'15 35d Family Daily Driver Mod/Maintenance Thread

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by Variante Alta

Thanks for the posts - where did you find the Febi prop shaft for $182? Worth the preventative at that price. Lots of cheap ones on fleabay but I'm always concerned about quality with those.

RM European. Same place I ordered from but they have dropped in price.

[Clifton]

crystalworks - Where is the Changeover Valve located in the engine compartment? Using the part number you shared, I looked up what it looked like, but could not find it anywhere.

On the plus side, I did find the Heater Control valves. lol.

Thanks!

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by Clifton

crystalworks - Where is the Changeover Valve located in the engine compartment? Using the part number you shared, I looked up what it looked like, but could not find it anywhere.

On the plus side, I did find the Heater Control valves. lol.

Thanks!

You can see the 3 lines going to it under the intake if you look behind the air inlet on the DS. It sits just behind the air cleaner box. Pretty easy job by BMW standards. Which was nice.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

Honestly, you can't tell the condition of the shaft until you drop it. Our original had slight play in it as well. I don't recall tugging on the new one to see if it had the same "play" though. But once I took the old one off the U-joints were very loose. Not clicking or binding yet, but I wasn't going to take any chances. We were about to put 1000+ miles on the X over the next week.

Got it. Thank you!

[crystalworks]

09/28/2023

- Replaced DS seat back map pocket. Had been broken since we bought the X and it was annoying. Also repaired loose seat back due to bracket glue becoming separated from seat. Standard BMW fare. Same issue with the plastic brackets on their door cards. Amazon Jaronx China part $46.54

Here you can see how the brackets come off. I repaired it with some Permatex Ultra Black (used this method for years on 10+ Bimmers) and will never come off again. Both the top LED section and the lower section were loose due to the issue. Looked terrible and was a pet peeve of the wife and I for awhile now. Just started looking into replacing and saw the Chinese had capitalized on BMWs poor design (again) by making an affordable replacement. While in there I ran a bead around all the non-failed brackets too so that they won't ever come off either.





You can see below how the grain is slightly less deep than the OE vinyl. I took a harsh flash pic to illustrate. When in the car, and hit with some leather conditioner, it's a 95% match and no one is going to tell the difference. Most would have a hard time even if you point it out. The bracket design is reinforced compared to the factory BMW one so hopefully this one outlasts our time with the F15.



See how the map pocket breaks below. Such a small connection point and any force at all seems like it would break it. I see why this is a problem across so many BMW chassis.

[crystalworks]

09/30 - 10/04/2023

- Replaced front grills as they have always been very rattly and loose. The plastic was so brittle and it would vibrate like crazy. Amazon special gloss black grille $54.10



BTW, the below is what it looks like when your back goes out while trying to carefully remove the front grills. I was trying to remove them and sound treat them... yeah, that didn't happen. BTW, anyone wanting to remove their front grilles, I recommend removing the bumper. The TIS and YT videos are full of sh*t.



- Removed and pounded out the aluminum trim garnish on the rear bumper. Ours was dented when we got it and we added another when backing into an un-marked stopper at a Whataburger. Oops. I'm no body guy or PDR guy, but this looks 90% better than it did. $0.00



BTW, when removing that trim. There are these little white clips that aren't very clear where they go. I had x5 of them, but I think there are supposed to be 6? They just kind of fall out when removing unless you slide them out before hand. The arrows below point to where they are supposed to install. You slide them in from the middle. At least, that's where I believe they go.

[sukhk527]

Did you use a pry bar to get that rear valence trim out? I tried without it once and couldn’t pop the clips out underneath. I’ve been wanting to do this exact same fix since purchase lol.

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by sukhk527

Did you use a pry bar to get that rear valence trim out? I tried without it once and couldn’t pop the clips out underneath. I’ve been wanting to do this exact same fix since purchase lol.

No pry bars. Just thick plastic trim tools. The 2 outer tabs on the sides (1 per side) can feel really tight. Once you get the screws and those 2 outer pieces you can basically "peel" it away from the bottom outwards. Now that I know how those white plastic clips work though you can probably slide those out first before doing anything. Otherwise they just sort of "explode" everywhere when taking it out.

I took video but need to edit it and post it. I never seem to have time to do that after doing a repair.

