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  1. #26
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    Sep 2014
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    Chicago, Il / Denver, Co
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    '01 DINAN7 '03 M5
    How is it coming along? Any progress?
    Instagram.com/nordmanmg

    Your current situation is not your final destination

  2. #27
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
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    Tempe, AZ
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    1995 525i/5
    More progress last night! I bought a new (to me) DSLR recently so I used that to take the pictures. Super fancy pics now.

    I started by removing the crank pulley (aka harmonic balancer) and the water pump. Man were they dirty.



    Surprisingly, the lower timing cover doesn't look all that bad:



    After the water pump was removed, I removed both belt tensioners. One of them was being a little stubborn but it came off eventually. After that, I disconnected the battery to remove the alternator. I wonder who thought it would be a great idea to hide the battery in the X5 under the spare tire and air compressor... I also found a hacked-together U-Haul trailer wiring harness in the trunk, yay. The alternator came off pretty easily, though the bolts holding it down were unreasonably tight. Makes me wonder if somebody had monkeyed around there before.

    With the alternator removed, I proceeded to remove the intake manifold to access the valley pan. Removing the intake manifold involved removing 10 11mm nuts, disconnecting the fuel line, and removing a bunch of hoses at the CCV in the rear. With everything disconnected the intake manifold came off pretty easily, revealing a nasty sight underneath.



    As I suspected, the valley pan is leaking a bit already:





    I'm glad I ordered the parts to do the valley pan job, because I wasn't sure if the valley pan needed to be replaced. Thankfully I caught this leaking valley pan before it became a serious problem. I highly recommend checking on it when you do a chain guide job— the extra labor is minimal. Plus as a bonus I'll get to replace the water pipe o-rings at the back coolant manifold and I'll get to install fresh new intake manifold gaskets to eliminate the common rough idle upon cold startup.

    The oil separator return hose pretty much crumbled apart when I removed the intake manifold... turns out the oil separator is still original with a 2002 date on it, and the return hose is still original since it has the annoying BMW factory clamps on both ends.





    I ordered a new return hose and a new oil separator from AutohausAZ this morning, since they're local to me and might have it available either today or tomorrow. I figured I'd replace the oil separator since it's original and easily accessible, because replacing it with the intake manifold installed does not sound fun at all. I also ordered new cam chains because the current ones have 213k miles on them. Once this engine is all fixed up I shouldn't have to mess with it for a very long time.

    I bought some new GAS timing tools as well, since they're supposedly easier to use and less finicky than the BMW-style timing tools that I currently have. I love that the GAS cam lock blocks actually screw down instead of just floating on the camshafts like the BMW tools. The Beisan Systems Vanos seal kit also showed up the other day, so I'll be able to rebuild the Vanos units for a rattle-free experience.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  3. #28
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
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    1995 525i/5
    Here's the latest scoop on the X5 saga:

    I removed the crank bolt (aka the Jesus bolt). It came off very easily for some reason, but it could be because I used PB Blaster and a 3/4" drive breaker bar with a 6 foot long cheater pipe. I also used a crankshaft holding tool that propped against the subframe which worked very nicely.





    After that, I removed the cabin air filter housing. It wasn't super hard at all, with only two 13mm nuts and a few twist clip to undo. Removing it freed up a ton of space which will make timing and installing the intake manifold much easier.





    Once that was out, I removed the washer fluid reservoir. No idea why BMW made it so huge or didn't put it behind the wheel well like in the E38/E39. I first drained all the fluid out using a cheap fluid transfer pump. Of course I made a huge mess but hey at least washer fluid cleans up pretty easily.



    Instead of disconnecting the hoses at the washer fluid pumps I just removed the washer fluid pumps (all 3 of them) from the reservoir. That was pretty easy overall.



    I then jacked up the X5 to access the lower oil pan. On a sidenote, I'm so happy that the X5 is smaller than the Range Rover, I was able to lift it up with ample room in my short garage, even with the garage door closed. It's cold and rainy right now (weird for Arizona) so it's nice to be able to fit everything completely inside the garage.

