The new-to-me "truck"

[Tammer in Philly]

As my stranded-with-misfire thread suggested, I bought an X5. :-) I've put 4k miles on it in the first 30 days of ownership, and with the exception of a dead coil, it's been excellent. That dead coil, of course, came on a Sunday afternoon, because E53s apparently like to maximize owner inconvenience.

1300 of those miles came from a road trip my GF and I took over the new year holiday. The route took us to a cabin in the Nantahala forest of NC via Louisville, Lexington, and the Tail of the Dragon.



We planned to visit friends and stay in Louisville, then visit Asheville, NC, and finally spend NYE in the cabin, but the dead coil forced us to substitute a night in Lexington for the time in Asheville. Just an excuse to return to that area, I guess; it's really beautiful out there. Louisville, by the way, is a really fun town. We had a great night there.

Here's the car on the Dragon, which was traversed in heavy rain and intermittent fog on the return trip:


Take note, this thing handles incredibly well for its weight. The GF isn't one to get motion sickness and, from rides at the track, has learned how to look ahead and stay planted in the seat to limit any nausea, but she still got a little ill and developed a sore neck from the lateral loads we were generating on that road. Pretty awesome.

A view from the top of the Tail:


We wanted a low-key celebration, as my sister's wedding this upcoming weekend will bring plenty of excitement. So we opted for a secluded spot in the woods, some good beer, a campfire, and a hot tub.




(Note the glass of chocolate stout in the foreground)

The dog was dropped off at my parents' house along the way, but they sent me a photo so I knew she still got to party some, too:


Overall, the X5 returned ~17.8 mpg and effortless, high-speed cruising. The car I bought was fully loaded: sport/premium/cold weather packages, xenons, heated/reclining rear seats, rear/side sunshades, nav, etc. It makes for a pretty nice highway cruiser.

I've developed a to-do list that should preemptively address weak areas and developing problems with the motor: valve covers/gaskets, valley pan gasket, crossover pipe, heater hoses, CCV while I'm in there, intake manifold gaskets. I'll grab some good spare coils to carry with me. I've already stashed a small tool bag in the back. It will need a new auxiliary fan before summer.

I've also purchased a factory hitch and wiring kit which will replace the Hidden Hitch brand (I think) class III hitch that came on it. The last major thing is timing chain guides, which aren't a problem now but may become one at any time. While that's a lengthy list, I'm pretty happy in that I paid about $4-6k less than X5s of similar condition with ~80-110k miles, and all of those lower-mileage examples carry more or less the same risks.

You are all free to laugh at me (especially you, Tyler) when this plan bites me in the ass. :-)

-tammer

[mooseheadm5]

Add timing chain guides to that list, just to be safe.

[Tammer in Philly]

Add timing chain guides to that list, just to be safe.

I've also purchased a factory hitch and wiring kit which will replace the Hidden Hitch brand (I think) class III hitch that came on it. The last major thing is timing chain guides, which aren't a problem now but may become one at any time.

:-)

To date no hint of an issue. My understanding of the problem is that on these motors, they give warning in the form of a rattle and/or a CEL as the belt flutters. Is this untrue? Should they just be done at a given mileage no matter what? Also, how bad are they as a DIY job?

-tammer

[mooseheadm5]

Whoops. Reading comprehension fail.

[winfred]

total crap shoot when the shoe wears off the crotch of the V and it makes that hideous noise, get a tensioner piston and spring (or assembly, i can't remember if they are together), they are cheap insurance and may eliminate any issue, only seen 3 m62tu's eat up a center guide and only one of those wanted me to fix it, the other cars were worth about a dollar. one v8 thing id suggest looking into is the oil pump, the bolts that hold it to the block loosen and the bolts that hold it together fall out all together, the sump pan comes off most v8s easy but i can't remember if the x5 has a weird pan, most of the ones i work on are 6 bangers. if you get a nasty crunching noise on hard acceleration the transfer case chain is worn out and can be driveway replaced if you are fairly handy

[Tammer in Philly]

Whoops. Reading comprehension fail.

No problem. I'm now Googling more to see if these things are known to suddenly and catastrophically fail. PO replaced timing cover gaskets, but not the guides, and reported they "looked healthy," but that's not especially scientific. Same guy put an M60 in an E30 himself, so he's a reasonably competent wrench. Still, the thing is north of 170k miles, so I'm mildly concerned.

-tammer

[skip535i]

Nice, Tammer! We love ours. Our is loaded too, which makes for some nice spirited driving. We've had to replace all of the typical E53 things, but it's still been a rewarding experience having it....and with the 20" wheels it looks hot, too

[Tammer in Philly]

Nice, Tammer! We love ours. Our is loaded too, which makes for some nice spirited driving. We've had to replace all of the typical E53 things, but it's still been a rewarding experience having it....and with the 20" wheels it looks hot, too :)

Yes, fsckers are HEAVY though. Glad yours has been good to you overall.

-tammer

[shagrath]

what is a ccv?

reason I ask: http://norfolk.craigslist.org/cto/3464637807.html

[John in VA]

what is a ccv?

Oil Separator Valve (also known as: Pressure Regulating Valve, or Crankcase Ventilation Valve -CCV, PVC valve)
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=643639

[shagrath]

Thanks john.

[Matt]

I did a similar trip a couples year back; wife's cousin got married in Asheville; my wife did the cake. We stayed in a cabin the groom's family owns up in Black Mountain.

We took my A4 wagon with a roof box though. Dragon was great times, even at 2/10ths, and the conditions were challenging -- mixed freezing rain, annoying speed limiter installed in passenger seat...

A lot of cool TVA dams and stuff to look at in the area. I do miss the geography quite a bit.

I actually grew up in Louisville. I make it back now and then. It's a city that could really benefit from a neutron bomb. Beautiful geography, beautiful architecture. Lots of shitty people

[Tammer in Philly]

what is a ccv?

reason I ask: http://norfolk.craigslist.org/cto/3464637807.html

I neglected this thread awhile, sorry. Matt, as John pointed out it's the oil separator. Beware that on an M54, one of the failure modes will siphon oil into the intake, which can cause a hydrolock. I'd be pretty afraid of that X5 you linked if it "may need a CCV or a head gasket," although some simple tests could rule out major damage.

The other issue to be aware of on the M54 is, if it does need a head gasket it may have overheated, and if it overheated it very likely stripped head bolt threads out of the (aluminum) block. It can be timeserted, but it's a big job.

-tammer

[Tammer in Philly]

I did a similar trip a couples year back; wife's cousin got married in Asheville; my wife did the cake. We stayed in a cabin the groom's family owns up in Black Mountain.

We took my A4 wagon with a roof box though. Dragon was great times, even at 2/10ths, and the conditions were challenging -- mixed freezing rain, annoying speed limiter installed in passenger seat... :)

A lot of cool TVA dams and stuff to look at in the area. I do miss the geography quite a bit.

I actually grew up in Louisville. I make it back now and then. It's a city that could really benefit from a neutron bomb. Beautiful geography, beautiful architecture. Lots of shitty people :)

Lots of shitty people in Louisville? My primary complaint about the city was that it was EMPTY. Granted I was there between Christmas and NYE, but we wandered all over and the streets and several bars were just barren of people, shitty or otherwise. Everyone was exceptionally friendly, as one might expect.

[gmb49all]

+1 on the oil pump bolts, timing chain tensioner and the Oil Separator valve - did the same things on my e38. Cheap insurance...

Also - mysterious clunking when turning on e38s after all other suspension parts replaced is the center drag link. Replace it even if it visually checks out. Big improvement!