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Major problem

Discuss the problems with your X5 (E53).
Paultomo
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Major problem

Post by Paultomo » Sat May 27, 2017 1:24 pm

His guys, I have a 2005 facelift 3.0d sport,
Last week I had the starter motor fail on me which resulted in an high ish bill because I was on holiday no where near home so didn't know the area, collected the car on the Friday from the garage on the day we were leaving on the way home I lost all power on the m6 and ended up on hard shoulder, got recovery to take me back to the garage, they done a few tests and the  alternator had died this time so this got fixed over the weekend and I had to go back there on the Monday to collect the car, the car has been fine all week until I was on my way into work last night, stopped at a junction the car started spluttering as I pulled off with no power what so ever and behind was a mass amount of black smoke, I manged to get the car off the junction with road works to a safe place to stop 1 min if that and await recovery,they tried to start but car won't start, they have brought the car back home for me with it being bank holiday weekend and said they will take to a garage I want on Tuesday, I have ran a scan this morning and I have got an error code - recirculation regulation
I have checked oil and it''s border line empty, also taken plastic cover off the top of the engine and on the right hand side alternator side it appears to be a bit oily but on the left hand side it is sooty, I was thinking along the lines of the turbo is dead but the error code has frown me a bit,
Has any body had any similar issues or advise on where to look to try and sort this, I've had the car since Oct last year and have loved every minute of the ownership so far, any advise or direction on what you think the problem could be would be much appreciated
Regards paul
Last edited by Paultomo on Sat May 27, 2017 1:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

strummer
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Re: Major problem

Post by strummer » Sat May 27, 2017 3:11 pm

sounds like your turbo may have let go and sucked the oil out  :(

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Re: Major problem

Post by Paultomo » Sat May 27, 2017 3:19 pm

That's along the lines I was thinking off, thanks for your reply

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Re: Major problem

Post by X5Sport » Sat May 27, 2017 3:42 pm

Check for oil in the inlet side, intercooler, manifold etc.

You may have had a runaway, or partial runaway, in which case there will probably be oil in all the wrong places downstream of the turbo output side.  This could also have fouled the injectors so it won't start until the oil has been cleared from the cylinders.
:ant: Never anthropomorphise computers. They hate that.

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Re: Major problem

Post by X5-D-Sport » Sat May 27, 2017 4:55 pm

All sounds about right to me too.

X5-Sport's idea is my thought too.

In which case you are lucky to have an intact engine left.
My past experience with oil induced engine runaways is that the issue destroys heater plugs easily, but some injector cleaner will often sort out the dirty injectors.

I've stumbled on 2nd hand turbos on Flea-Bay for a reasonably ££ price, but remember to replace the turbo oil feed pipes too.... AND check to see if you have a centrifugal crank case oil separator fitted, not the useless foam filter type, as these are known to cause oil runaways....

You tube - "diesel engine runaway"  ... it's painful to watch, but a worthy lesson to learn.


If the started was dying & draining the B'Jesus out of your battery on starting, then the alternator may have had a tough time dumping all the power back into the battery each time & finally decided to give up.

Unfortunately, these things have a habit of being one after the other - as you found out.

One more thing worth checking out is the Crank pulley... this bloody thing is a 2 part item... steel splines on the crank shaft, a rubber doughnut & then the outer pulley... this will be your next arse-pain, so check this too when you pull the bonnet next..

Unfortunately, all the knowledge is learned the hard & expensive way by us all here...
However, prepping a job to do at your convenience is an easier way to go, if possible..
Grant B

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Re: Major problem

Post by Paultomo » Sun May 28, 2017 3:51 am

X5 sport and x5-d sport thanks for such good advice and info sorry it's a late reply I have just finished work, I will start looking for oil as advised tomorrow and will post my findings, also I will watch the video now on the runaway,
Thanks again for your time guys

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Re: Major problem

Post by Paultomo » Sun May 28, 2017 4:02 am

X5-d-sport I have just watched that video, the land rover the smoke was like what I experienced mine was probably half maybe 3/4's what it's like on that video I turned mine off via the key which stopped the engine and it was only like that for less than 1 min while I moved off the roundabout and out of the road works to some where safe to dumped the car so to speak, would the turbo cause the car to do that?
Also mine didn't do the high revs like in the videos it was the other way it wouldn't rev it went no higher than 1500 revs so hopefully this is a good sign, I'll have a look for oil in other places like x5 sport has advised if there is how would you go about cleaning this or is there a chance the engine has died?
Last edited by Paultomo on Sun May 28, 2017 4:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Major problem

Post by Glen » Sun May 28, 2017 8:56 am

Only a suggestion but years ago exact same thing happened to me with my Saab 1.9 tid.
It was the EGR valve stuck I gave it a tap with a hammer and the car was back to normal then unplugged it.
The engine light came on (expected).
I never plugged it back in and the engine light went out after a couple of months result :D
2012 X5 40d msport Mine now gone :(
2010 320d convertible WIFE'S
2006 Mini cooper convertible WIFE'S gone
2017 X5 m50d m performance pack

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Re: Major problem

Post by X5Sport » Sun May 28, 2017 9:12 am

If there is oil in the wrong places along the air inlet side will need something like engine degreaser used, and then rinsed with soapy water (you'll need to remove them) to get the rubbish left out.  The intercooler will need removing and washing through with degreaser etc.

The turbo centre bearing is the failure that causes the smoke, if you are lucky then it just dumps oil into the exhaust stream (hence the smoke) and not the inlet side.  If oil mist gets into the inlet side then it fuels the engine and you cannot shut it down (hence you not having a full runaway as you still had control) until the oil runs out and the engine seizes.