    First I had to remove the lower skid plate which was a bit of a pain with the sorta hard-to-access nuts that I had to counter-hold while undoing the six 16mm bolts. I know these are supposedly single-use bolts, but I intend to reuse them because they're not some critical engine bolt. Apparently the rear four bolts also secure the sway bar— no wonder the plate has a big warning that says "do not drive without this plate installed."

    With the plate out of the way, I drained the oil (I know there's an access hole to drain the oil in the plate but I wanted to remove it first). The oil looked okay, just a bit old.



    Removing the lower oil pan was super easy, it was just a bunch of low-torque 10mm bolts all around that my cordless impact wrench removed quickly. The lower oil pan came off pretty easily, with a bit of oil splashing out as expected.



    There were a few chain guide bits in the oil pump pickup screen which I intend to clean out with a pick tool. The oil pan itself didn't have too many guide pieces, presumably because the differential goes through the oil pan and blocked the biggest pieces from falling into the lower oil pan.



    This X5 is easily the dirtiest vehicle I've ever worked on, there's so much grime caked on, along with what appears to be hair of some kind? Weird.

    While I was under the X5, I removed the power steering pump and let it hang so it wouldn't interfere with the lower timing cover removal process.



    I then locked the crank at TDC using the crank locking tool in the GAS timing tool kit. It was pretty easy on this X5 since there wasn't a massive subframe blocking the transmission bellhousing like on the Range Rover I had.

    After dropping the X5 back down on all four wheels, I proceeded to lock the cam timing. This was the first time I used my new GAS timing tools, after using the BMW-style tools for the last 6 timing chain guide jobs I've done. I have to say, these new tools are so much easier to use than the BMW-style ones. The cam lock blocks are for each individual camshaft which makes locking them down very easy. Plus they slide on and screw down to the camshaft journal studs, so they're on there very securely without the possibility of slipping off. This will be an absolute godsend for the timing process where everything has to be super precise.





    The build quality of these tools is amazing, and they're all made in-house by the company in Michigan. For $250, it's pretty much a no-brainer. They also rent them out if you're not a full-on timing chain guide addict like I am.

    Once the timing was fully locked down, I started removing all of the lower timing cover bolts. There were 15 in the front, with a complete mix of different bolt lengths in 10mm sizes and 13mm sizes. I always draw a diagram of the lower timing cover on a cardboard box and poke the bolts right into the diagram. That makes the reassembly process very easy. There are also 6 10mm bolts from down below, which I removed while I had the X5 jacked up.

    The lower timing cover will always put up quite a fight, especially if it hasn't ever been removed before. Be patient and take your time to gradually loosen it, all while making sure that you didn't miss any bolts. Mine came off after about 20 minutes of fiddling. It came off cleanly and without damaging the upper oil pan gasket, which is excellent.



    I found guide bits resting on top of the U-guide, interesting how that happened.



    The bigger guide pieces ended up in the oil pan. You can also see some of that nasty grime and the questionable hair. All of that will be cleaned up before I reassembly the engine.



    Strangely enough, the driver's side plastic guide looked completely intact.



    At that point I called it a night, after putting in about 5 hours of work.

    As a sidenote, I've been having a lot of fun with my DSLR with these pictures. I think I get way better results than with my iPhone, despite requiring a bit more effort.
    Last edited by dannyzabolotny; 12-24-2016 at 08:48 PM.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  4. #29
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
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    mesa,az
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    207
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    09 Lexus is250 02 x5 4.6
    This is great info as i just brought my x5 4.6. I will more than likely start taking it apart to check all the timing as we mainly because it has 200k on it also.

  5. #30
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    1995 525i/5
    I've fallen behind in updating this thread, so today I'll be playing a bit of catch-up to get this up to speed. In real life, I've finished the project as of yesterday, and the X5 runs/drives perfectly. Keep reading to see more pretty pictures and thrilling prose (ha!)

    ------

    After I removed the lower timing cover, I removed the chains and camshaft sprockets. Pretty easy stuff.



