Driving 2001 e53 X5 3.0 without Belly pan
 

My mechanic is changing my differential and transfer case fluids (he has a lift) and thinks I might have a leak from the rear main seal.

Anyhow, he left the belly pan off for the drive to his house so he could check for leaks overnight. His plan is to reinstall it on Monday or Tuesday.

Is the belly pan structural at all or just a protective covering? I found a thread somewhat related to this question but is for the 4.8 which is much heavier than my car with much stiffer suspension so I did not think that was an exact comparison to my lowly 3.0.

Thanks.

If you are talking about the plastic piece in the front then no issues other then dust/dirt going up there.

IF you are talking about the metal stiffening plate where the oil filter is (at least on 4.8is) i would definitely not recommend driving without that. Im sure it will mess something up.

All I know is it is a plate/pan that has to be removed so he could drain the front differential.

The metal skid plate you remove to change front Diff Fluid is structural and part of the front suspension. You need it on there.

Also, those bolts are torque to yield and then 90 degrees past that. So those are 1x use fasteners.... Get new ones.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Not saying yay or nay, but I've had mine off for the past three years, I haven't noticed any difference in the way it drives or handles. Besides, that's the only way to find all the freaking oil and fluid leaks...lol!

Ive done it. <embarrased>
 

That pan was missing when I bought my 2001 4.4i. The guy doing the state inspection flagged me for it, it hadn't sunk in for me. It certainly had 100 miles of my driving like that (and who knows about the PO). I got one on ebay and put it on. Had no ill effects for me.

Having been under there extensively since then, it seems hard to understand how an 1/8" thick piece of aluminum is adding much stiffness to the heavy steel sub-frame that stiffens the same area.

this one?
 

Just to make sure there is not a misunderstanding - my impression is that you are talking about this part? (see picture).

I am pretty sure that is what he had to take off to change the front diff fluid.

Does anyone know the part number for the bolt kit that needs to be changed when removing this panel? After an hour on realoem I can not find it. My 545 takes m10x35mm x1.5mm thread grade 10.9 bolts for this panel. Is the x5 the same?

Took me 2 minutes...lol, part #4.

RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 4.6is Frnt axle support,wishbone/tension strut

To the rear, the pan shares four bolts that attach the sway bar (stabilizer) support to the subframe.
It takes six bolts total, M10 x 55mm. No pitch given in the parts list. The nuts are specified as M10-10 ZNS3