X5M Ownership Difficulty: Reduced Power Engine Malfunction

[mr____p]

Also found the oil cap damaged!

Will most definitely need a new one of these.

[mr____p]

I decided to properly re route the 02 sensors. I just cant believe somebody would look at that and be like "Looks good!"
The wires were crimped so bad I had to be extra careful. + they were just laying on the exhaust waiting for these s63 to cook the fuck out of the wires..

I also went back in history of my videos and saw footage on my phone of my car at the BMW ONLY shop before I GOT WORK DONE and I caught those o2 sensors properly routed so it had to have happened at either BMW ONLY (more likely, they replaced hoses and lots more) or BMW HENDERSON (doubt it, all they did were run tests).

Of course, shop denies working around that area.. (LOL)

I just had ordered parts last night from FCP EURO, was going to have BMW ONLY do the repairs but thats now highly UNLIKELY.

Today, I was just letting the car warm up.

With it almost at operating temp - One quick rev to 3k and puff ( a small white cloud of smoke)

MY HEART SINKS..

Do it again, no smoke.
Drive it, no smoke.

I was originally thinking moisture in the exhaust.

At operating temperature, driving - no smoke.

Come back and park, REV to 3k no smoke.

Let it idle for about 1-2 minutes - BOOM. WHITE SMOKE when 3k REV.

Rev it 3k again - no smoke.

Let it sit for 1-2 minutes idling

Rev it 3k - BOOM WHITE SMOKE.

I had saw this happen before, but I thought I HAD TO BE TRIPPEN.


NOT SO!


In my years of being a technician, I have saw this with

TURBOS - Leaking coolant past seals
( NO BIG DEAL WAS GOING TO REPLACE)

OR

VALVE GUIDES (WORST FEAR)

OR

BAD HEAD GASKET (HORRIBLE)

BUT IS IT POSSIBLE THAT IT COULD BE FROM THE FAILING VACCUM PUMP/BOOST SOLENOID OR CCV ISSUE?

I am just completely overwhelmed at this point...

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Originally Posted by pipsniperr

I decided to properly re route the 02 sensors. I just cant believe somebody would look at that and be like "Looks good!"
The wires were crimped so bad I had to be extra careful. + they were just laying on the exhaust waiting for these s63 to cook the fuck out of the wires..

I also went back in history of my videos and saw footage on my phone of my car at the BMW ONLY shop before I GOT WORK DONE and I caught those o2 sensors properly routed so it had to have happened at either BMW ONLY (more likely, they replaced hoses and lots more) or BMW HENDERSON (doubt it, all they did were run tests).

Of course, shop denies working around that area.. (LOL)

I just had ordered parts last night from FCP EURO, was going to have BMW ONLY do the repairs but thats now highly UNLIKELY.

Today, I was just letting the car warm up.

With it almost at operating temp - One quick rev to 3k and puff ( a small white cloud of smoke)

MY HEART SINKS..

Do it again, no smoke.
Drive it, no smoke.

I was originally thinking moisture in the exhaust.

At operating temperature, driving - no smoke.

Come back and park, REV to 3k no smoke.

Let it idle for about 1-2 minutes - BOOM. WHITE SMOKE when 3k REV.

Rev it 3k again - no smoke.

Let it sit for 1-2 minutes idling

Rev it 3k - BOOM WHITE SMOKE.

I had saw this happen before, but I thought I HAD TO BE TRIPPEN.


NOT SO!


In my years of being a technician, I have saw this with

TURBOS - Leaking coolant past seals
( NO BIG DEAL WAS GOING TO REPLACE)

OR

VALVE GUIDES (WORST FEAR)

OR

BAD HEAD GASKET (HORRIBLE)

BUT IS IT POSSIBLE THAT IT COULD BE FROM THE FAILING VACCUM PUMP/BOOST SOLENOID OR CCV ISSUE?

I am just completely overwhelmed at this point...

Most likely your valve guide seals. Very common on the N63 and S63. N63 is worse due to its intake design trapping heat in th valve covers but S63 suffers from it too once you get past 120k. CCV issues can make it worse so check your CCV system first. Good news is a complete set of Valve guide seals is only 180 dollars..Bad news in the 40 hours it takes to do it. You can rent tools so you don't have to pull the engine. On a scale of 1-10 for difficulty it's a 7...No super hard, just ultra time consuming.