    It started to look pretty stripped down at this point, but I wasn't done yet!



    This is what the engine looked like after removing the guides, Vanos distribution pieces, and cam tensioners.







    The U-guide was down to bare metal:



    The tensioning rail didn't look much better.



    The plastic rail looked okay, but clearly showed signs of wear.



    All of the chain guides had 2002/2003 production date codes, so they were definitely original.

    I collected all of the plastic guide bits in a cup to keep as a souvenir.



    With everything removed, I began the reassembly. I started by rebuilding the Vanos units in the comfort of my kitchen, using the Beisan Systems guide as a reference (even though I know the procedure by heart now). I put the teflon rings into a cup of warm water which made them very flexible and easy to install.



    After replacing the seals and o-rings, I drove over to my friend's shop and pressed the Vanos units. I do have a vice in my garage, but my workbench is flimsy and can't really stand up to the massive torque that's required to press the Vanos units properly. My friend's shop had a much better setup with a sturdier bench and vice, so pressing the units went pretty easily.

    The next day, I put my attention to cleaning the gross timing covers before I could begin installing them.



    After a few hours + Purple Power + 2 cans of brake cleaner:



    I cleaned the water pump at a later point, which is why it's still dirty in that picture. The timing covers cleaned up pretty nicely, considering how terrible they looked before.

    Time for a big box of new parts!



    All in all, I think I spent about $700 on all the parts needed for this project.

    First I installed the cam tensioners with the new guide pieces and o-rings, along with the Vanos distribution gaskets and oil check valves. The oil check valves tend to get stuck with age, which allows oil to drain out of the Vanos and cause that infamous startup rattle. It's super important to replace these.



    With the distribution piece installed:



    After that it was time for the new chain guides. I love this part of the job.





    I left a little note on the tensioner rail for future reference.



    Once the guides were installed, it was time for the new chains. I decided to replace all three chains— two camshaft chains and one main timing chain. Normally I don't replace the camshaft chains but I figured with 213k miles it would be worth it to replace them. Plus at only $20 each it wasn't all that bad for the budget. I love seeing shiny new parts everywhere.





    I loosely threaded in the (left hand thread!) camshaft bolts, making sure everything stayed nice and loose for the timing process.

    With the new chains and guides installed, it was time to reinstall the lower timing cover. Before reinstalling the lower timing cover, I verified that the upper oil pan gasket was in good condition, which it was. I put a little bit of silicone on the mating areas just in case.



    I also installed a new front main seal, since there would literally never be an easier time to do so.



    I wrestled the lower timing cover into place and used my handy dandy lower timing cover bolt diagram to install all of the bolts.



    It took me about an hour to install it properly, because everything had to be aligned properly. There are three gaskets for the lower timing cover, and they all like to move out of place even when secured with gasket tack. There are also bolts on the bottom of the lower timing cover, don't forget those!



    With the lower timing cover in place, the timing process began. I started by installing the chain tensioner tool on the passenger side. Once again, I can't help but praise the GAS timing tools, they're so well-engineered and are an absolute joy to use!



    I then proceeded to fully retard the Vanos units by turning them counter-clockwise using the special Vanos tool.



    While holding the Vanos units at their stopping position I snugged up the Vanos bolts to set their position. After that it was just a matter of torquing all of the camshaft/Vanos bolts, with the intake bolts getting torqued to 81ft/lb and the exhaust bolts getting torqued to 92ft/lb. I counter held the camshafts with a 27mm open wrench but the cam lock blocks didn't move at all during this process, which is quite an improvement over the BMW-style tools that would often pop right off.

    With the timing locked down, I installed the camshaft trigger wheel tools on both sides.



    Again, super high quality tools. The trigger wheel tools were incredibly precise and had zero slop. Once I torqued the trigger wheels in place I removed the trigger wheel tools, cam lock blocks, and crankshaft locking pin in order to rotate the engine over a few times to test the timing. The engine was initially quite difficult to turn over, so I removed the spark plugs. After that it was super easy, and I turned the engine over a few times before locking it at TDC with the tools. With everything locked in TDC again, I checked the camshaft trigger wheels with the tools and they lined up perfectly. I love a good timing job.