Side note, the F15 will be on Cars and Bids within the next few weeks. We love it, but with 6 other BMWs and needing the cash (want to payoff kids tuition) more than the X5... we're letting it go.

[sukhk527]

selling?!? ahhh we’re losing a good one. you’ll have to let us know where we can keep up with your car adventures.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by sukhk527

selling?!? ahhh we’re losing a good one. you’ll have to let us know where we can keep up with your car adventures.

No kidding. I’m hoping he buys an n55 based f15 so we can trade notes :-)

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by sukhk527

selling?!? ahhh we’re losing a good one. you’ll have to let us know where we can keep up with your car adventures.

Originally Posted by tlow98

No kidding. I’m hoping he buys an n55 based f15 so we can trade notes :-)

Thanks. I'll still be around here I'm sure.

10/21/2023

- Wife has been complaining of sticky/gummy door pulls for a few months so ordered up a replacement set straight from Mr. Bezos. $42.99

Removing these door panels is relatively easy if you're experienced with BMW door skins. If not the door clips can be a bit harrowing given how hard you feel you have to pull. Order a decent set of panel tools and you'll be good to go. You can see the quality and color of the replacement pulls below. Given the age/degradation of the originals I don't know how good the color match is to factory fresh. But I can tell you the fit is great.





TIS instructions for this (yes, the inner pull does have an OE part number) say to just clip off the plastic welding pin. I didn't do that. I used a propane torch and used it to heat up a chisel so I could melt the pin like a factory plastic weld. This worked extremely well as shown below. Doesn't look factory... you know, because I'm not a machine, but it functions great.





After doing all 3 doors (the front passenger was the worst as shown above) the inner pulls look and feel factory fresh. Glad I did this in prep for selling as it's a main touch point.

[crystalworks]

10/28/2023

- Got Lemon Squad inspection done on the X5 today for the Cars and Bids auction. "You're should do well with this truck." Direct quote from the inspector. Had to lend him my Foxwell NT530 though as the scanner he brought wouldn't clip into the OBD2 port for some reason. He was impressed with the Foxwell though. $199

- Replaced the 2032 battery in one of the key FOBs as it gave a low battery warning on the dash a few days ago. Of course while I was filming the video for the auction. $0

- Fixed the small rattle in the center channel speaker of the B&O system that has bothered me forever. Was especially noticeable when making an outgoing call with the dialing. Wife was not happy that all our vehicles get all the little things addressed right before they get sold. I told her that's the only time I get left alone to address all the little things. $0

[crystalworks]

11/06/2023

- Had BMW indy perform a brake fluid flush in prep for the Cars and Bids auction. $166.23

11/07/2023

- Finished submitting everything for Cars and Bids.

11/14/2023

- Auction went live! Should be a fun experience, if not a bit nerve wracking. Went with no reserve. Follow along below if you like. Would post in the FS section but I don't know how kosher that is. We'll miss it, but could use the working capital more than the 7th car ATM. Not a brag, they're all old Bimmers. Though... they are cool old Bimmers.

Cars and Bids Auction

[sukhk527]

GLWS man. Solid ride, may even have to pick up a 35d myself someday.

[dentprotony@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

Thank you.

Let me try to bring this up to date. Done a bit of maintenance.

We're not sure what we are going to do with the vehicle as we are starting to need something with 3 rows (kids + parents). Might actually list it on CarsandBids just for S's and G's. Seems like a cool experience and we wish we would have done it with our last diesel X5.

06/16/23

- Oil change with Liqui Moly Top Tec 4600 and Mahle Filter. KIT-11428507683KT4 $90.41

06/29 - 07/05/2023

- Replace front driveshaft with Febi unit and single use bolts, job took longer because I failed to order bolts which are crazy marked up at the dealer! x4 torx bolts 26117529387 $15.25 & Febi driveshaft 174103 $309.60

PSA!!!
BTW, these driveshafts have dropped in price dramatically. Bought mine for $310 and they are now $182. Replace them as part of preventative maintenance! If you are in a salty area, I'd do 80k miles (maybe less). In the south where I am @ 108k miles the shaft was rusty and u-joints were loose. DO NOT PLAY around with front driveshaft as easy and cheap as this is to replace. Driveshaft failure can be dangerous and is always expensive.

