XRatedM's Alpine White E70 X5M

[0-60Motorsports]

Originally Posted by XRatedM

Thank you!! It's stage 2 and shoots flames!

Awesome! Mine is VFE Stage 2 and probably no flames but i Did ask them to keep it like that and tune it for 92aki and extreme heat. I dont mind going a bit conservative on the tune.

[XRatedM]

I was able to take out some time today to flush brake fluid. Long process, mostly because rear lugs were overtightened and they were PIA to remove.

Jacked up the truck and removed all wheels.



Removed the cover to gain access to brake fluid reservoir



Used Liqui Moly DOT4 brake fluid - I did not flush the ABS system. Ended up only using one bottle of brake fluid (500ml)



Used a smaller brake bleeding/flushing tool by Schwaben. Filled up the bottle with 500ml and pressurized the system to about 13psi. Started with passenger rear, driver rear, passenger front outer then inner, driver front outer then inner, bled the system until I saw clear fluid come through.



Fluid started off with clear green and turned darker as it kept going. Ended up with what I have in the container.





Prior to flushing the system, brake pedal was really spongy and did not have the initial bite - had to literally stand on the pedal to make it stop. After the flush, pedal feels much lighter and has the initial bite and bites hard as you press harder - gladly turned out as I expected.

While I was at it, I had 'M' emblems for the wheels sitting around that I decided to put on as well.

[XRatedM]

After the purchase, I got a post-purchase inspection done (although I had expected it to be much more detailed but it was very high-level) and one of the things reported bad were Front Thrust Arms.

Front suspension has had a clunk noise since day one and it's probably caused by one of the three; Front Thrust Arms, Lower Control Arm or Upper Control Arm. Since it was mentioned in the inspection, I wanted to replace these first - I had also bought sway bar end links but I didn't have a 18mm spanner, so skipped it for now. Lol



FL



FR



FR



FL removed





FR



FL





Service manual calls for replacing all bolts and nuts. They are self locking.



Torqued under load
18mm bolt on the bushing side was torqued down to 100nm + 90 degrees.
27mm ball joint nut was torqued down to 80nm.

[argento]

Looking good! Did this solve your clunk noise?

[XRatedM]

Originally Posted by argento

Looking good! Did this solve your clunk noise?

It actually didn't, and I'm suspecting it to be the strut mouths. Not sure if X5M have similar bump stop and other components like X5 that deteriorate over time. I'll do some more digging and replace those and I plan on doing a suspension refresh for front and rear to tighten up the ride.

Your truck has low miles but if you know of any pain/failure points in general, please do share with me.

My truck slightly smokes on idle, oil level is correct, no major drops as such - not sure what may be causing it. I'm certain it's not the valve stem seals, because there's no smoke at cold start, no huge puff after long idle, but it does smoke when you revved. I inspected CCV components and everything looks fine (I replaced the entire CCV system including oil separators) - So i'm looking towards turbo oil return lines (saw a lot of gunk with endoscope, mostly because of turbo coolant line leaks). I did see some oil in turbo compressor housing, heat exchangers, boost solenoids, etc. so I'm guessing it's either the turbos or it's oil return lines.

[argento]

Sorry, the only clunk I had was in the rear and it was just a loose sway bar (fasteners out of torque). Does it clunk at constant speed or variable? Does it clunk when you turn? Maybe others will have suggestions...

[xqizitm]

Subscribed. Just picked my X5M a couple weeks ago and just started my own journal. Also located to Northern VA area.

[XRatedM]

I had been planning to do a transmission fluid flush but didn't have the time to in the last two weeks - I wanted to do it soon because the truck's been back to its' daily duty and miles were going up.

Before I jump into the transmission side of things, I received the cabin recirulation air filter and went ahead and replaced that - old one was clogged up and looked nasty.





Also replace wheel center caps to BMW color - I didn't like the black and white look.

Old ones

[XRatedM]

Transmission fluid flush parts had been sitting for a while but I didn't have time to do it in one go and I needed to start the car in the end to fill the fluid to level, and I couldn't do it at night because cold start is quite loud - I'm sure my neighbors hate me already.

All the tools and parts;





Replacement filter, magnets, bolts, drain plug, fill plug, rubber seals and mechatronics sleeve.











Could not remove the old magnets, so I cleaned them the best I can.





Old vs new rubber seals





To my surprise, it took all 7 qts that I had and barely got to level. So I may have to check the level again sometime soon.

[XRatedM]

The rear of the truck always felt very lose and not really planted - while I was inspecting the suspension I saw that both rear radius arms were broken

I ordered replacements but I'm not sure how in the heck did they break? Not sure if they play a part in rear end being lose at highway speeds.