    That's all for now, but I'll get more photos up tonight once I dump them from my DSLR. I've also been compiling a lot of this work into videos, which you can see here:

    https://youtu.be/w-7LHt07a7U



    https://youtu.be/Jnul5g1pno8

    Last edited by dannyzabolotny; 01-03-2017 at 02:00 PM.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  6. #31
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    1995 525i/5
    Onto the conclusion of the guide story. After the engine was timed, I jacked up the X5 and proceeded to install the newly cleaned oil pan with a new gasket. Brake cleaner can work miracles, even on grubby old oil pans.



    I installed the oil pan, torqued the bolts, torqued the drain plug, and reconnected the oil level sensor. While I was under the X5 I decided to take care of everything else under there, so I installed the power steering pump and the reinforcement plate. I reused the reinforcement plate bolts because they looked fine to me.

    Once I was done with everything underneath, I moved on to installing the upper timing covers. I used a zip tie to keep the tensioner rail tensioned once the tensioner tool was removed. This isn't 100% necessary, but I like to do it just to make sure the chain never has too much slack which could potentially mess up the timing.



    Initially I installed the upper timing covers quite loosely, since they need to be pressed into position to seat properly. I used a trick I learned from Beisan Systems, which was to use double the washers on four of the valve cover nuts, so that I could use the valve cover (without the gasket) to physically clamp down on the timing cover.



    Check out that rad powder coated finish on the valve cover. It's two-toned and quite textured, which helps to hide the flaws that the valve covers had after 213k miles. I got it done at a local powder coating shop, it was around $80 for the pair. They were baked to get the oil residue out, sandblasted to remove the old finish, powder coated, and then baked to cure the finish.



    After the upper timing covers were torqued down, I installed the Vanos solenoids along with their new gaskets. On the passenger side I also installed a new timing chain tensioner. I saved the old one to take a comparison picture to show the difference in tensioner designs over the years.



    The old one wasn't that worn, the old spring was just shorter. Later on, BMW redesigned the tensioner spring so that there would be more tension on the timing chain upon cold startups, thus minimizing the startup rattle.

    With the upper timing covers fully installed, I replaced the valley pan gasket. The coolant in the valley pan looked pretty clean— there wasn't any real cross-contamination going on, which was a good sign. I cleaned up around it a little bit but I didn't go crazy since that part of the engine isn't visible at all in most situations. I was thrilled to see proper blue BMW coolant used everywhere.







    I was able to reuse the plastic cover after cleaning it a bit, which was nice because of how ridiculously expensive a new one is. The old valley pan gasket piece had a 2010 production date so it held up for 6-7 years, not too bad at all.

    With the valley pan all sorted out, I installed the water pump and the water pipes, using new o-rings lubricated with silicone grease. The water pump was pretty recent and had a metal impeller so I elected to reuse it. I also installed the alternator, which was probably the easiest part of this whole job. After that I installed the crank pulley/harmonic balancer. You always want to install it after the water pump because it blocks access to one of the water pump bolts.



    Finally, it was time to install the beautifully refinished valve covers. Everything went on quite easily with no issues.



    I stopped there because of the holidays. On January 2nd I was finally able to resume the work. I installed the intake manifold, and no joke, that was possibly the worst part of this entire job. I had to remove a rotten OSV hose that was super hard to access, and then I had to install a new OSV hose there. Even with the cabin air filter housing removed there was almost no room to maneuver. I also had to pretty much crouch on top of the engine with my knees on the valve covers, now that got painful pretty quickly. Here's the area I'm referring to:



    I ended up bending the pipe a little bit so that I could access it better. Once the new hose was installed I bent it back into place. After that hellish experience, the rest of the intake manifold installation was a downright breeze. I used new intake manifold gaskets as well. Once the manifold was installed, I connected the dozen hoses going to it, as well as the fuel supply.



