its a GM gearbox ......give these guys a ring and discuss a price  Trans-Fix in Hertford , Hertfordshire, you might be pleasantly surprised ( ask for Marcus or Shaun)

Its under the front of the inlet manifold and its a tad fiddly to change ,  Oh  and its called a CCV valve on this video.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3ve7S8sZcI

Common on the 3.0 petrol engine is a blocked breather pipe, if you have no history of it being recently changed it would be advisable to change the pcv valve ( breather) and all its related hoses too. my first X5 was a 3.0 and the breather was blocked and the dip stick tube where the oil return ...

Fantastic outcome 

I hope everything comes good for you  , please keep us informed as others may need their services in the future .

Hmmm , I had an engine fail two weeks after buying my first 4.4 X5........I made enquiries regarding having the crankshaft reground and oversize bearings fitted ( the usual repair for a big end/ main bearing failure ) , I couldnt buy oversized bearings from a well established engineering company ...

you do NOT need to remove the engine to do the chains and guides, its not a difficult job for someone with moderate spanner wielding skills , as others have pointed out the special tools for timing the cams up are available to hire via E bay and a few days off work taken as holiday would see you ...

I bought this after trying a cheaper one.......and I'm impressed with it though as others have pointed out its expensive, http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/tools ... 3&0&t5_349

Dont discount the facelift 4.4 V8.......320 BHP and 0-60 in 7 seconds

[quote="themoog"]
V8 all day. Windows down, radio off. Sod the mpg... 
[/quote]

Absolutely.........no one buys an X5 for economy O:-)

drive it far enough to get the gearbox up to operating temperature , check for smooth shifts , remember its a 6 speed

I suspect a leaking cam cover gasket......dripping slightly onto the hot exhaust manifold

[quote="the shreksta"] Hi, it's Deffo an n62 as he has sent pics. This is the car in question,the guys seems honest enough and he has answered all my questions without fail in full but the n62 has the lever issue and the transfer pipe issue so I'm a little put off http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-53-BMW ...

No problem  )

Did this  little critter this morning.........now I've done one, the next one will be easy ::)