[XRatedM]

I've been chasing couple of issues with the truck, smoking being the biggest of all, with following symptoms;

No smoke at cold start, even when revved it.
Blue smoke at idle when at operating temp.
Smoke after a long stop/idle (valve stem seals?)

Investigation order Lol

Vacuum leaks
Truck's idle is very smooth. Did not find any leaks.

CCV system leak
I had replaced everything with my last DIY, so I did not suspect much but I did find a small leak in the new hoses that I replaced, repair in progress.

Turbo seals
I have seen traces of oil around the compressor outlet, maybe the turbos are on their way out? Sent them off for a rebuild.

Weak piston rings


Valve stem seals
I'll get back to this later lol

While the turbos were out for a rebuild I wanted to take care of the issues around the valley, Y connection, oil cover, return lines, etc. Although I could not get to it because I started with the suspension.

I plan on getting the manifolds and downpipes ceramic coated.











New oil return lines, gaskets and stuff.



Cyl 5-8 has this connection leaking while the other side was completely dry.

[XRatedM]

Been on the lookout for some cosmetic upgrades and found some chrome delete options but overly expensive. So I did a quick DIY to painted the fender trim black.

Removing them was quick a challenge, they're plastic chrome and tabs break very easily.



Scuffed and sanded them down.



4 coats of gloss black.



Turned out Ok I guess.

[XRatedM]

In the process of suspension refresh for the front and radius arms and sway bar links for the rear + Dinan stage 1 suspension upgrade (springs, bump stops and sensor rods).

[XRatedM]

Received the turbskies!!

Replaced cartridges, flappers repaired and ceramic coated.

[XRatedM]

About done with one side. Lower control arm was shot.









Old vs new





New vs old lower control arm



Still going at the other side

[argento]

Nice work!

I have a question for you on spring reassembly/realignment. Did you just align the H&R spring to the OEM aligned upper pad (with pad oriented as it was pulled from the vehicle) AND then just adjust the lower spring pad?

[XRatedM]

Originally Posted by argento

Nice work!

I have a question for you on spring reassembly/realignment. Did you just align the H&R spring to the OEM aligned upper pad (with pad oriented as it was pulled from the vehicle) AND then just adjust the lower spring pad?

I did not take any photos but yes, you're right, strut mount has to be aligned to the pin at the bottom of the strut, lower spring pad can be moved around to ensure alignment. There is a slight room for misalignment maybe 5-10mm.

And they're Dinan Springs.

[argento]

Originally Posted by XRatedM

I did not take any photos but yes, you're right, strut mount has to be aligned to the pin at the bottom of the strut, lower spring pad can be moved around to ensure alignment. There is a slight room for misalignment maybe 5-10mm.

And they're Dinan Springs.

Thanks for confirming. That was one area I needed to confirm and that's how I installed my dinan springs. ISTA provides incorrect alignment instructions for passenger side spring alignment...at least to my vehicle. But so long as you align to the alignment pin and the oem painted marks, then you're good...just like you describe.

Mine is still at the shop for a few things, one of which is the ride height calibration.

[XRatedM]

Originally Posted by argento

Thanks for confirming. That was one area I needed to confirm and that's how I installed my dinan springs. ISTA provides incorrect alignment instructions for passenger side spring alignment...at least to my vehicle. But so long as you align to the alignment pin and the oem painted marks, then you're good...just like you describe.

Mine is still at the shop for a few things, one of which is the ride height calibration.

I completely missed out in my comment regarding factory markings. My driver's side was correct with factory markings whereas passenger side was slightly off.

Did you also install sensor rods? I'm guessing the height doesn't need to be calibrated with those.

[cannan]

I may have missed it, if so I apologize, who did the turbo rebuild?

This is an awesome project, love seeing the updates. Keep up the good work.

[argento]

Originally Posted by XRatedM

I completely missed out in my comment regarding factory markings. My driver's side was correct with factory markings whereas passenger side was slightly off.

Did you also install sensor rods? I'm guessing the height doesn't need to be calibrated with those.

I installed the springs, sensors rods, and dinan bump stops. The rear is spot on ~7/8", the fronts only lowered ~3/8"...I figured ride height calibration and settling would solve that...we'll see. I did have my springs sitting around for a couple years before install.

Were you fronts already dropped to match the rears upon install?

MAN, i just noticed you dropped a LOAD of information today. GREAT STUFF!

[XRatedM]

Originally Posted by cannan

I may have missed it, if so I apologize, who did the turbo rebuild?

This is an awesome project, love seeing the updates. Keep up the good work.

I had been trying to reach Turbo Labs America but after numerous failed attempts I went to PT Turbo (Performance Techniques Turbo) (recommended by Pure Turbos).

Thank you!