Luckily I'm not his neighbor, and I'm just jealous of the prpoerty! :rofl:



Stunt, want to get rid of your old radio? The X5 I picked up has some aftermarket TV thing in there that doesn't work well.

Harder and harder not to be jelly... Speakers? (better be a good front sound stage with some nice Hybrid Audio Technology Legatia's -- or Morels in there or you're doing it wrong :nanana:). Very clean install. How short is your ground wire run from the amps to the chassis? Might shorten that up to help with ground loop issues. I'd run the power cable from the amps to the right instead of the left like you have it. Avoid power and speaker cables being near each other if at all possible. Ground could go to the lug on the left of the spare tire well with an M10? (whatever a 13mm hex head bolt translates to). BTDT.

Re: your parts list. Replace any rubber fuel lines that run to the engine compartment (are there any? :dunno:). Having just replaced the engine mounts on my wife's E46M3, I wouldn't want to do that again anytime soon so I'd replace yours while you are in there if I were you.

So here's my experience replacing my original (I think) water pump 50 miles before I put the truck on the lift to drop the engine.

Here's the OEM on the left and the "OEM Quality" one on the right. Notice the 2 red lines and how they don't line up between the OEM and the non OEM one?

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5_3_19_01.JPG

Here's the distance from the flange to the start of the groove:

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5_3_19_02.JPG

Same distance transferred to the non OEM pump

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5_3_19_03.JPG

Of course I did not discover this until after the pump had been fully installed, so I had to modify my brand new upper radiator hose like this to make it lock in place

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5_3_19_04.JPG

It held up fine for the 50 miles I drove it with no leaks, but I knew I had to do something about it.

So watch out for this brand of "OEM quality" pump.

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5_3_19_05.JPG

But wait, there's more. Here's the "OEM quality" thermostat that I got (on right)

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5_3_19_06.JPG

Well, it allowed coolant to pass through it at all times, so the engine never got to operating temp. Here's the vendor of this one.

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5_3_19_07.JPG

Between that and the continuously worsening oil leaks, that is what finally broke the camel's back to so speak and I made the decision to take everything apart.

So based on those experiences, I'm paying the few extra bucks (or a lot in the case of the water pump) to get the real deal.

So my timing kit tool set showed up today:

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5_3_19_08.JPG

Got the tensioner in place:

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5_3_19_09.JPG

I inserted the flywheel locating pin and chained to the lift to keep the engine from falling off the table

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5_3_19_10.JPG

But alas, on the first whack with the small 3 lbs hammer, the locating pin snapped. I know you guys warned me about this... :(

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5_3_19_11.JPG

So I ordered this tool from Pelican along with the CV boot kits and the front drive shaft flex disc (which they had for $76.25 vs. the $116.60 from getbmwparts).

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5_3_19_12.JPG

So back to waiting on tools again. I suppose I'll also order another locating pin, but that little guy is pricey by itself at over $30.

So one step forward and two steps backwards.

Stunt,

2 things.

OE is original equipment. As in the stuff that BMW uses to assemble your car. OEM, is original equipment manufacturer. The two are not the same quality of parts. What you have there with the pump and thermostat, is total aftermarket.

Now, with that off my chest lol, The good stuff.

Email this guy, tell him you are from Xoutpost X5 club. You will get some really nice pricing on OE parts. That list you have there will be significantly chopped. Trust me.

Craig Hacker
Fixed Operations Director
Open Road BMW
732-839-4548
[email protected]

Lots of us have purchased from him. And really no one else can match the prices. Try it, you don't have to buy to get a quote from a BMW dealer.

Thanks for the contact info and schooling on OE vs. OEM and the junk I got the first time around. :thumbup:

I'll contact Craig soon.

Sure. Mine had the Business CD w/ DSP amp and factory sub. Some of the LEDs are not working on the HU, but otherwise everything is in working order.

Thanks. I'll be sure to inspect the rear driveshaft components. I suspect they are in the same condition as the front ones.

I haven't decided on speakers yet, but yes, it will be a 3-way active front sound stage. Nothing will be going to the rear door speakers. Also haven't made up my mind on what sub/enclosure to go with yet. That all took a back seat, so to speak, to the engine/transmission issues. I probably should have concentrated on those first.

As for power and ground, here's the 4GA sections:

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5radio15.jpg

And the 00 sections:

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5radio16.jpg

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/x5radio19.jpg

I did this to have enough slack to be able to pull the "amp sandwich" and rest it on the tailgate when I needed to disconnect the battery.

I'll be sure to look them over once I get them cleaned up. But yeah, now would definitely be the time to do them.

I'd be interested in the sub, I need it to send to a friend to make an enclosure. And don't want to lose mine. What do you want for it?

Stunt -

Use the link above for BMW direct but I might as well ask.
Where are you buying your stuff from.

I ask because any reputable OE Equivalent would have been something like Graf or Saleri.
ALL of them, including the OEM from BMW are REMAN units. The thermostat would have been a Behr.

I would not lump it all that non OEM is junk. I think where you are sourcing the parts may be the issue...