Just joined the X5 club. Not sure if a wise choice!

[MiketheMo]

Hi guys

Enjoying the info on the forum. Picked up an old 2001 X5 4.4 V8. In fact it was donated to me about three years ago but still haven't got to use it in anger yet.. Have run into some serious (common) problems straight away.

May 2014, getting the car MOT'ed after 18 months off the road. Was running ok apparently with a slight misfire at low rpm.

Whilst getting emissions checked for MOT the timing chain guide rails went. Agreed a fixed price to get car back on the road.

So 3 and a bit years later I got it back last week. Replaced timing chains and guides etc. New VANOS on bank 1-4, cam sensor, discs and pads all around.

Was pretty impressed how it was going last week, but not for long. Battery light came on and battery seems goosed although it was new 3 years ago. Think new battery and alternator now required?

Potentially the next thing to go wrong of course could be auto trans fail! Downside of these forums is that you read about all the problems... Wondering whether to change gearbox oil and filter? Some say not, after a lay-up not sure. Car has done 124,000 miles.

Impressed with the spec, noticed Webasto in the boot under spare wheel, need to check if the car has the heater in the engine bay, but reckon that is unlikely....

Will keep you posted....

[MiketheMo]

Trying to upload a picture, but perhaps not iPad friendly?

[Alan Gunn]

That's the compressor for the air suspension in the boot.
Webasto is under the bonnet on your right as you look from the front.

[sleepyfolk]

Do petrols have webasto? I thought they ran on diesel, maybe not, anyway, I'd say your battery will definitely  be knackered as it's been sat around not being charged etc for 3 years, check the output from the alternator on the charging points under the bonnet to see if there's a decent voltage showing and get a new battery, warnings will come up when you change it, just lock to lock the steering and they'll go away, then you'll have a flawless week or two  )

Same dilemma here re gearbox, mines on 110k and I can't decide whether to do it or not as it runs so well now, logic says get it done!

[MiketheMo]

I believe some petrol motors had it, mine has aux vent for sure not about aux heat that was an expensive option. The car is back at the garage getting the alternator checked, will check it on its return. Hopefully not another 3 years!

Thanks for the info regarding the air suspension, on a bit of a voyage of discovery with this machine. Running two E46's so at least a few similarities.

Think I need to invest in the Scanner 1.4.0 tool, wonder if there is a MacBook version... only see Windows versions at the mo.

[X5Sport]

Batteries unused will die in about the time you have stated.  I think the alternator on the V8 is water cooled so be prepared for expense again..

Petrol Aux Heating was a very expensive option and therefore very rare.

Sounds like you are having a bit of a baptism of fire and seeing why BMW means either Breaks My Wallet, or Being Mended Weekly with older models.

[AW8]

Hate to break news you already indicate knowing.......your car will keep your wallet busy.

You mention battery &  alternator concerns but I would see how you get on after a decent battery recharge  before replacing either. The early E53 models can suffer from prasitic drains to battery due to various modules  plating up or a dodgy final stage resistor to cabin heating unit.

Misfire could be any number of issues. Ideally get it scanned. I would want to be satisfied the recent chain & tensioner not contributing. Plugs,  or colllapsed pcv hoses would all be on my radar then maybe cam sensor(s). Swapping out parts to eliminate will be costly.....hence the scanning advice.

If box behaving for now I would aim to get it running free of obvious issues or codes then say goodbye or keep it if prepared to accept car will likely keep you & wallet busy

Good luck

[MiketheMo]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm pretty sure the battery is knackered, two chargers have failed to make any difference. I recently put a new battery into my '99 323, the old battery works but was a little tired, so put it in the X5 to move it, but still have the battery light on. Double failure!! What's that all about?

Misfire has been fixed with the VANOS repair, but of course I'm concerned about bank 5-8 which is original. I can understand why the indie hasn't repaired the other, we agreed a fixed price and we didn't know if engine was damaged with the timing chain issue...

I take on-board the above comments regarding wallet issues, I'm used to running a couple of E46's for some time now (10 years) with very little spend for two very good motor cars... 323i 1999, and 330ci 2003... both have been very well behaved. Was hoping the X5 would be likewise, beginning to think otherwise...

