Hi Everyone

[X5 4.6IS 2003]

I bought a X5 4.6is  20 inch wheels 2003 52 plate in November, but have been abroad since so have only just started to drive it, can any one help with any of the following questions/problems


1)Yellow engine light has come on after 1 week
2)Plastic burning smell when i accelerate hard
3) Do you need to fit winter tyres on these & what sort of grip can i expect in the snow on the normal tyres?
4)It has Heavy steering is this normal?
6)What is the best calipar paint to use?
7)Can you buy spare ends for the parcel shelf?
8)What things do you think i should check on her
9)What is the best & easiest to use fault finder and can a dumbo use it?
10) what is the best and easiest upgrade on the headlamp bulbs
11) i'm i right in thinking mine is the E53?

Sorry to jump straight in which a load of stuff but no doubt i will become regular so hopefully will be able to help others

[X5Sport]

1)Yellow engine light has come on after 1 week - could be any number of issues, but needs prompt attention.

2)Plastic burning smell when i accelerate hard.  Pass, could be coming from the CAT if sooted up - and that might be causing the engine light too.

3) Do you need to fit winter tyres on these & what sort of grip can i expect in the snow on the normal tyres?  not essential, but a good idea and handling much improved over the wide standard tyres

4)It has Heavy steering is this normal?  No, but how 'heavy' do you mean?  If the power steering has failed the steering will be very hard to move, if not near impossible at very low speed.  Check the fluid reservoir for level.  Is there any delay between moving the steering wheel and the steering moving?  Look for wet hoses down by the rack (low right if I remember correctly)

6)What is the best calipar paint to use? Pass

7)Can you buy spare ends for the parcel shelf?  have a look on RealOEM and use the last 7 characters of your VIN in the 'serial number' box.  Parts will probably be in Bodywork section.  RealOEM is here

8)What things do you think i should check on her.  Everything!  Electrics, Suspension, window and pano roof (if fitted) for correct operation.

9)What is the best & easiest to use fault finder and can a dumbo use it? look for scanner references such as the BMW Scanner 1.4 on here.

10) what is the best and easiest upgrade on the headlamp bulbs.  depends upon what is currently fitted, and what you are wanting to achieve?

11) i'm i right in thinking mine is the E53? Yes, pre-facelift

If you have a number of issues then you may want to get it into either a BMW Dealership, or good Indy Garage and have a fault code readout done.  It takes about an hour - usually less - and will tell you what issues are known and what you need to do about them.

....and 

Richard

[Don Coffey]

Hi &  to the site.

Looking forward to some pics when you get the chance.

Don

[Horizon]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
I had a BMW 440 CI 4.4 V8 a few years ago, I had a problem which put it into limp mode ( reduced power )
which only happened under hard acceleration. I had it into my local indie to get the codes read, it came up cylinders 1234 misfire. They said they would replace all the coils and plugs to start with !!!!!
I wasnt convinced, I removed the engine covers to replace the plugs on that bank and found all the plug recesses full of oil, due to the cam cover gaskets leaking. Bingo I thought, replaced both camcover gaskets and plugs to no avail.
I went back to the indie and they were on lunch break, I got talking to an old timer mechanic who was tinkering on his own car in the carpark. He said do you hear any rattling from underneath when the car is first started from cold? I said yes I did, he said get under the car in the morning and tap the cats underneath.
I tried this and when I banged the cat on that side I could hear bits rattling inside. The cat had broken up and was restricting the gas flow under hard acceleration, so throwing up a missfire fault
I got a new cat from ECP for 250 quid and it was sorted.
This maybe is not your problem, but something for the V8 boys to look out for.
Also 4.6 engines are prone to cam chain tensioners failing, this can cause engine failure, and maybe cam positional sensor problems. So get it checked out ASAP. Maybe just a faulty lignition lead/coil
As X5Sport advised take it to a good indie or dealer to have the codes read.
Also theres a few 4.6 members who are very clued up too

[IanP]

[quote="Horizon"]
Also 4.6 engines are prone to cam chain tensioners failing, this can cause engine failure, and maybe cam positional sensor problems. So get it checked out ASAP[/b]. Maybe just a faulty lignition lead/coil
As X5Sport advised take it to a good indie or dealer to have the codes read.
Also theres a few 4.6 members who are very clued up too
[/quote]

If you have 80-100000 miles on the engine and the camguides havent been replaced yet, I would budget for thenm to be done (before you get a bigger bill :'()
I get occasional the engine light but it tends to go away after a while, on mine its an intermittent misfire, but it could be a great number of things from minor to major so you need to get it scanned

[AW8]

Logging off & out to work in moment so only time to respond briefly re one aspect.....I would recommend the Peake fault code reader as foolproof and quick/easy to use..........plug and play, no need for laptop or any adapters. Far easier to interpret & use for those of us without inbuilt motherboards inside our heads. Simply plugs into socket under dash and codes are listd in a booklet that comes with the unit........Simples 

[X5 4.6IS 2003]

