with. The upside is that the windshield wipers now work. But there is a fault with the O2 sensors. So I'll have to dig deeper into that one.

All the burnt out bulbs have been replaced.

I found the problem with the front suspension/steering: The RH inner tie rod is bent into a "V" at about 20º. The nut securing the bottom end of the sway bar link on that side is also missing. So the sway bar is essentially not connected. The threads are worn off the bolt from it rubbing on other parts, so I'll replace it and the one on the other side for good measure. It doesn't make sense to just replace the one inner tie rod on a car with 140K miles, so I've also ordered complete tie rods for both sides.

I also ordered a headlight polishing kit. I've tried several products and techniques, and have been impressed with the results from a kit made by Sylvania. The only problem is that none of the local auto parts stores carry them any more. eBay to the rescue! $25 with free shipping.

Stay tuned…

Great and cost effective progress. It great to see someone that troubleshoots the cause before ordering suspected parts that have failed. Good work!