X5 Maintenance

[dkl]

Originally Posted by azev

Dealer told me that the automatic lifetime transmision oil have to be special ordered, and cost very expansive. They also told me to find out what is the transmision code before they can order the right fluid.

According to my 2004 maintenance manual, the auto tranny fluid is no longer lifetime (whatever lifetime means). It now states that the tranny fluid should be replaced/changed/flushed every 100k miles.

[withidl]

I have a 2001 4.4i with 78,000 miles on it (do ALL of my own maintenance) and I have done the following:

ENGINE COMPARTMENT:

 R&R engine oil (and filter) with FULLY synthetic oil. I use Mobil 1 15W-50 year round because I live in Houston, Texas, but those up North would need to use 5W-30 during the cold months.

 R&R coolant with either the BMW “BLUE” colored coolant or any other coolant with “DEX-COOL, GM Approved” on the label which will be colored “ORANGE”. DO NOT USE THE “GREEN” coolants as their additive package contains “dissolved solids” which coat the interior of the cooling system to inhibit corrosion (this is old technology) thereby eating away at the water pump seals and leaving an insulative layer throughout the system which compromises efficient heat transfer. The BMW “BLUE” and DEX-COOL “ORANGE” coolants are new technology using organic additives which do not compromise the water pump seals or heat transfer.

 R&R the power steering oil. If you can get a “thief” (suction) pump remove the oil from the power steering reservoir (only) and replace it with regular red dyed ATF DEXRON III then drive the car several days and R&R the oil again. After 3 or 4 iterations you will have effectively changed out the majority of the oil. Be careful not to get dirt in the system!

 R&R the micro filter which filters air entering the vehicle interior (not a critical item). Be aware that there are two kinds of filters, the vehicle’s OEM filter is a more expensive one with activated carbon but most dealers will have replaced it with a less expensive plain filter without the Customers knowledge. You can tell the difference as the activated carbon filter element will be considerably more “substantial” (thicker/dense) and have a grayish appearance (my dealer’s parts department didn’t even stock the OEM activated carbon filter!).

 R&R (flush) the brake fluid. This needs to be done every 2 years because it has a propensity to absorb water from the atmosphere which will compromise braking and corrode the system.

TRANSMISSION:

 Although a BMW “Lifetime” oil, I don’t really think so if one is going to keep the vehicle a long time. The oil in the transmission is a CRITICAL APPLICATION in that it has additives in it which impart SPECIFIC FRICTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS which the CLUTCHES MUST HAVE or else they WILL BURN UP. The transmission will have a GREEN label on its pan which specifies the oil’s part number. Use of any other oil WILL DAMAGE THE TRANSMISSION. The oil is fully synthetic and I payed $25.50 per QUART for it from the dealer (simpler than trying to get it from a less expensive source). I do not R&R the filter because to do so would invite contamination (dropping the pan) & potential leaks. The filter should have the capacity to keep good oil free of particulates for the duration.


 NOTE: The transmission is oil level CRITICAL. You can’t just simply R&R the transmission oil unless you measure what’s being removed and replace it with the EXACT amount. The BMW “TIS” has the level checking procedure which a dealer should print out for you.

TRANSFER CASE:

 I just changed out my transfer case oil. BMW’s make-up / refill recommendation is regular ATF Dexron III, which is dyed red, so I was surprised to see a non-red dyed fluid drain out of my transfer case. After some investigation and comparison with a viscosity gauge I own it seems that BMW filled the transfer case of my 2001 X5 4.4i with the same synthetic oil they put in the transmission ........ so I did the same.

DIFFERENTIALS:

 Again, although a BMW “Lifetime” oil, I don’t really think so if one is going to keep the vehicle a long time. I have just R&R’d the fully synthetic gear oil in my differentials with the BMW recommended Castrol SAF-XO 75W-90 gear oil.

BATTERY:

 It’s a pain, but you might want to check the battery (under the spare tire and dome shaped air compressor). I checked mine about a year ago and the fluid level was OK. It’s almost 5 years old now and is still going strong, although it will probably give up soon as most batteries don’t live much longer than 5 years.

TIRES:

 Look at the rear tires. Because of the negative camber (top of wheel tilts inward) the inner tread of the rear tires will wear out unnoticed while the outside tread shows almost no wear. What I do when the inner tread has worn through is “flip” the tires on their wheels. As a matter of fact I did this today. I had NTB put the left rear tire on the right rear wheel with the inside of the tire showing on the outside. While this is not the most cosmetically appealing thing to do, at $250+ each tire it is the most economical thing to do (the flip & balance cost me $13.00).