[Thecastle]

Originally Posted by X5 MAN

Hello all,

I have recently acquired a 2011 e70 BMW x5m s63 jb4 with 130k miles for about 10k.

You just purchased the most expensive used car in the world . Be prepared to pour money into it

eeee, its pretty pricey, I have to agree and constantly broken. But there is one common car that is worse.... A The forbidden fruit known as the Toureg V10 TDI...... If you can keep that one on the road, then you have deeper pockets than I..

[Thecastle]

Originally Posted by pipsniperr

OR

VALVE GUIDES (WORST FEAR)

OR

BAD HEAD GASKET (HORRIBLE)

BUT IS IT POSSIBLE THAT IT COULD BE FROM THE FAILING VACCUM PUMP/BOOST SOLENOID OR CCV ISSUE?

I am just completely overwhelmed at this point...

Nope its your valvestem seals. Thats the normal test on the N62/3 to test for bad valve steam seals. I've had them.. Basically warm the engine fully, let it idle 1-5 minutes. Floor it and watch for the smoke screen batman. It will be white.

[mr____p]

Originally Posted by Thecastle

Nope its your valvestem seals. Thats the normal test on the N62/3 to test for bad valve steam seals. I've had them.. Basically warm the engine fully, let it idle 1-5 minutes. Floor it and watch for the smoke screen batman. It will be white.

What a heart broken day.

At least my 540i 6 speed is almost ready out the shop.


I will sit in tears while doing burnouts and getting sideways in my sedan, and the x5m SUV will have to be garaged until I can figure out what the next step is.

1. Do the job myself, and rebuild everything down to the rod bearings.

2. Try to find a an Indy shop to do it RIGHT (last 2 indys can't be trusted)

3. Buy a s63 rebuild off eBay ($8k)

4. Sell it as is.

[Thecastle]

Sorry to hear that.

Try some at-205 (amazon has it) in the engine that did the trick for me on stopping the smoking as temporary fix. Lucas oil also worked ok(at-205 totally stopped the smoking) This was on my 4.8i n62 with bad valve stem seals. The seals are the same on the s63

Turbo pressure converters are a common failure at this age. They are in a pain in the butt place to get to. You have to remove the passenger side intercooler and some other things to get to them. They are about $100 each for pier burg. I know I’ve attempted, when installing a 90c thermostat.

The map sensors and filtered air ducts are common issues. Rear main seal blows about every 20k-40k miles. How are the oil leaks?

Personally if you love the car. Put some motor honey in to stop the smoking (at-205). Put in new pressure converters. Bring the parts and negotiate with the dealer to do it for 1-2 hrs labor. Trust me. You’ll want them to do it. Then save for the rest of the repairs. Not all of this like the valve stem seals needs to be done immediately. There are YouTube videos on how to do these repairs.

Your engine doesn’t sound like it needs a rebuild. Don’t need to go that route.

I’d also replace your expansion tank while your at it,

[Thecastle]

P.s. look at it this way. You got the vehicle for a real bargain because it has issues the previous owner didn’t want to deal with. Normally a 2011 x5m in good shape is going to be in the low 20s. You will spend less than 10k over time to sort the cars current issues, not all of which need to be done even this year.

[quick]

Buying a high performance vehicle like X5M for 10% of what it cost new, what do you expect?

I have always said, either pay up front and drive a nicer, well maintained car or buy cheaper (pay later) and have nothing but headaches .....There's no way around it.

There's a reason why you were able to score this M for $10,000 but at least you have some extra cash (hope) to get it running now.

These are great vehicles once sorted out but they'll keep squeezing your pockets though

[Autobacs]

Great points as far as owning an X5M. It cost me $4,500 for the warranty I paid on top of the purchase price. Never, ever paid for an aftermarket warranty (and never needed one) having owned Japanese cars. The cost of maintenance (paid or for a warranty) is just a necessary cost of owning a BMW. 1 year and 10K miles into owning it, I consider it well worth for the fun I have owning it so far!

[mr____p]

Originally Posted by Thecastle

Sorry to hear that.

