General maintenance / care E53

[Black]

hey guys

Seeing as I'm new to BMW, are there any tips you guys can give me re; things I have to watch out for, or specific maintenance tips that i can follow to get the best out of the car?
I have so far driven about 500 km's and all seems well. The fuel consumption is good, temp gauge stays constant just over the halfway mark and the power is ok. Will it be advisable to use the m/s selection on the gear lever? What speed is comfortable for this engine? etc etc..... I normally do an oil change every 5000 km's on all my vehicles, so is there a specific oil you guys would recommend?

:ty::ty::ty:

 

[ChefDJ]

Welcome to the forum :=):


More details on the car?

Year
Engine
Mileage
Etc


And post some pics :rollsmile:

 

[Black]

Welcome to the forum :=):


More details on the car?

Year
Engine
Mileage
Etc


And post some pics :rollsmile:

hey Chef
Thanks for the quick response :clapper:

The car is a 2005 X5 30l diesel, 137000 km's and it came with a fsh. You probably didnt see my 1st post where i introduced myself, this is the 1st BMW i owned, so compared to you guys, I know nothing. The last time I opened a BMW bonnet, was way back in the late 80's and early 90's.
Any maintenance advice and tips will be appreciated.

cheers

 

[ChefDJ]

You have bought one epic BMW raise:


The E53 is notorious for the air suspension collapsing, however you have a facelift so the risk is less than that of the pre-facelift. If it does ever happen though, rather convert to standard suspension as it's less costly and more reliable.

You have the same engine as my 530d so treat her like a baby and the engine will outlast the body of the vehicle
Regular servicing/oil changes is always a must. I change my fuel filter every single service whereas others will tell me it's overkill. I don't trust fuel quality from most garages so rather safe than faulty-injectors-sorry.

Don't be scared to use the manual mode, but also... Auto boxes are not very strong on these older BMW's so don't push it all the time.

Common items to replace on these engines with higher mileage are the dampener pulley (expensive), tensioners, expansion tank, vacuum pipes (cheap DIY), and watch for the cooling system. I have also recently replaced my turbo, high pressure and low pressure fuel pumps, engine mounts, and some fuel lines. Also, replace the oil breather. Dealers never do this and it should be done at least every third service.

Yours is relatively low mileage so I don't think you'll have any big ticket issues to worry about soon. My 5er is on 289xxxkm and yes, I have spent a pretty penny keeping her running in the last 2 years, but she'll run like a dream for the next 250k km.

When you get your first quote for new tyres, make sure you're sitting down :roflol:

 

[Malicezn]

:clapper: Congrats and welcome! I just sold mine after 90000 trouble free km to buy an F30 330d. I was most surprised to find that when it went through COR for the new owner, the front CV boots were shot! So do check on those too.
Only other trouble I ever had was battery and tyres! As Chef said; those are not cheap

 

[Black]

Oh well, i guess i'll have to start buying them takkies 1 by 1 already so by the time they need replacing, it's not so bad :skit:

thanks so much guys. i have a bit more confidence in this car now:coolShake:

 

[Waseem 333i]

Congrats on the purchase and welcome.

Yes suspension on this car and tires are very expensive.

As chef said look at damper pulley. It is about time that needs replacing.

Also check for boost leaks. You will also need to fit a downpipe.

Research that gearbox. That is another big ticket item.

I am sure Nikhil will chirp in soon with his story.

 

[Black]

Congrats on the purchase and welcome.

Yes suspension on this car and tires are very expensive.

As chef said look at damper pulley. It is about time that needs replacing.

Also check for boost leaks. You will also need to fit a downpipe.

Research that gearbox. That is another big ticket item.

I am sure Nikhil will chirp in soon with his story.

A downpipe? What where???? :skit:

 

[Waseem 333i]

Umm. After the turbo. The stock one has a diesel particle filter and cat which gets blocked.

 

[Black]

Thanks guys..........:ty: