Air Filter Replacement

[7builder]

I changed the air filter on my 3.0D today. Holy happy horse shit could it be that a filter change on the trusty X5 is the most difficult swap out on any vehicle known to man kind? I have never spent more than 5 minutes to carry out an air filter change on any car I have ever owned and I have owned a few in my time.
Even after removing what seemed like a couple of hundred Kg's of plastic including the washer bottle (WTF?) and the hidden, almost impossible to access bolt at the rear of the filter housing you still have to wrestle with the housing to remove it completely. I really wasn't prepared for the journey I was about to take when I opened the bonnet - totally amazing.
Oh and the filter I removed? It was jet black and could not have been replaced for at least a decade. Hmm I wonder why?

[Horizon]

+1. I did mine when I first got her, says you say its no wonder they don't get changed. I left the rearmost screw out on reassembly, I lost 2 Allen keys that dropped onto the plastic under panels.
It's not as though there wasn't room under the bonnet for a separate filter housing.
Not a job to tackle if you need to be somewhere in a couple of hours

[RoShamBo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LXBlUlgTjo

Yeah don't think I will try that lol

Ro.

[LooneyLeon]

Really? Crikey I take it the 3.0d is different from the 4.6is, i changed it in about 60 secs.

[X5Sport]

Very!  The 3.0d requires all sorts of covers to come off and to get those off needs other bits to be removed.  Some of the bolts are down behind the engine in &@£*^¥ awkward places to get to!  The filter lies alongside the left side of the engine.

Later versions are a lot easier to change as they're on top again.  However the later versions have cabin filters that are &@£*^¥ awkward to change though!

Richard

[LooneyLeon]

blimey i thought they all be very sim

[Jackstrath]

I didnt think it was that bad a job tbh , dont think it even took me 20 mins and that was the first time i did it and the new breather 

[Steamyrotter]

Done mine 4 times so far and hated it every time.
you would have thought they could have left in the least 1cm extra clearance.
that would make all the difference.