XSeries-forum

Gees I'm getting good at this just written off one more first the E36 on a Furry Grasshopper then the E32 on a rock and now the X5. Hit a gigantic hole which was full of what looked like gravel but was like quicksand. Front left wheel smashed and car went bush.
So seeing as I am a sucker for punishment and that I really don't believe that it can happen a forth time I am now looking at a 2005 X5 M57 so before I slap down my hard earned loot what are the things to watch out for.
Link https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/detail ... 005/?Cr=20 I intend to ignore the dent in the door till I can get a black door and the rest they mention is fairly easy stuff. From what I see the M57 should be good for around 300-350K.
The rest of the car I am familiar with it's just the engine I need to know what to look for.
The wheel that busted was a 9.5 front Y spoke and it split right round the rim just behind the spokes and of course instant deflation and I was going along for the ride.

The M57 is pretty bulletproof, only thing I would say is the swirl flaps need removal and upon start up check for any smoke in the engine bay on the exhaust manifold side, they used stainless steel for the manifolds which do crack over time, there are cast ones available.....also may be carbon build up in the intake......

If it’s an E53 equipped with an M57 lump they never were fitted with swirl flaps. Those spawn of satan only appeared on the E70 (though in a safer guise) and later. Other M57 equipped BMWs do have the evil metal trinkets!

Which particular beastie qualifies as a ‘furry grasshopper’? Roo or wallaby? Saw lots of different types whilst visiting in 2019 and road sense was not amongst their protective instincts! Even the possums seemed very keen to run down the road rather than getting out the bl@@dy way!

Thanks guys. It's the Kangaroos that are furry grasshoppers and despite what is said they are very road aware they hop out to the side, stop, look both ways and jump out in front of you but I have found the wallabies usually are a bit better they will most often just watch you go bye or slowly turn away then abruptly turn and jump out in front of you.
One other X5 i am looking at is a 4.6is I like the M62 engine better than the N62 due to the less complex cam gear but was the older type of transfer case any big problem?

No flaps on my e53 with the m57.

If the chain guides have been replaced on the 4.6is it will go on for years If it is quiet on cold start then fit a Pre-oiler to give full oil pressure at cold start. Rebuilt my 4.6is at 90+k now on 164k Gearbox Trans Fluid changes every 60k when I did the box I also did the Transfer case and Diffs.
As you are an X5 man you will be well aware that mis-matched Tyres kill transfer boxes. I have rebuilt 2 early transfer boxes (no actuator motor) on X3's same design and other than wrestling the heavy lump onto the bench it was straight forward.

My 2004 e53 M57N had them as I removed them when I changed the injectors.......

You must have had a special engine then. Mine was the same year and didn’t have them, nor are they listed anywhere in the parts database. No E53 owner apart from you has ever reported them as being fitted. The intake manifold doesn’t include the key components required. I de-flapped HRH’s E46 back in the day and spotted the differences in the hardware. Hers was an EU4 vehicle and the E53 was EU3. I’m happy to be re-educated though

It isn’t unknown for manufacturers to put the odd ‘special’ out when there are parts shortages, or in the event of high demand as well as putting things out there to ‘see how they do’, especially given the E70 was on the way and BMW might have been trying things out

I believe it was the M57N2 engine variant that first had the manifold flaps late 06 onwards but then my old brain could be mush

My 2003 full-fat 3.0ltr (as opposed to the earlier 2.9ltr version) E46 330d was Euro3 and had the flaps, although they had been removed by the time I bought it.

Just my opinion, but I still reckon the M57D30 is the best-ever BMW engine.

StuBeeDoo wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 9:15 am Just my opinion, but I still reckon the M57D30 is the best-ever BMW engine.

A lot easier to look after than the N-series, and I think got more ‘best engine’ awards too.

Our 2005 E46 330Cd was ‘manual only’ as the auto couldn’t meet EU4 even with satan flaps.

Dug out the reciept from my files as I put the X5 down as a work vehicle on my books,,,,Below is the site I ordered the kit from......
https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/ ... gines.html

Same kit that I used

Well I'm off on Monday to pick it up with an 800km ride on the bike then back after the bike is delivered in the new to me X5 2nd.

Thats intriguing, will a motorbike fit in an X5? Assuming of course you're not cycling 800k