Attachment 3284194

Attachment 3284195

Attachment 3284196

And here is a comparison shot of the OE shaft vs. the Febi. I made a replacement video and this is a screenshot from it. We've put 2000+ miles on this shaft and it has been great. It could be placebo but both the wife and I feel the X5 drives slightly smoother with the new shaft. Could be our imagination...

Attachment 3284199

- Replaced DEF secondary tank transfer pump. BMW wanted $2800 for this! Took about 3 hours. TIS instructs to drop the exhaust. DO NOT drop the exhaust unless you are just anal about bending heat shields. I got my shields bent back to 99% factory look and it saved crazy time. 16197354384 $487.00

09/23/2023

- Replaced coolant changeover valve to cure CEL 2C2200. Fairly easy job. Would have been easier if I had bought replacement Otiker clamps. Side note, I've gotten good at reshaping and reusing Otiker clamps. You will lose about 1.2 gallons of coolant during procedure unless you block off the ports. I did not. 1Gal BMW Coolant 82141467704 $25.69 & BMW Changeover Valve 11538572508 $292.99

Note: Bleeding is easy, don't follow special tool nonsense shown in TIS. Simply top coolant off after finishing the job. Leave reservoir cap open, start engine and allow to reach operative temperature. Rev engine every so often to move air bubbles around. Took about 20 minutes to get most bubbles out. Then go for a drive and monitor coolant temp. Likely you will not see it move from normal as most bubbles were removed before drive. Allow engine to cool and recheck level. Top up (took maybe .1 gallon to top up). Check your coolant level for a week or two as the remaining air bubbles make their way to the reservoir. Easy peasy.

Attachment 3284197

Attachment 3284198

Very nice option, unfortunately splines are same length which will keep wearing out the transfer case female splines and will not help with the driveshaft pop issue. Solution is long spline shaft that will use all the length of the tcase splines and will not bind/vibrate.

https://youtu.be/GaodgzcDAYo?si=Sr2hmeMLX2IeFJ-E

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by dentprotony@gmail.com

Very nice option, unfortunately splines are same length which will keep wearing out the transfer case female splines and will not help with the driveshaft pop issue. Solution is long spline shaft that will use all the length of the tcase splines and will not bind/vibrate.

While that is a cool product, and commend you for making it. I disagree that the transfer case female spline engagement is the reason for the 866 driveshaft failures. That was an issue with the solid shafts from the E53 and E70 X5s. All the images I've seen of E70 (w/ U-joint) and F15 shafts appear to break at the staked in u-joints. My transfer case female splines were fine, as were the male splines on the shaft, but the u-joints were definitely wearing. The dust boot does a fine job of keeping corrosion out of the transfer case. Though I did use a smattering of copper grease upon reinstallation just for added piece of mind. In the image below (courtesy 2500AB) you can see the female splines look great... although dirty with old grease. You can see the grease where the splines begin and end. A bit of cleaning and it would be good as new, likely hard to even tell where the shaft ended.



Preventative replacement of the 866 shaft with a like replacement, or one like you've had made are both solutions to the u-joint issue. The Febi one being $190 makes it a no-brainer, likely one time, maintenance item for most owners. For those who want "the best" option, your shaft is there for them.

[dentprotony@gmail.com]

Strange thing is that only ujoints closest to the tcase break 98% of the time , even though ujoints are same front and rear. When installing new shaft it slides easy the initial(worn ) area , and becomes much tighter once it enters the unused splines in the tcase. With a tiny 15-20mm of the work surface that stock shaft offers you will inevitably put wear in both shaft and tcase female splines. Over time stock shaft becomes tapered and wears the splines accordingly. This will create vibrations and major stress /excessive wear on the ujoint closest to the tcase. Attached drawing is a very rough sketch of what is taking place.

PS e53 shaft issue is unrelated to this , splines there completely strip out but these shafts dont have ujoints to transfer all the stress to, hence severe spline damage/wear

PPS shaft in the picture is f15 about 42k mile shaft

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by dentprotony@gmail.com

Strange thing is that only ujoints closest to the tcase break 98% of the time , even though ujoints are same front and rear. When installing new shaft it slides easy the initial(worn ) area , and becomes much tighter once it enters the unused splines in the tcase. With a tiny 15-20mm of the work surface that stock shaft offers you will inevitably put wear in both shaft and tcase female splines. Over time stock shaft becomes tapered and wears the splines accordingly. This will create vibrations and major stress /excessive wear on the ujoint closest to the tcase. Attached drawing is a very rough sketch of what is taking place.