[azev]

Wow, thank you for the detail information, this would help alot.
Ok this is what I have done so far:
- oil/filter change with castrol syntec
- replace microfilter with the carbon version
- replace stock air filter with k&n drop in
- replace final drive (rear differential)fluid with redline oil
- flush the brake fluid and replace them using original bmw brake fluid
- flush radiator and replace them with OEM fluid
- got 4 new tires (should be in monday)

I notice that my X5 has a lot of negative camber on the rear. My inside rear tires are worn really bad, while the outer side still have about 15-20% of thread left. Is this normal ?? should I get an alignment when I install my new tires? If I do, can a regular tire shop such as firestone able to do the alignment? (I used to have a E36 M3 and I had to buy a special tools to adjust the toe setting) I called dealer and they wanted $150 for 4 wheel alignment**ridiculous**

I dont think I am going to replace the tranny and the transfercase fluid for now yet, maybe later when I hit over 100k. Do you think this is safe?

Should I replace the fuel filter? I heard fuel filter need to be replaced every 50k!

How about waterpump, hoses, and drivebelt??

[X5Flyboy]

You might want to check the rear coolant hoses (~30mm dia) - If they are soft and flexible, you may want to change them (my dealer found them that way at 46K miles)(previous thread here mentioned this problem)

If the water pump (& thermostat) have not been replaced, you really ought to - again, previous threads here mention the water pump usually gives up between 72-80K miles

I replaced my battery - 5 years old and winter, I played it safe

Another common problem is the window regulator in the back seat doors - lack of use developes 'kinks' in the cable used to raise & lower the window - on a long trip, I suggest you don't lower your back windows - (ask me how I know this) - I now cycle all my windows at least 1-3x a week to keep the cable flexible

Surprised you did not ask what service/maintenance had been done when you picked it up.

[footsurg]

If you are not really sure whats been done to this X5 in the past, I would plan on doing everything right now to include changing the oil, complete flush and fluid change for the braking and cooling systems, change out all the spark plugs, top off the power steering fluid, change the air filter element and the microparticle filter for the A/C and Heating system. Personally I would let the dealer take care of the tranny fluid/differential fluid changes.

Mark

[vinuneuro]

Withidl, how did you go about getting the fluid out of the tq converter? Did you cycle a couple of times like you did with ps fluid?

[withidl]

Originally Posted by vinuneuro

Withidl, how did you go about getting the fluid out of the tq converter? Did you cycle a couple of times like you did with ps fluid?

Yes, even though the fluid is quite expen$ive.

[azev]

What was the condition of the oil when you eye ball it ??
How many miles you had on the x5 when you did this ??

[withidl]

Originally Posted by azev

Wow, thank you for the detail information, this would help alot.
Ok this is what I have done so far:
- oil/filter change with castrol syntec
- replace microfilter with the carbon version
- replace stock air filter with k&n drop in
- replace final drive (rear differential)fluid with redline oil
- flush the brake fluid and replace them using original bmw brake fluid
- flush radiator and replace them with OEM fluid
- got 4 new tires (should be in monday)

I notice that my X5 has a lot of negative camber on the rear. My inside rear tires are worn really bad, while the outer side still have about 15-20% of thread left. Is this normal ?? should I get an alignment when I install my new tires? If I do, can a regular tire shop such as firestone able to do the alignment? (I used to have a E36 M3 and I had to buy a special tools to adjust the toe setting) I called dealer and they wanted $150 for 4 wheel alignment**ridiculous**

I dont think I am going to replace the tranny and the transfercase fluid for now yet, maybe later when I hit over 100k. Do you think this is safe?
Should I replace the fuel filter? I heard fuel filter need to be replaced every 50k!
How about waterpump, hoses, and drivebelt??

Regarding above BOLDED/underlined items:

The X5 has considerable negative camber (especially with the sport package) so inside tire wear is normal. Only if one rear tire is wearing considerable more than the other on the inside would I consider an alignment. I've got 78,000 miles on my 2001 and have never aligned it, and don't intend to do so unless I "curb" it or have to replace a suspension part that would make it necessary. As I said previously, just "flip" the tires on the wheels so that the un-cosmetic inside of the tire is on the outside and you'll essentially double the wear of the rear tires.

As for the transmission fluid, if your service is not severe like mine (I pull an 8,300 GVWR trailer) it shouldn't hurt to go to 100,000 miles before change out.

The fuel filter will tell you if it becomes restricted, as the engine will probably not be able to take full throttle without loosing power due to lack of fuel flow through the restricted filter. I've found that if you fuel up at quality stations (they have inline filters in the dispensers) you'll probably never need to replace the filter; therefore I'd leave it alone (again mine has 78,000 miles on it).

As for the water pump, hoses and belts: Water pumps usually don't catastrofically fail, the seal just starts leaking so I wouldn't mess with it until it does. The hoses deteriorate primarily with age and heat, but shouldn't give trouble as your vehicle is relatively new. The belts also deteriorate with age and heat, but additionally they have a finite number of revolutions in them, so if the vehicle miles are "city" miles they will probably need replacing sooner than vehicles with "highway" miles. My 2001 has about 80% highway miles and the belts are still servicable.

[withidl]

Originally Posted by azev

What was the condition of the oil when you eye ball it ??
How many miles you had on the x5 when you did this ??

The oil was a darkened grayish due to suspended wear metals. The "neat" (unused) transmisson oil is a "straw" color. The R&R was at about 64,000 miles.