Upcoming repair list advice.

[Thrawn]

I posted this on another forum, but thought I might get a few more ideas here.

In a few weeks I am going to take my 2013 i35 x5 to my nephew's shop and have him do some work on it. he is doing the work for free, and said what ever I wanted him to do just buy the parts and have them with me. here is the list so far.

Valve cover and gasket
oil filter housing gasket
spark plugs
rear brakes and rotors
new drive belt
aluminum mickey mouse coolant fix
crank seal guard and capture.

I am thinking about a aluminum charge pipe, and or a boost pipe.
he suggested power steering flush and brake flush, but I just had the brake flush 5k miles ago.

I don't think I am going to do the oil pan gasket this time as we probably wont have time for the other things if we did that one. Also after these leaks are fixed that are above the oil pan, I might find out I don't have a leak there anyway.

I also just replaced the air filter, and front brakes and rotors. water pump and coolant flush happened about 8k miles ago. I am trying to get everything ordered and here for the jobs. any more Ideas what I can get done? thanks

[Caryalon]

I'd consider the belt tensioner, and a belt guard to prevent the belt from beiǹg ingested.

[Thrawn]

Thanks I'll look into the belt tensioner. the crank guard to prevent belt ingestion is on the list, but from what I have read it can be critical in saving your engine and defiantly glad you brought it up.

[Thrawn]

If I end up getting a JB4, is it recommended to change the boost pipe and the charge pipe, or just the charge pipe? I keep trying to make up my mind on getting one. thanks

[Thrawn]

So from what I have read through the forums, it looks like I don't need to worry about the boost pipe, just the charge pipe. Not really like I am planning on racing this, or even always driving with a heavy foot. I just want the extra power when I want or need it.

I did end up ordering a JB4 and charge pipe. Now though I am wondering if the plugs I ordered are ok. I went with the ZR5TPP33 Spark Plug, as at the time of buying it I did not have the JB4 and didn't plan on getting it right away. I will probably run the map 1 and map 5. map 5 look like what I would want. here is what the description is.

Map 5: Autotuning map, absolute target of 11-17psi based on octane and conditions.

I always run 93 octane fuel, and I don't put my foot in it very often. I am wondering if I can just set the gap on the plugs I have to something like .022-.025 and not worry about getting different plugs.

[robinasu]

Swap out the power steering fluid if you haven't recently. Same for the transmission and filter.

[Thrawn]

Thanks I will add it to the list. I just changed the power steering pump and lines on my Yukon, and have a gallon or so fluid left that I didn’t use when flushing the system.

[Thrawn]

I am looking on FCP Euro for transmission fluid. has anyone used the liquid moly LM20032?
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/top...i-moly-lm20032

only $7.79 per liter. is there a reason I shouldn't use this? thanks

[robinasu]

This is my opinion: as long as the fluid meets the Shell Oil spec (can't recall off hand) the OEM fluid has, it's fine. Some will flame me for that. I used Mercon SP because in my mind it's the same fluid. I base this on MSDS research and ford used ZF transmissions in their cars. When I changed the trans filter, which you might consider, I also changed the mechatronic bridge seals and the ECU connector seal. I should have also changed the solenoids while I was there. Anyway, I refilled with Mercon SP, then after 5k, did a drain and fill with a gallon of redline D6. Transmission runs well now, but probably would have been perfect with new solenoids. When I get to 160k I'll swap the filter pan again and have the mechatronic unit serviced completely. Apparently, that makes the transmission operate as new assuming there are no other issues.

When setting the level in the transmission, the fluid must be the exact temp spec'd by BMW and the engine must be running. That is very important.

[Thrawn]

Thanks! after asking the question I did quite a bit of research. I feel pretty confident using the liquid moly. I am actually going to change it twice. I will go ahead and change the filter this time while I am there. I will fill it drive it 30 mins or so, then drain and refill it again. this should make sure that most of the fluid is replaced with the liquid moly. Seems to be mixed feelings on using the liquid moly with a lot of people saying not to do it, but none I have seen have ever posted they did it and something bad happened. the other people that have used it seem to have had good luck doing so.

thanks for the advice. I will check on those other parts.
I did a flush on my Old E38 so I am failure with the fluid temp and procedure.

[Thrawn]

I am looking for some help identifying if My X5 uses a EWG or a PWG. when I look up my vin on REALOEM, it shows a EWG for my car. I also do not see the vacuum lines going to it. My car is a 2013 with a build date of March 2013 I think. From what I have read online it should have a PWG. is there a good easy way to tell for sure? thanks

[Thrawn]

ok so it is definitely a PWG. only thing I have left to hook up on the JB4 is the can bus wires. I asked burger tuning if I could buy their OBD2 connector and splice that, then connect it to the OBD2 port instead of taping into my can bus wires. New charge pipe is installed too. JB4 is on map 0 until I can get the can bus hooked up

[EvanCA]

Originally Posted by robinasu

Swap out the power steering fluid if you haven't recently. Same for the transmission and filter.

This is solid advice.

[Thrawn]

those are both getting done for sure.

I do have a question. I got the can bus wires for my JB4 hooked up today when I started the car it runs rough won't idle ect.... I got an engine error, and I think I know what the problem is. in the instructions I am supposed to connect one harness to the map sensor. it says the MAF uses the exact connector and if you connect to it then it will do what mine is doing. I can not tell from the images they provide what connector to connect to. can anyone help? thanks

[Thrawn]

so I connected to item 24 on this diagram for the tmap

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=13_1357

and item 8 in this diagram for the map.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=11_4470

[Thrawn]

I rechecked everything today while it was daylight. It appears that the green wire wasn’t making a good connection. I fixed that and the car runs smooth again. My gauges in the JB4 app still do not work and I have not tried any boost maps yet, but at least the car is running good again.

[Thrawn]

Ok found out the gauges don’t work on map 0. Makes sense as map 0 is either off or no input from the jb4. I set it to map 1 and drove. Seemed to be a small increase in power. I don’t get my foot in it very much so honestly I didn’t notice much change. And when I was driving normal I of course couldn’t tell it was there.

[Thrawn]

Quick question on the valve cover gasket. On my older E38 it required some rtv sealant to be applied in a couple of places. I am looing through the newTIS site now but I am not able to find any mention of using the RTV sealant. I didn't want to just assume it does not need any, so I thought I would ask. does the N55 use any rtv sealant when replacing the valve cover gasket? thanks

After searching some more it looks like the answer is no rtv sealant

[Thrawn]

It is probably too late to for this, but just thought I should change the transfer case fluid and deferential fluid. I probably can’t get the fluid in time though, I doubt I can find it local.

[Thrawn]

Made a lot of press today. I will try to get some pictures up when I get home tonight

[Thrawn]

[CarFan]

What did the parts and supplies end up costing you? Care to do an item by item breakdown?