Not strange really. That's the u-joint that sees the most corrosion. From the pics I've seen the yoke actually stays in the transfer case when the u-joint comes apart. I think it's a combination of the corrosion and the staked in u-joints that causes the ultimate failure. I took a video of our old vs our new shaft and the u-joints were terribly loose, in comparison. Not crunchy, but very loose. The shaft splines and diff splines looked fine. At least visibly.

Originally Posted by dentprotony@gmail.com

PS e53 shaft issue is unrelated to this , splines there completely strip out but these shafts dont have ujoints to transfer all the stress to, hence severe spline damage/wear

No, the e53 shaft splines (and receiving splines) wear out because the AC evap line drains right onto the shaft and causes corrosion. The corrosion, in turn then wears out the splines acting like a grinding paste.

Originally Posted by dentprotony@gmail.com

PPS shaft in the picture is f15 about 42k mile shaft

I still have our old shaft (107500 miles). I'll have to stick a caliper on it as I'm curious.

[tlow98]

Nice sale on the c5 @crystalworks. Well sold, IMO

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Nice sale on the c5 @crystalworks. Well sold, IMO

Thank you. It was a fun experience, and yes we are happy with the sales price. I think it was a fair result on both sides.

[dentprotony@gmail.com]

[QUOTE=crystalworks;30674176]Not strange really. That's the u-joint that sees the most corrosion. From the pics I've seen the yoke actually stays in the transfer case when the u-joint comes apart. I think it's a combination of the corrosion and the staked in u-joints that causes the ultimate failure. I took a video of our old vs our new shaft and the u-joints were terribly loose, in comparison. Not crunchy, but very loose. The shaft splines and diff splines looked fine. At least visibly.



No, the e53 shaft splines (and receiving splines) wear out because the AC evap line drains right onto the shaft and causes corrosion. The corrosion, in turn then wears out the splines acting like a grinding paste.


Ujoint caps are made not to allow water and debris in and grease out of them. They usually have dual or triple lip seals that are not perfect but pretty good at that. The issue is the wear in the splines creates abnormal stress on the ujoint by constantly applying pressure against it. usually uj closest one to the tcase blows up and the yoke stays in the tcase.
Staked process is very common and has nothing to do with the wear.

Longer splines provide double the surface = less pressure = less wear. New shaft with same length splines will affect the situation minimally and for the short period of time. Splines in the tcase will keep wearing shaft splines and the ujoint. Now question arises, how the new febi ujwill handle the stress. Febi uj are likely china and made to work in the normal ujoint/shaft operation but not in the f15 set up conditions . So there is a light chance new uj will not last. Ujoint cap in my driveshaft about 6mm larger than stock , definitely much beefier that stock size.

If this

is from ac dripping in the shaft area then i stand corrected and have nothing else to say

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

09/28/2023

- Replaced DS seat back map pocket. Had been broken since we bought the X and it was annoying. Also repaired loose seat back due to bracket glue becoming separated from seat. Standard BMW fare. Same issue with the plastic brackets on their door cards. Amazon Jaronx China part $46.54

Here you can see how the brackets come off. I repaired it with some Permatex Ultra Black (used this method for years on 10+ Bimmers) and will never come off again. Both the top LED section and the lower section were loose due to the issue. Looked terrible and was a pet peeve of the wife and I for awhile now. Just started looking into replacing and saw the Chinese had capitalized on BMWs poor design (again) by making an affordable replacement. While in there I ran a bead around all the non-failed brackets too so that they won't ever come off either.

Attachment 3288703

Attachment 3288704

You can see below how the grain is slightly less deep than the OE vinyl. I took a harsh flash pic to illustrate. When in the car, and hit with some leather conditioner, it's a 95% match and no one is going to tell the difference. Most would have a hard time even if you point it out. The bracket design is reinforced compared to the factory BMW one so hopefully this one outlasts our time with the F15.

Attachment 3288705

See how the map pocket breaks below. Such a small connection point and any force at all seems like it would break it. I see why this is a problem across so many BMW chassis.

Attachment 3288706

Attachment 3288707

Hey there, Crystal. I’m tackling this project now. Did you get Type A or Type B?

They don’t seem to explain that too well. Appreciate your post on this!