2011 BMW X5M (E70) Project

msabbasi (msabbasi) 2021-06-13 09:59:21 +0500 #121

BMWs and brittle plastic go hand in hand. There is a finite life of plastic parts on a BMW. I have read that this is a by product of BMWs commitment to recycling. Plastic parts are made this way in order for them to easily recycle to what ever they are to be turned into. Both my 540i and 745Li used to regularly need plastic bits.

By the way I love your method of working 100/100 for that.

umairjamil6 (30w50) 2021-06-13 14:19:52 +0500 #122

I may end up getting an e36 or e46 if i get abig enough garage to work on it myself in the future inshallah due to these threads.

UAHMAD (UAHMAD) 2021-06-13 14:41:54 +0500 #123

Not a bad idea.

Even used parts of these cars are available in Pindi. Skilled labor is the only issue.

umairjamil6 (30w50) 2021-06-13 14:56:43 +0500 #124

I cant even work on my eagle eye as the garage barely contains it. Both models have seen an increase in price and after a couple of years they may get even more expensive. @intoxicated what are your thoughts on swapping a jdm motor in these two models. ABS and TRC arent that important for me. All i want is AC and power windows

Hassan1991 (Electrical Engineer ) 2021-06-13 15:22:11 +0500 #125

You have to deal with can bus system. You can make everything work.

umairjamil6 (30w50) 2021-06-13 19:27:55 +0500 #126

Exactly my question is related to the canbus. How difficult is it to work with and will it cause issues down the line

Hassan1991 (Electrical Engineer ) 2021-06-13 19:34:33 +0500 #127

You need manufacturer spec's. Every sensor canbus ID and bit rate etc. but still very difficult.
You can also do is buy an expensive standalone. It can broadcast can bus signals which other modules can read. If you do everything properly everything works like oem.

intoxicated (Intoxicated) 2021-06-14 17:35:08 +0500 #128

It's actually due for a brake fluid flush, I'll perform that and see if it makes any difference.

intoxicated (Intoxicated) 2021-06-14 17:37:44 +0500 #129

Thank you, sir!

intoxicated (Intoxicated) 2021-06-14 17:39:44 +0500 #130

E36 is great - I have always admired E30 Coupes, haven't been able to get my hands on one.

intoxicated (Intoxicated) 2021-06-14 17:49:22 +0500 #131

Numerous people have done it, 1JZ-GTE and 2JZ-GTE for the most part and for drifting purposes. Search on bimmer forums, you will find a lot of content.

intoxicated (Intoxicated) 2021-06-14 18:31:51 +0500 #132

Alhumdolillah everything worked out great. No coolant leaks and no visible oil leaks. I still have to inspect the lower pan gasket to be sure that everything is good on that end, lower pan gasket is metal, so hoping I don't see any leaks there.

I drove almost about 300 miles this weekend - there is a slight smoke after a long idle and it could potentially be a valve stem seal issue but I'd try Forte Seal Conditioner first (it's known to be great and helps with softening hard valve stem seals)

Anyhow, I could not flush the brake fluid because I bought the fluid a while ago and couldn't find it. Lol well it's been found since and I plan on doing it later today.

After completing everything I gave the truck a good wash inside out - and enjoyed the weekend.

All the old parts that came off the truck

intoxicated (Intoxicated) 2021-06-14 18:34:16 +0500 #133

Quick launch control test - I forgot to turn off traction control though.

Hassan1991 (Electrical Engineer ) 2021-06-14 20:39:05 +0500 #134

MASHALLAH awesome work sir.

UAHMAD (UAHMAD) 2021-06-14 20:43:13 +0500 #135

Launches like a bullet Masha'Allah.

Hard work has paid off.

msabbasi (msabbasi) 2021-06-15 07:24:19 +0500 #136

A wonderful thread. Highly informative. Well written with just the right information for another owner like yourself to do this job at home. Bravo.

intoxicated (Intoxicated) 2021-06-16 01:50:45 +0500 #137

Thank you sir!

dani_kk (Dmotorsports) 2021-06-17 03:37:16 +0500 #138

Yeah in rawalpindi Islamabad these items are a little bit expensive. And I'm talking about 2.4mm tungsten.

intoxicated (Intoxicated) 2021-06-17 07:19:04 +0500 #139

I was able to take out some time today to flush brake fluid. Long process, mostly because rear lugs were overtightened and they were PIA to remove.

Jacked up the truck and removed all wheels.

Removed the cover to gain access to brake fluid reservoir

Used Liqui Moly DOT4 brake fluid - I did not flush the ABS system, that requires a diagnostic tool to run and I didn't have it right now. Ended up only using one bottle of brake fluid (500ml)

Used a smaller brake bleeding/flushing tool by Schwaben. Filled up the bottle with 500ml and pressurized the system to about 13psi. Started with passenger rear, driver rear, passenger front outer then inner, driver front outer then inner, bled the system until I saw clear fluid come through.

Fluid started off with clear green and turned darker as it kept going. Ended up with what I have in the container.

Prior to flushing the system, brake pedal was really spongy and did not have the initial bite - I did not have confidence in the brakes, had to literally stand on the pedal to make it stop. After the flush, pedal feels much lighter and has the initial bite and bites hard as you press harder - Alhumdolillah turned out as I expected.

While I was at it, I had 'M' emblems for the wheels sitting around that I decided to put on as well. These wheels are BMW Style 299m that came on the E70 X5M series and are 20x10" fronts and 20x11" rears.

intoxicated (Intoxicated) 2021-06-20 20:42:47 +0500 #140

When I had bought the car, I got a post-purchase inspection done (although I had expected it to be much more detailed but it was very high-level) and one of the things in the report were Front Thrust Arms.

This was also because of a clunk noise from the front that's been there ever since I bough the car and it's caused by one of the three; Front Thrust Arms, Lower Control Arm or Upper Control Arm. Since it was also mentioned in the inspection, I wanted to replace these first - I had also bought sway bar end links but I didn't have a 18mm spanner, so skipped it.

Driver's side - top view

Passenger side - top view

Passenger side - from underneath the car

Removed driver's side - space is quite a pain even with suspension Lol

Old vs new comparison

Driver's side

BMW calls for replacing all bolts and nuts, because they're self locking bolts - I had replaced bolts and nuts that hold to the chassis but the nut below wasn't delivered in time and I had to replace and torque it down the next day.

Bushing that goes to the chassis, had to be torqued down under weight, so had to drop the car on jackstands under lower control arms. Torqued down to 73.7 ft lbs + 90 degree angle, ball joint bolt was torqued to 59 ft lbs.

So the clunk that I was chasing is still there, so I'll be going after replacing lower and upper control arms as well. So the front feels tighter.