Thanks very much for the info guys


4)It has Heavy steering is this normal?  No, but how 'heavy' do you mean?  If the power steering has failed the steering will be very hard to move, if not near impossible at very low speed.  Check the fluid reservoir for level.  Is there any delay between moving the steering wheel and the steering moving?  Look for wet hoses down by the rack (low right if I remember correctly)

its just seems a bit heavy if you are turning a slow tight corner, i will have a look  at level and for any leaks


10) what is the best and easiest upgrade on the headlamp bulbs.  depends upon what is currently fitted, and what you are wanting to achieve?
now you are asking, just seem very poor at lighting up the road


If you have a number of issues then you may want to get it into either a BMW Dealership, or good Indy Garage and have a fault code readout done.  It takes about an hour - usually less - and will tell you what issues are known and what you need to do about them. how much do they charge for this

thanks again folks
Terry

[X5 4.6IS 2003]

forgot to mention that it has done 136000 miles

Cheers

Terry

[X5Sport]

Do you have Xenon HIDs fitted already?  If so then an upgrade to 55W Ballasts and bulbs seems to be an option a few have gone with on here with kits from various places such as HIDS4U and HIDS Direct.  It's a little bit more fiddly if you have standard bulbs, but only slightly so.  Certainly within the capability of someone with average DIY skills.  I don't know what the 4.6 had as standard from the factory.  HIDs have no headlight manual level adjuster in the cabin and yellow warning labels for the very high voltages under the bonnet.

Fault Code readout from a main dealer will depend on the hourly rate - around Cambridge that's £200 an hour!  Indy Dealer half that. Dealer will have the right hardware.....and of course want to do everything (for a price!).

I didn't think of this earlier.  It might seem obvious, but are your tyre pressures OK?  Should be about 31psi/2.2Bar all round.  If too low then the steering gets heavy!  Nice simple fix..

Richard

[X5 4.6IS 2003]

Thanks Richard

Going to have a good look at it tomorrow so hopefully will have a bit more info, bit worried now though with the yellow engine light as i opened the bonnet earlier and could smell the plastic smell still even though i have not used it since.
The battery is also flat so it is adding up  :cry1:

Thanks again
Terry

[X5 4.6IS 2003]

Hi again

Tried to jump start the car today but as soon as i took the jump leads of it would slowly die
The plastic burning smell seems to be coming from the two covers at the front of the engine the one on the left has the oil cap in it.

The engine is also makes a intermitent rattling noise from down the right hand side(standing at the front of the car) so it does not look to good and i feel a bit sick

Cheers
Terry

[IanP]

You really need to trace that rattle before driving it any distance. With a bit of luck it will be a belt tensioner or something similar which will be relatively cheap and easy to fix. With these engines though, and after my experiences, a rattle inside the engine is not good news. Sorry

[AW8]

M62 engines can suffer timing chain tensioner issues.

Forums can be useful but none of us have seen your car & even if we did - in truth many would only be able to guess, speculate or attempt to diagnose, (as has been shown here even so called professionals can diagnose incorrectly).

A 4.6is with 136k miles and multiple issues to sort is not likely to be a cost effective venture......if it was then the last keeper would probably have sorted issues before selling, (or maybe if all resolved- keeping it). 

If financially viable then I  hope you eventually end up with a sorted car wanting for nothing...........In the meantime (in abscence of you or a willing volunteer fixing/repairing your car), you would do best to find a decent, friendly & trusted BMW independent.........if you haven't done so already then maybe indicate roughly whereabouts you are. Failing this then click here for reviews of garages courtesy & thanks to John G. Burns.

Even if using trusted indy I would try to initially get a quote for everything that must be done in order for you to be satisfied with the car. I say this because it would be daft to pay significant funds only to soon thereafter find that you still need to spend more & as such find the repair simply non viable.

Caliper paint and nicer bulbs would probably not be on top of my agenda for a while......With rattling noises, a yellow light, burning smell & heavy steering - the numbers would need to stack up before deciding whether the car is a keeper or not.


Apologies if above may seem pesimistic or harsh...... but thats how I see it & in light of both your questions & responses thus far.

Good Luck

[X5 4.6IS 2003]

Thanks for the replies and i don't think anyone is as pssimistic as me at the moment and dont worry the paint and bulbs are long gone from my mind :-[
I will be getting it looked at on Friday so hopefully it is not as bad as i'm thinking it will be but knowing my luck probably worse.

I'm an engineer by trade and also have a really good mechanic(mostly simple engines though) as a friend but not sure i fancy trying to work on an engine like this without knowing how to do stuff, i take very detailed machines apart everyday so that side of thing does not bother me.

What makes it worse is that the cars bodywork & interior are perfect and it has had a full gearbox overhaul and brand new exhaust system fitted.
Anyone have any idea how much a recon engine would cost and where is best to get one

Cheers

Terry

[IanP]

I tried for a recon or secondhand engine when mine blew, but they are a bit rare, think a recon engine was going to  be around 3 grand but I was a bit wary about the people doing the work. Eventually I did it myself. (http://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/https://xdr ... 27#msg3827)
Look on the bright side, when you have a good look at it, the noise might turn out to be something simple.