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-   -   e70 35d shipped to europe, euro mods,DPF (https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/x5-e70-forum/110064-e70-35d-shipped-europe-euro-mods-dpf.html)

TriX5 05-20-2019 10:13 AM

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The garage in Portugal is enclosed but some dust and salt spray seems to get in. However, there is not a crosswind and I don't foresee a cover being able to move. In any case I would always wash it before it goes under the cover. The cover is only meant for longer absences when the car might sit for several weeks.

This morning visited a shop (euro specialist, mostly BMWs in their shop) that responded positively when I explained that I am looking for specific alignment settings. Let's see how they go tomorrow.

Below a picture, now with the 212s strapped on.

TriX5 07-10-2019 03:54 AM

Update: Car arrived in Rotterdam 7/3 but I was in Italy at the time and only got back last Sunday. So, picking it up on 7/15 and install euro hitch the next day. Hopefully install my Euro maps on the Nav at same time. On 7/17 and 7/18, it will be in a diesel specialist shop and the DPF will be removed and cleaned/reinstalled.

On Friday 19, I should be making the trip across Belgium, France and Spain to Portugal. Around 2400km, about 1600 miles.....my son is arriving tomorrow to help with the trip. Since I have to arrive back in Portugal on the 20th this will be a marathon :)

ard 07-10-2019 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TriX5 (Post 1165590)
Update: Car arrived in Rotterdam 7/3 but I was in Italy at the time and only got back last Sunday. So, picking it up on 7/15 and install euro hitch the next day. Hopefully install my Euro maps on the Nav at same time. On 7/17 and 7/18, it will be in a diesel specialist shop and the DPF will be removed and cleaned/reinstalled.

On Friday 19, I should be making the trip across Belgium, France and Spain to Portugal. Around 2400km, about 1600 miles.....my son is arriving tomorrow to help with the trip. Since I have to arrive back in Portugal on the 20th this will be a marathon :)




Such a humble brag!


:stickpoke




Have fun w your son, good times!

TriX5 07-11-2019 09:21 AM

Italy
 
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ARD: Sorry!

Daughter had an art course in Florence and the wife promptly added a Grand Tour. :-) The X5 was late arriving in R'dam and coincided unhappily with this previously planned trip.

We did a five cities tour in a short time. Rome is chaotic but has a lot to offer in terms of art and architecture. The other cities and sights were also captivating. Doing this by car is quite doable but requires a bit of planning. I can be reached by PM if anyone needs some help.

The BMW angle: Sixt had thought to give us a Countryman for the two weeks but offered a BMW 220 Convertible as an alternative, which we took. What I should have noted when I posted, the convertible was great driving up Lake Garda but the heat wave made it less useful on the remainder of the trip.... This model is a typical example of BMW downsizing engines, I felt it was somewhat under-powered for a luxury car and sometimes scooting through traffic (which in Italy you need frequently) was impeded by a lack of grunt.

While on the way to Rome we passed Modena and could not resist the temptation to stop by the Ferrari museum. (Never owned one and no desire either but seeing the museum was fun.)

I promise pics of the X5's trials and tribulations as we try to get the work on it done and drive it long distance.

Added two iconic pics that illustrate some of the stops.

ard 07-11-2019 10:54 PM

Not at all. Love the pics!

TriX5 07-19-2019 09:45 AM

Sigh, the saga seems to be unending. I struggled to get the car out of customs mostly because they no longer accept any kind of application in person. All done through agents filing online.

So after two days I finally went to get it (two days after clearing the car with the warehouse people) and the rear suspension is clearly not coming up. Since the US side agent disconnected the battery I suspect something is off in the ECH. (Might it have switched to transport mode?)

However, the appointment for cleaning the DPF was due and I had to leave it there. Those folks called me the next day and said; sorry, we can't complete in two days as promised, it will take a week (they claimed the car has a lot more stuff than euro 09 which is true, and that dropping the sub-frame was news to them which I suspect is not true).

Today I went to see the car and they showed me around. The gent who is responsible for reassembly is out til Tuesday. The implications are not amusing but I will grind my teeth and bare it.... When I get it back, for various reasons can't pick it up till 26, I still need to add the euro tow hitch before I can drive off.

