E53 4.4 or cayenne V8/turbo

[Themoog2]

I'm always browsing the ads and today I viewed an 03 cayenne turbo..
Ive had a Cayenne slow a few years back and at the time I loved it.
This time though I wasn't as impressed. The car was good - and cheap - but it did not make me want to part with my X5.
Why? Well mine is a known quantity for a start and is also in better condition than nearly all the cars I've seen.
No just that though, the cayenne felt massive and heavy (I don't remember mine being like that) even though they are a similar size to the X. It certainly pulled like a locomotive but didn't feel as nimble as my X5.
Whats your thoughts? What else could be an E53 alternative. V8 tho..

[approved]

B7 RS4
e53 4.8is

[Themoog2]

Ah..well, the 4.8’s I drove were not different enough from my 4.4 in my opinion. I’ve never been in a 4.6 yet but I’m always on the lookout.
I tried a Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 hemp but it was horrible.
Another that I haven’t looked at, but will now is the E70 4.8.

[Leslie]

Browsing the ads is a dangerous pastime lol but if you are going to a cheap v8 sounds great fun

[Greydog]

like you I have looked at others but my old 4.6 fits like a glove now
I did think that if there were any further issues engine wise it would be fun to build a proper Leman version. BMW built a handful V12 versions as demonstration cars they were never released to the public.
But parts from a 760 with a modified sump to take the front diff Just have to convince the chancellor

[Themoog2]

What engine issues? You are probably like me and 'know' your vehicles really well and can tell when something is not right instead of blindly carrying on.

Ive done the chain guides on mine so that's OK for another 100k miles - which takes it to the year 2049 on my current usage.. I think with regular maintenance work it should be OK.
Same for the transmission. I've done 2 services on it in 20k. All the suspension arms are new as are the air bags and sensors. What's left?..

[Greydog]

At around 90k my engine suffered oil pump failure, no rattles, low pressure warnings. At motorway speed cruise control in it failed.
When the engine was stripped it showed the oil pickup clogged with small pieces of the original guides and a sludge that I assume was also from the guides.
The engine was rebuilt completely the block chemically cleaned and flushed to make sure no crud remained, Crank polished and checked, new bearings, New pistons Vanos rebuilt cams and followers checked new oil pump. I believe the cause of the mayhem was the chain tensioner which rely s on spring pressure at cold start.
After rebuilding I also fitted a pre-oiling system to give it the best chance, it is now on 150+ k and (tempt fate now) running really well

Just a shame that engine designers moved towards so many internal plastic parts in a quest to reduce noise and cost. It isn't a BMW problem I just helped a friend rebuild his Audi A6 V8 more plastic guides than the BMW.
Used to be that the Timing Chain was a fit and forget item, then the move from duplex chain to simplex then plastic guides hey ho progress eh and lets not get into the designer who thought it a good idea to put timing chains at the back of the engine??
Still stops me being bored at home, so it's always been at the back of my mind that if something went pear shaped I may build a Leman replica

[Themoog2]

So anyway.. today I went to view an 07 E70 4.8
I didn’t drive it as it was buried in amongst loads of other vehicles but I started it up and had a play. Firstly,it seemed so much more modern inside than my E53 - similar to a 320d we had 6 yrs ago. Felt like a nice place to sit- even with all those annoying bongs. After it was running for a few minutes there was oil burning on the drive side manifold and it was smoking so defo valve cover gasket replacement needed. There seemed to be a lot of oil down the front of the motor too but I couldn’t see properly.
The rear tyres were enormous- well , wide anyway, and it had two seats in the boot (can these be removed?). Overall it wasn’t a bad car. I’ve been thinking about it so I may book a drive in it.
It grabbed me more than the Cayenne did a few days ago.

[sapphireblack]

FWIW?

As an ex 4.4 E53 owner i was wanting a V8 Cayenne a while ago now. I looked at lots, all of which were pretty well used, but my lasting memory is the dodgy interior colours. These ranged from baby poo brown to vomit yellow to gunge green. I'm sure not all are as bad, or at least i would hope not.

As to a 4.8 E70, i wish i'd bought the one I've referred to here af least twice, once very recently. It's definitely a step up from the E53 as you would expect. As well as an E71 i'm a Touareg owner which has much in common with the Cayenne of course, i can safely say that BMW ergonomics of that era are vastly superior too, imo of course.

My most significant and negative experience with BMW V8s is oil leaks.