XSeries-forum

Of late I have been busy with the old work horse. I've been considering replacing it but all the cars I've looked at which are newer are just not in as good condition as mine. So.. I whipped out the engine mounts the other day with a little advice from Henry m3 (thanks). No driveshafts removed- quite straightforward if not a tad fiddly getting to nuts/bolts.
Anyway, today I thought I would put a new fuel filter in that I have had for two years in the garage. Cranking time was increasing gradually and maybe a filter swap will sort that.
Firstly there are two 13 mm bolts on mine holding the splash guard that nobody mentions in any write up anywhere (well on mine anyway) and secondly, the fuel hoses were clamped on by those stupid crimp bands..
Also, when I went to relieve the fuel pressure via the valve under the engine cover there was very little pressure at all - just a tiny dribble. Maybe the old filter - original- was a bit clogged?
I haven't started it up yet as it's still on jacks cause the next job is driveshaft centre bearing and rubber joint. I'll have to replace the mini front wheel bearing before that thought or the wife will go mad..
Merry Christmas.

Work progress then...results to follow....e53 is a well built car

Yes I will do an update when I've done all the work. I may stick a new crankshaft sensor on it too to see if that fixes the long crank time if the filter swap doesn't.
I'm hoping the engine mounts and driveshaft flex coupling / bearing replacement will cure the odd vibration Its got circa 2-2.5krpm and when it starts from cold.
I'm still looking at other vehicles but if I replace it won't be until March at the earliest. We will see.

Without the pumps running there should not be much pressure in the system.

As for the cranking mine went from 2/3 seconds to instant with a change of plugs and a good squirt or two of MAF cleaner. Don’t know which had the bigger effect.

You know what- I never even thought of the spark plugs.. Too busy laying under the car.

Right. New engine mounts installed. A bit of a difference in smoothness but not as much as I was expecting. Still a bit harsh and boomy at about 2.2k rpm. Any ideas anyone? I haven’t replaced the driveshaft bearing etc as the order got cancelled for some reason. If that doesn’t sort it then I’m out of ideas. It’s only when driving so maybe it is the driveshaft who knows.
Car starts straight away now with new fuel filter filter and has no more slight hesitation when blipping the throttle so at least I’m heading in the right direction..

Is it harsh and boomy when static reving or only when moving or both. If you select manual, does it do it at 2k revs in 2nd 3rd 4th. Just trying to pin to engine or drivetrain. Have you looked at crankshaft damper while some one revs? Once had a tensioner pulley that bounced about like a pair of,well, bounced about at similar revs but looked fine above and below those revs
Is it within your capability to mount a camera underneath and record, hopefully the running gear and not the camera bouncing down the road.

It’s harsh and boomy at 2k to 2.5k rpm only when moving. Static it is ok. I haven’t tried it in manual so I’ll give that a go tomorrow.
If I accelerate gently it’s ok but if I push on a bit it’s definitely feels a bit rough around those rpms. If I can get hold of the shaft bearing and coupling then that will eliminate them.
I would like to drive another 4.4 as a comparison to see if it is as bad as what I am imagining. Maybe it’s not, as our other car is a Range Rover and is super luxurious next to an X5..

by the way - what and where is the crankshaft dampener? I wasn’t aware there was one..

Bolted to front end of crankshaft and provides the drive to the belts. Has bonded rubber between inner ( bolted to crank ) and outer ( driving belts ) this bonded rubber sometimes starts to deteriorate and separate which allows it vibrate.

Sorry to steer off topic. I'm doing the fuel filter too on my car shortly.

Do you need to relieve pressure in it? On my old 330ci I used to remove the fuel pump fuse and run it until it stalled which released the pressure and emptied it. Any reason I shouldn't do this with the X5? It's a 3.0d by the way.

Cheers Ben

I can’t say about the diesel but on mine I just pressed the valve on the fuel rail to let out whatever pressure was in it. I still got fuel all down the sleeves of my clothes when I took the pipes off tho..

No need as if not running there will just be a dribble

Cheers chaps.