I downloaded the BMW diag. software and need to install it on my laptop over the weekend. When the hitch goes on I will also have to fix the issue with the ride height and the radio frequency as well as loading the euro maps which have been along in my backpack all week for nothing.

So, no pics of the car until next weekend when it will be earthbound again rather than six feet in the air.

TriX5 07-27-2019 02:15 PM

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DPF has been cleaned and the engine is running smoothly, I am confident we can make it 1600 miles to Portugal.

While on the ship from NJ to R'dam the shipping company had disconnected the battery and the rear suspension had gone into transport mode, so had to find a shop willing to reset the EHC on a Friday afternoon..... I could not get INPA on my laptop to connect with the car. :-( At last I found a small BMW specialist in Leek (NL) who reset the EHC and calibrated the ride height in 15 minutes.

This morning I went to check the tire pressures and discovered that the driver's side front tire valve had snapped off just above the valve insert. It was holding pressure but looked quite disconcerting. I assume this is caused by strapping down the car in the container. Another emergency outing resulted until I found a small tire shop where they happened to have a BMW valve stem. I got them to tweak the rear suspension alignment as well.

After that I finally got around to mounting the tow hitch. I posted a picture below to show the deplorable shape the bumper cover was in. I had to buy some special glue to reattach the DSC sensors. Two of the sensors needed to be glued in and all four of the brackets that hold the top of the cover to the steel bumper piece.

My son installed the western Europe map but I still need to tweak the radio settings as per my earlier post. Tomorrow I finish the wiring for the hitch and then I can load for the long drive south.

The shipping has been more complex than I expected and it caused some unexpected problems. Still, it is good to have my own car, renting gets old at some point.

crystalworks 07-28-2019 10:18 AM

Quite the experience. Couldn't imagine having to go through that, and likely never will. Thanks for taking us along with you. Always enjoy reading members' travel documentations.

TriX5 08-01-2019 01:26 PM

The Money Shot!
 
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We made it in three hops to our home in Portugal. See a pic at the very end of our street! The next pic is a shot in Spain of the plane, no rain :-)

After getting the hitch wiring sorted out we did about 200km on Sunday evening, then about 800km from Tilburg, NL to Tours in France on Monday (With a stop at stop at the Le Mans circuit! See separate post.) and 1500km on Tuesday in a bid to get home.

The car performed flawlessly but I realized on the first evening that my headlights were way out of adjustment and on the last day a fog light bulb broke. Nothing major really, I adjusted the headlights in my parking spot this morning. Finding the right bulbs for my fogs will be a bit harder as I like them in color 5 or 6k.

After crossing Turnhout in Belgium, we hit Antwerp and Kortrijk where traffic was dense but fast. Getting around Lille in France there was also heavy but moving traffic. Not bad for traveling in peak vacation travel time.

We drove through the Somme department to pass Amiens (to avoid traffic around Paris) and stumbled on the WWI me memorials near the town of Albert, quite interesting! Then on to Rouen (where a police car followed us for a mile but apparently decided not to ask about our MD plates) and on to Le Mans, then spent the night in Tours.

I did not know that western France is as gorgeous as it is! Maybe it was the time of year but the rolling hills with freshly harvested fields is incredible. Also the toll roads are smooth as glass and the glorious weather helped make it a great drive.

The drive from Tour to San Sebastian, on to Valladolid and Salamanca was uneventful apart from a bit of traffic around Bordeaux and also at the border area in the Pyrenees, where many roads converge. Nevertheless, the last 400km to get from Salamanca to the destination was not as much fun as it became a race against the clock at that point. I plan to take a trip around Spain in the next 6 months as there seems to be a lot of great vistas. (See pic.)

So after a total of abut 27 hours on the road we arrived with about 2500km added on the odometer.

The drive was fun and interesting as we crossed lots places I had never been before! And I have a bunch of new places to target for road trips in the future :-)

TriX5 08-01-2019 01:32 PM

Pics at Le Mans
 
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Here are a few preliminary pics; the main gate and the museum. Then the BMW 328 and our drive down the Mulsanne Straight (the latter being maybe the most fun!! Don't worry about my son's Land Rover hat in that pic... :-)

I will add a few more pics in the next few days.


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