Try some at-205 (amazon has it) in the engine that did the trick for me on stopping the smoking as temporary fix. Lucas oil also worked ok(at-205 totally stopped the smoking) This was on my 4.8i n62 with bad valve stem seals. The seals are the same on the s63

Turbo pressure converters are a common failure at this age. They are in a pain in the butt place to get to. You have to remove the passenger side intercooler and some other things to get to them. They are about $100 each for pier burg. I know I’ve attempted, when installing a 90c thermostat.

The map sensors and filtered air ducts are common issues. Rear main seal blows about every 20k-40k miles. How are the oil leaks?

Personally if you love the car. Put some motor honey in to stop the smoking (at-205). Put in new pressure converters. Bring the parts and negotiate with the dealer to do it for 1-2 hrs labor. Trust me. You’ll want them to do it. Then save for the rest of the repairs. Not all of this like the valve stem seals needs to be done immediately. There are YouTube videos on how to do these repairs.

Your engine doesn’t sound like it needs a rebuild. Don’t need to go that route.

I’d also replace your expansion tank while your at it,

Thank you, I will look into that a bit more.

Im going to fix the vacuum pump first and go from there.

[mr____p]

Originally Posted by Thecastle

P.s. look at it this way. You got the vehicle for a real bargain because it has issues the previous owner didn’t want to deal with. Normally a 2011 x5m in good shape is going to be in the low 20s. You will spend less than 10k over time to sort the cars current issues, not all of which need to be done even this year.

Yes, true indeed. I remember even thinking I have the $$$ to fix the issues, but didnt think the extent was this big lol, talk about jinxing myself.

[pearlpower]

I used AT-205 with great success on my 4.8is. Absolutely no smoking for 40k miles after it started, and it was bad at times. On my X5M, I also had white smoke, but on deceleration, not idle/rev. I replaced my turbo intake pipes and no more smoke. It also runs smoother at part throttle.

Best of luck with yours.

[mr____p]

Originally Posted by Thecastle

How are the oil leaks?

It actually doesn't leak any oil! I got the upper and lower oil pan gaskets, with the oil pressure sensor done when I got it. I also got all the upper coolant lines repairs for the turbo and the crossover tubes off the water pump replaced. Repaired a wheel hub on the drivers side (loud on free way) and I also got the diffs and transfer case serviced. (WAS NOT CHEAP) So Im def in it a few racks.

My biggest regret was not getting the rod bearings done on it while they were in there changing the oil pan gaskets... I felt like the shop should have upsold me on that job, without me really knowing the history on s63s. I would have gladly paid for it.

I cant sleep at night knowing its possible those bearings have 130k miles on them, so once I get the loss of boost and valve stem issue fixed I will most likely get those rods done.

I honestly have thought it through the last few days and told myself Im not under too deep in the car, so it could be worse. Looks like If i fix it I can at least break even or less if I do decide to sell it..

But why? Other then the maintenance these SUVs are so amazing.

I have driven range rovers, jeep, etc in competition to the x5m and it hands down performs and drives better. + its AWD for snow boarding and camping trips.

Every rose has its thorn! as they say!

[mr____p]

Originally Posted by pearlpower

I used AT-205 with great success on my 4.8is. Absolutely no smoking for 40k miles after it started, and it was bad at times. On my X5M, I also had white smoke, but on deceleration, not idle/rev. I replaced my turbo intake pipes and no more smoke. It also runs smoother at part throttle.

Best of luck with yours.

After reading reviews about this stuff on BMW forums it seems pretty credible so I have decided to buy some. I will keep you guys updated. As much as I hate putting a bandaid on something like this, It may be a easy answer to a $4-9k repair.

I was also curious - What kind of oil do you suggest running for my high mileage x5m? 130k - was thinking maybe 5w30 to thin of a viscosity for these hot ass running cars. I have ran almost 10-40 in all my bmws v8s and noticed incredibly quieter engine bay noise, and it also leaks less pass seals due to the thickness of the viscosity.

[pearlpower]

Originally Posted by pipsniperr

After reading reviews about this stuff on BMW forums it seems pretty credible so I have decided to buy some. I will keep you guys updated. As much as I hate putting a bandaid on something like this, It may be a easy answer to a $4-9k repair.