    After that, I installed the secondary air pipe and the electrical boxes, along with all the electrical connections to the various parts of the engine.



    At this point was like 3:30am so I just kinda blacked out for the rest of the steps. When I snapped out of my stupor I had installed pretty much everything else...



    Ignition coils, new NGK Iridium spark plugs, cabin air filter housing, air intake, MAF boot, expansion tank, all the cooling hoses, the fan shroud, the fan clutch, the battery terminal, and all the vacuum lines. Nothing terribly exciting there. I then added a whole bunch of coolant and bled the system a bit. I also added in about 8.5 quarts of Mobil 1 0W40, which is my preferred oil for these M62tu engines. I had also hooked up the battery and the battery charger at some point, just to make sure the battery wasn't dead.

    Then came the fateful first start. Even though this is my 7th M62tu rebuild, I was still just as nervous as ever when I turned that key. I let the fuel pump prime a few times and then I started the engine. It made quite a clatter initially and quickly settled into a rough idle. It almost died a few times and ran a bit rough while the DME was trying to figure out the whole fuel/air supply thing, but that's pretty normal if you remove the intake manifold and disconnect the fuel lines. After about 30 seconds the engine settled into a happy idle, with just a hint of lifter tick from sitting dry for a month.

    After letting it run for a few minutes, I shut it down and went to double check my work under the hood. The expansion tank was nearly empty, so I added more coolant to compensate. The oil level was a tad low as well, so I topped it off. I noticed a sizable coolant leak which was quickly determined to be coming from an improperly installed upper radiator hose. That was a quick and easy fix, and is proof of why you shouldn't do this stuff at 5am after almost 24 hours of no sleep.

    Once the fluids were topped off, I double checked the tire pressures and rolled the X5 out of the garage to go for a test drive. Since the gas tank was nearly empty, the test drive was to the closest gas station. It made it there without any issues. I put $60 of premium Chevron gas into the X5— the pump showed 22.7 gallons, so the gas tank was really close to empty. While I was gassing up, I took some pictures of the newly resurrected X5.









    This is why I do what I do. No words can describe the immense satisfaction and pride I feel when I start up a freshly rebuilt engine successfully. There's just nothing like it. There were no check engine lights, no error lights of any kind, and the coolant temperatures were stable.

    I actually took videos of the entire first startup and first test drive, so once I get those edited together I'll link them here.

    I drove the X5 to work yesterday with no problems whatsoever. Drove it to work today as well, so far so good. I've put almost 100 miles on it in like a day, that's how excited I am about it.

    - - - Updated - - -

    I just passed through emissions and got a check engine light literally 10 minutes after I passed the test. It's hilarious because the exact same thing happened with the 2000 M5 I had. I checked the cause of the light and it was a P3157 which is a cylinder 8 misfire. That's the only code and I got a misfire on that same cylinder this morning, so I suspect that it's an ignition coil. About half of the ignition coils on this X5 are the cheap eBay kind, including the one on cylinder 8, so I'm going to swap in a known good OEM coil and see if that fixes the problem. My spark plugs are all brand new and torqued down to spec. The misfire is very occasional for now.

    Last night I did a little bit of digging around and found a Dice Mediabridge with iPod connection and Sirius installed behind the kick panel on the driver's side of the center console. It had the old 30-pin iPod connector so after a quick run to the local Apple store I got a 30-pin to Lightning adapter which allowed me to use it with my iPhone. It's a bit of a quirky setup but having an aux-in that isn't a tape adapter is perfectly fine with me haha. I do think the front tweeters are blown though, no matter what I play through them (from any source) there's crackling and distortion in the high end, even at low volumes.

    I also tidied up in the trunk because it was a nightmare before. This is how the trunk looked when I went to disconnect the battery before diving into the chain guide project:



    No wonder there was stuff banging around when I drove the X5 yesterday... After locating the proper nuts/bolts which were scattered around the spare tire well, I installed everything properly. It looks much tidier and the compressor is no longer flopping around.



    I love quick little fixes like that, they're just so satisfying!