It will be a really good idea to drop the oil out now and change the filter before doing anything else.  That will allow you to check the oil & filter state for any metal fragments.  No swarf or debris and you are in a much better place.

Getting at the turbo by removing one of the output pipes that goes down to the intercooler will let you at see into the blower and see what it looks like.
Last edited by X5Sport on Sun May 28, 2017 10:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Major problem

Post by X5-D-Sport » Sun May 28, 2017 11:30 am

AGREED - X5-Sport Sire.... this is the route to go.

So, summary action list....
and consider yourself LUCKY that your engine is intact & your beloved machine not financially written off...

It would appear LIKELY that the turbo seal failed on the Exhaust side - Good news... you would know if it was the inlet side, as the vehicle would have shot off like a rocket & there would be Sod-All you could do about it until the engine seized up.

So... the following is your action list.

**DO NOT start the engine**

**Drop the down pipe from the turbo.... probably oily -
**Drop the turbo, remove & buy new oil feed / return pipes.
** (AAA)Check the intake side of the turbo for OIL ingestion - if oil present - then you will also require New Heater-Plugs too.
**If (AAA) above oil in induction pipes.... the whole top of the engine needs to come off for access to the heater plugs - remove the following.. & get replacement cam cover & inlet seals kit.
1-air cleaner cover
2-Air cleaner
3-inlet manifold remove & de-grease.
4-injector pipes.
5-injector electrical feed rail - placticy crappy thing - fragile.
6-cam cover bolts - (cover cams with a clean towel to prevent dropping bits into the engine).
**Get an EGR Bypass & Blanker kit - by default
**Get a Centrifugal crank case Oil-Separator (if not already fitted) & clean/dry out the separator area - by default.

**Hunt down another turbo on Flea-Bay... the Stealership will rob you naked..
**Get Manifold+Exhaust to Turbo Gaskets.

**Remove the Inter-cooler Pipes all the way from Turbo to the inlet manifold & de-grease - by default.
**Remove Inter-cooler & de-grease - by default.

**when re-assembling MAKE SURE YOU PRE-OIL THE TURBO OIL INLETS/OUTLETS, FILL THE OIL PIPE THAT FEEDS TURBO.

Then as per the Haynes Manual - simply re-assemble engine & drive.

Suggest that..... you get about 15 re-sealable food bags from Tesco/Sainsburys, to put the sets of nuts n bolts & clips into, in some semblance of sequence, so all the right bits go back into the right placees.

NOTE : when removing the inlet manifold, the dipstick bracket is bolted to this, as also a couple of electrical connector brackets/plugs at the REAR RIGHT of the manifold by the bulkhead- out of sight.
If the parts do not remove easily - there is something breakable still attached !!

To make access even easier, it will make life much better if you remove the plastic panel infront of the pollen filter... this hides the wiper motor & holds the +Volts under bonnet jump start connector...
remove the rubber seal strip & the part is only secured with a couple of 10mm bolts if memory serves correctly.

JOB Done..... you should be able to do this in a DAY, or a long afternoon if you are good with the tools.

If you are not comfortable refitting a set of brakes / pulling a dash out etc, then this is NOT the job for you... find a good Indie Garage you trust.
Grant B

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Re: Major problem

Post by Paultomo » Sun May 28, 2017 12:28 pm

Cheers you have both been amazing, I am a level 3 panel beater by trade (don't do it anymore) so I'm confident with tools so will have a good go, cheers for the help guys

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Re: Major problem

Post by strummer » Sun May 28, 2017 5:20 pm

good luck  ;)

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Re: Major problem

Post by X5-D-Sport » Sun May 28, 2017 10:05 pm

Personal Note -
Mr X5-Sport has been a wealth of information to me since I've owned my X5 this last 2 years, & I've learned lots from this guy & others.... & I cannot thank them enough...

Many X5 issues seem daunting, but actually, these machines are probably one of the easiest to maintain of the highly computerized vehicles out there - predominantly due to the huge knowledge base from this web-site.

Like you - many of us here have good Hand-Skills & are able to get Down-&-Dirty with these machines, which makes them an economical fun toy to run... all things considered, & I actually enjoy tinkering with my X5.

I've also been surprised at how cheap many spares are from Ebay/Amazon etc

PM me for a contact number if you come across any issues.
Last edited by X5-D-Sport on Mon May 29, 2017 10:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

moose04
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Re: Major problem

Post by moose04 » Tue May 30, 2017 6:13 pm

undo the intercooler pipe that comes from the turbo into the intercooler just pull the wire clip half way off the pipe connecter, pull the pipe of the intercooler see if there any oil running out?  20 min job

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Re: Major problem

Post by Paultomo » Sat Jun 03, 2017 3:26 am

A bit of an update guys, after having a little strip of the inlet and the intercooler and not finding no oil, and being soaked in the good ole English weather I give up and called a mate who has his own garage, first he's checked the turbo that appears fine very minimum play, then we checked Swearl flaps incase engine had been changed at some point to an non x5 engine nope all is clear as it should be there, so we got the car running for a few secs and he said the smoke is fuel not oil so the we turned to the injectors, after doing a leak test it turns out 2 injectors are not turning off and returning the fuel so it's just dumping them into the engine and straight out the exhaust, so upto now we have found the problem now I've got to get some ky jelly before I get shafted for 2 new injectors, thanks for the help of every one who pointed me in the directors of where to lookImage

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