[X5Sport]

If it runs can you get a voltmeter on it and see what the result is at the under bonnet jumper points?

For a Lead Acid battery it should be 13.8V DC at 1,000 rpm.  For an AGM battery - may not have been fitted that long back - it should give 14.4V DC.  Less than that and there is a problem, and if the battery light is on that sounds suspicious as the alternator output turns it off.

With the car off, bonnet up and left for 4 hours and without turning the key or opening any doors, or unlocking it, you should see not much less than 12.6V at the bonnet terminals for a good battery.

Anything less than 11.6V is throw it away time.

For cars in storage, or little used, many of us use CTEK Conditioner Chargers.  I have a 3.8A version on our stored E46 and use a 10A version on the X6 when it needs a bit of charging.

[MiketheMo]

Will do, going to order a multi-meter this weekend. I have a CTEK condition charger for the E46's, in winter they need topped up from time to time. Pretty sure the battery is finished, the local indies can't get a charge into it either. But still suspicious of the alternator, has anyone replaced the brushes in one of these Bosch alts?

Other less serious jobs to do to the having cleaned away years of dirt and grime..

Clean and clear the headlamps and tailgate lenses which have all oxidised. T-Cut headlamp polish making heavy weather of it. Believe 3M stuff better?
Fit removable towbar at later stage if its a runner.
Have established as expected not got aux heating.
Replace tailgate which has picked up some rust, got a tailgate from ebay this week, right colour...

[MiketheMo]

Ok, car back on the road, with a new battery plus a re-conditioned alternator.

Next issue is finding out what's causing the mis-fire, under hard acceleration, car is choking at 4000rpm...

Think the mechanic said it was throwing up an error code for cam position sensor?

[marti]

Get the code erased, then go for a drive and read them again to se if it comes back...if it does change the cam sensor....you'll have two one per bank if I recall correctly...long time since I worked on a V8.

[MiketheMo]

Hi folks, sorry for my absence from the forum. Been busy installing INPA and Dis V44, no easy task, but they are installed and working now.

I'm focussing on the fuel trim codes at the moment. Which have been cleared 3 times but come back randomly, once after 60 miles of motorway driving, the last time within minutes at 1250 rpm, I suspect these are the main cause of my rough running under load (over-taking at 60 mph)

I am suspecting the MAF at the moment, and have ordered cleaner, when I disconnect it, I get better acceleration with less hesitation, still not perfect mind you. Was ruling out lambda sensors as fuel trim codes for both banks occur simultaneously, which in my mind rules out individual sensors? Cam sensor on faulty bank has been changed.

The other possibility I'm led to believe is the vacuum line to the MAP sensor?

What I need to do now is learn how to use this software to see live data for fuel trim, then take diagnosis from there.

Code 33 and 140 instantly re-occur on each code reset.

[marti]

Code 33 is crankshaft sensor I believe?...does like your MAF

[MiketheMo]

Hi all.

Following getting the DIS44 working, using Expert. I was able to work out that post timing chain and guide rail change and new VANOS bank one, that bank one, was mis-timed -19.99... It was a wonder the car was running at all. Reading forums, it's apparent that its easy for the tensioner to move following timing, so a few cranks are prudent before re-assembling the front end before, starting in anger.

I dropped it back to the garage Feb and got it back this weekend. I was there for the re-start, at first it was running really rough and cutting out almost instantly. But the good news was that there were no codes coming up.

We changed the thermostat for a used one off ebay, that got rid of a code. VANOS bank one now timed right got rid of 33. And no fuel trim codes popping up.

Quick diagnosis found that the MAF, which was previously fine was causing the 'new' rough running. Ebay to the rescue again. Car is back running really sweet. First time in my ownership that its going well...

Only issue which I fixed prior to going back into the garage is the noisy tappets. Which drain of oil when not in use. Forum tip, run the car at 3000 rpm for a few minutes a couple of times and that should sort it. Well it did last time for me. That's still a job to do.

Next cosmetic job for me is to try and clean the oxidisation off the headlights and tailgate lenses... But at least I'm making progress at last, its only been 4 years...