    Today I ordered a new air filter, new cabin air filter, window shade hooks (some of mine are broken), and an aluminum water pump pulley. The current engine air filter is one of those lame K&N oiled air filters (not a fan) and I have no idea when the cabin air filter was replaced, so it's worth replacing both. The window shade hooks were extremely reasonable in price— they were a bit under $4 for a 4-pack of Genuine BMW hooks. I was honestly expecting them to be like $30. The water pump pulley is mostly intact for now, but when I was reassembling everything I saw that it was starting to chip away a bit so I figured I'd replace it with a sturdier aluminum one.





    I'm not a big fan of those kidney grilles with the painted silver slats, they look like they're trying to imitate the facelift style. Eventually I'll get some all-black grilles from ECS Tuning. I also find it hilarious how my co-worker's new Challenger on the right has angel eyes but my BMW X5 doesn't... for now, at least.
    Last edited by dannyzabolotny; 01-04-2017 at 02:18 PM.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  7. #32
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    EXOTICS
    Wow, the feeling of satisfaction and pride must be immense , and rightly so!
    I also understand the praise given to tools, that perform the job as designed.
    Bask in the glow of accomplishment, you deserve it! Great job!

  8. #33
    Join Date
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    Canadian living inGermany
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    2000 BMW 740d
    Great write up. I do not know where you find the time to write such a detailed "DIY". I had a Euro 3.0l e53 that recently got stolen from our driveway. I got a 740d for its replacement. So far so good, although I do miss the x5 dearly!

  9. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by MIKYZZ4 View Post
    Wow, the feeling of satisfaction and pride must be immense , and rightly so!
    I also understand the praise given to tools, that perform the job as designed.
    Bask in the glow of accomplishment, you deserve it! Great job!
    Thanks! Yeah, having the right tools made this job a lot easier. I can't praise the GAS timing tools enough, they were so wonderful to use, and they enabled me to nail the timing perfectly from the first try, whereas with the other tool set I often had to tweak the timing afterwards.

    Quote Originally Posted by 00e38740d View Post
    Great write up. I do not know where you find the time to write such a detailed "DIY". I had a Euro 3.0l e53 that recently got stolen from our driveway. I got a 740d for its replacement. So far so good, although I do miss the x5 dearly!
    I'd hardly consider this detailed, I'd go into far more detail if I had more time and patience, haha. I was doing this job with a pretty limited amount of time. Sorry to hear about your X5 being stolen, but the 740d is a beast! We never got that here in the US, must be cool to have a big biturbo V8 diesel haha. The torque numbers on that M67 are crazy.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  10. #35
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    '01 DINAN7 '03 M5
    Congrats Dannny, well done
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  11. #36
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    Damn Brother. You made it look easy. Well done!





    Some Places remain unknown because no one has ventured forth. Others remain so because no one has ever come back......

  12. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by NordmanMg View Post
    Congrats Dannny, well done
    Thanks!

    Quote Originally Posted by Trasportador View Post
    Damn Brother. You made it look easy. Well done!
    Haha well your thread was a big inspiration to me. I had been looking around for a cheap 4.6 for a while when this popped up.

    How's your 4.6 doing?
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  13. #38
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    Yesterday afternoon I had some free time and the weather was really pleasant (72º and sunny) so I decided to give the X5 a thorough wash. First I cleaned the wheels and then I used dish soap to strip off any dirt or oil from the paint. After that, I used a Meguiar's clay bar all around the whole car, and it picked up quite a bit of dirt:



    After the clay barring was done, I gave the car another wash and then dried it off carefully using damp microfiber towels. It's crucial to dry off the car completely when you're in Arizona, because the tap water here is extremely hard and will leave nasty white water spots otherwise. Once the X5 was dried, it looked like this:



    At this point it started getting dark, so I brought out the halogen work lamps and started applying Ammo Skin to the whole X5. Ammo Skin is an awesome synthetic sealant that lasts far longer than wax— I used it on my Range Rover and I was very pleased with it. After I applied it to the entire car I waited a few minutes and then buffed it all off with a clean microfiber towel.

