Nice! Nothing like two black BMWs in the driveway.

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Was your car plasti dipped?

No it was actually painted matte through and through including jams... some areas were just not prepped well enough and some areas are starting to flake. I actually plan to pull the bumpers and pressure wash all the paint off them and leave it the textured black it originally is

Speaking from personal experience here, I just picked up an '09 and I tried a value-minded approach to dealing with my own oil leaks, against my better judgement learned on the M62. I was proven a fool when after replacing valve cover gaskets, I discovered in short order my valve covers were warped. Post-reassembly I started dumping oil on the shop floor.

So, if I could do it again I would just slap a new set of valve covers on there - even though at $400 a pop it sets you back a decent chunk. The good news is that price includes gaskets and fasteners to the best of my knowledge (shipment arrives tomorrow and can confirm).

You sound like you're taking the "while I'm in there" approach, and what comes to mind in addition to the cooling circuit refreshables would be all the rear heater core hoses. Much easier to get to with the valve covers and intake off. Do that if you decide to tackle the valley pan / coolant transfer pipe.

I'm still trying to determine if the N62 has a similar ticking clock with regard to timing chain guides, as does the M62. If that proves to be the case, and knowing Valve Stem Seals are expected to fail at some point, in my mind it begins to make a strong case for an engine pull. Probably what I'll do around 125K miles if I can make it that far with only minimal further investment.

+1. I just the oil thermostat gasket on my 2007 X5. The job is doable from the top side once you remove the radiator fan and alternator. It isn't as bad as it looks at first but you have to do it all blind by feel.

Only after I bought the new gasket I found that rockauto carries this gasket from MAHLE:

MAHLE B32856 Fluoroelastomer

This is listed as a fluoroelastomer (generic name for Viton).

If it is really Viton then it is likely a better gasket than stock. So it might be worth ordering that gasket. Note I also saw a thread where some places list this part number incorrectly as B32855 which is not the correct gasket for the oil cooler (missing the center divider).

I also ordered the BimmerFix stent even though my pipe had been replaced by the previous owner. Jeff at BimmerFix has been great to work with and provided me a smaller stent to match the aftermarket pipe (likely URO which is a thicker pipe with a smaller inside diameter). The kit isn't super cheap but he does a great job of supporting it and I was happy to pay the money for it. I am just doing this as preventative maintenance while I change the waterpump and pulleys. Better to add the stent now while it is apart and never worry again than have it break down later....

Pulleys...

I may have a source for genuine INA pulleys without having to buy the complete and overpriced tensioner/pulley assembly.... The X5 changed the 4.8i belt setup to be 7 rib making it unique.... This was likely done to handle the larger alternator and the large power steering pump on the adaptive drive X5s. This resulted in the replacement pulleys being way too expensive for the X5 4.8i.

The price of the AC tensioner pulley is particularly egregious at $100+ and it is actually harder to change the pulley plus bracket than just the pulley.

I have the AC pulley replacement figured out but still need to verify that my replacement main tensioner pulley is a match. The deflection pulley is available at a slightly inflated price but can be found for about $60 so it isn't really worth trying to source replacements for it unless I can offer it as a full kit.

If I am able to source the main tensioner pulley I might start selling them on ebay or through my webpage.

If I buy the pulleys in bulk I might be able to offer them for a price that makes it worth my while and still saves everyone money.

-Rich