I was also curious - What kind of oil do you suggest running for my high mileage x5m? 130k - was thinking maybe 5w30 to thin of a viscosity for these hot ass running cars. I have ran almost 10-40 in all my bmws v8s and noticed incredibly quieter engine bay noise, and it also leaks less pass seals due to the thickness of the viscosity.

I only run 5w-30 Liqui Moly in all of my vehicles regardless of miles. I live in the hotter portion of So Cal. I also change my oil more frequently than what BMW recommends. Regarding the AT-205, you might need two bottles. It took around 800 miles or so for the smoke to completely go away. After two oil changes (4 bottles total), I was able to go without any AT-205 for a few oil changes, then would add one bottle every other OCI, your results might vary. I also had a 4.4 with 196k miles and it smoked, AT-205 also stopped the smoke in that vehicle. I sold it with 2 extra bottles for the new owner.

[Thecastle]

Originally Posted by pipsniperr

My biggest regret was not getting the rod bearings done on it while they were in there changing the oil pan gaskets... I felt like the shop should have upsold me on that job, without me really knowing the history on s63s. I would have gladly paid for it.

I cant sleep at night knowing its possible those bearings have 130k miles on them, so once I get the loss of boost and valve stem issue fixed I will most likely get those rods done.

I honestly would not worry about the rod bearings on the S63. They are supposedly the same as the N63, and of all the failures these engines can have rod bearings are pretty rare. Not saying it can't happen but I've only seen 1 car with confirmed bad rod bearings, and who knows if it had been modded before hand. These vehicles are nothing like the E92 and E60 V10 where failure was a certainty.

Personally, the rod bearings don't keep me up at night on this vehicle. It wouldn't even bother as a preventative.

Now since it shares the timing chain, valve stems and injectors with the N63, those things are more worriesome. But again never really hear about timing chain failures on the S63. The S63 is probably the most reliable V8 from the E70 generation (N62/N63 and S63 were all in this car).

I can attest my 2011 E70 X5M (S63) has been less troublesome overall than my 2008 E70 4.8i (N62). However, I've had far more oil leak issues with the S63.

[mr____p]

Just got back in town.

Went ahead and gave the x5m 2 bottles of the atp-205.

I'm guessing it's about 500-1000 miles of driving for this to go through the system... from what I've heard this is some good stuff !

I really hope this actually works on over all oil consumption too. I noticed with the valve seals leaking The oil gauge in idrive slightly moves every 100-200 miles. Crazy.


I have all the parts for the engine malfunction issue, should be getting that vacuum pump, boost solenoids, & lines installed this week. I will keep you guys updated !

Another question I had was about the thermostat. This engine runs hot af. I'm thinking about getting a lower temp thermostat for this thing while I'm in there at the boost solenoids - any improvement anyone can comment on?

[Thecastle]

Yeah I've had good luck with AT-205. Used it on several vehicles. N62 4.8i, 7.3L powestroke.

Its hard to say if the AT-205 will make a difference in oil consumption as it really depends on what is the source of the consumption. You definitely loosing oil through the valve stem seals. Another common loss area is if your pcv system....

As for the "90c" thermostats... None of them are actually 90C as that will throw a check engine light they're more like 93C. Stock the X5M runs at 95-105C depending on engine load mostly at 105C. I have a 90C thermostat in mine and it makes no difference that I can tell. Other than the engine runs cooler. The way I drive my X5M its not noticeable, some claim more power and slightly lower fuel economy. I switched mine for engine seal longevity purposes.


I did buy a hambrug tech thermostat and it didn't work :-( They hadn't calibrated it correctly and I was still running at 105. So I went and purchased the logic7 thermostat and that is working perfectly. Also do a coolant flush at the same time and recommend replacing the bolts on thermostat with standard hex heads for easier future removal.

[mr____p]

Any idea on how long we are suppose to run after adding additive ? Miles wise

Here are some pictures of the car I took today after the paint correction.

[mr____p]

Originally Posted by pipsniperr

Any idea on how long we are suppose to run after adding additive ? Miles wise

Here are some pictures of the car I took today after the paint correction.

& here is my e39 540i m

[mr____p]

X5m quote for labor on repairing
Parts supplied.

- r&r vacuum pump
- r&r associated vacuum lines
- r&r 2 boost solenoids

$1480 labor only from Independent shop.

Seems a little high to me.

Thoughts ?