    As the finishing touch, I applied Zaino Tire Gloss to the tires, to give them that extra pop. I like Zaino Tire Gloss because unlike other tire shines on the market, it's not oily or greasy, nor does it sling off onto the car. Once the tire shine was applied, I gave the rims a coating of spray wax, just to make cleaning off brake dust easier in the future.

    Since it was too dark in my neighborhood to take pictures, I took the X5 to a nearby parking lot that was reasonably well-lit. This also gave me a chance to try my new camera tripod. I love having a tripod for nighttime shots— I can do long exposure shots without any blurring.













    I'm going to try and get some nice daytime shots today, it's even shinier in the daytime.

    After the photo session, I went back home and plugged in my laptop to do a bit of personalization. I fired up PA Soft 1.40 and hooked it up to the X5. Interestingly enough, the software says that this X5 is an Alpina, which is kinda funny. I do recall that BMW and Alpina did develop this 4.6 engine together, so maybe that had something to do with it.



    I checked for errors and I didn't see any major new ones, most were just old minor errors from the battery running low (the battery was dead when this X5 was delivered to me). I then proceeded to disable the daytime running lights, which was nice and easy with the LCM module:



    I also disabled convenience opening, because I'm not a fan of the windows rolling down if I hold the unlock button for a second too long. With how temperamental the window regulators are, the less I use them, the better.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  14. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by dannyzabolotny View Post

    Thanks!

    Haha well your thread was a big inspiration to me. I had been looking around for a cheap 4.6 for a while when this popped up.

    How's your 4.6 doing?
    Doing well. I'm going to put it up for sale though. The Mrs will put me in the poor house by daily driving this monster. Bought her a Lexus gx470, so the x is gonna go. All I'm going to keep is the e34 and e38. Maaayybe the 540 wagon may be kept. Big maybe





    Some Places remain unknown because no one has ventured forth. Others remain so because no one has ever come back......

  15. #40
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    1995 525i/5
    Quote Originally Posted by Trasportador View Post
    Doing well. I'm going to put it up for sale though. The Mrs will put me in the poor house by daily driving this monster. Bought her a Lexus gx470, so the x is gonna go. All I'm going to keep is the e34 and e38. Maaayybe the 540 wagon may be kept. Big maybe
    Ah, bummer. I understand though, it's tough to put money into a car that somebody else drives all the time. Though since you rebuilt the engine completely, what problems did the 4.6 still have? Or did you mean it's just expensive to drive with the low gas mileage and whatnot?

    --------------

    A few days ago I took some pictures around sunset in my work's parking lot (more like a nearby church parking lot since my work parking lot is tiny). It was a bit of a cloudy day but the pictures turned out nice. And of course it rained that night :/













    Raindrops on a freshly sealed/waxed hood:



    I'm very pleased with the Sapphire Black Metallic color— its metallic nature hides dust and rock chips quite well. The last black car I had was a 2003 Mercedes S500, and it always looked dirty since it had non-metallic black paint.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  16. #41
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    IL
    Posts
    13,581
    My Cars
    2000 740i sport
    Just went through this whole thread while my plane was delayed in from FL. Again, i love your threads. Nice find and amazing workmanship! Those valve covers looks badass! The 4.6is is one of my favorites. Enioy her! Love it!

    Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Tapatalk

  17. #42
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Chattanooga, TN
    Posts
    206
    My Cars
    2002 X5 4.6is "munyhog"
    Man I wish you lived in TN! I'd pay you what I'd pay the shop around here to do that job while I watch and learn and hand you beers if you wanted them. Truly great work with immense attention to detail. She looks beautiful!

  18. #43
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Montreal/Cape Coral
    Posts
    207
    My Cars
    2012 X6 35i
    Yeah, I just went thru the whole thread and wow, quite the set of balls you have strapped on Danny
    2007 FJ Cruiser (best vehicle to date)
    2012 X6 35i Sport
    2013 ML350 BT
    2019 4Runner

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