Rekpoint

Tackled the rear brake lines last night so the set is complete. Originally planned to do them all at once but some parts were back ordered from ECS (only chose them over FCP since they had a Rennline phone mount I wanted).
Lately I’ve been trying to follow the principle that when I go to replace a part, I also replace anything that connects, cushions or fastens to it as well. Otherwise I get this weird feeling I just showered and changed clothes and then put dirty socks back on (corroded bolts, nuts, brackets etc.)

Cosmoline is a sealant / rust proofing that was applied to engine bays of E30's during transport. For the short duration it was on for transport no discoloration is usually observed, and dealers were supposed to wipe it out of the engine bays and apparently there was even a bottle of mineral spirits shipped in the engine bay to do so. Most dealers did not, and after the vehicles start seeing heat and use the sealant yellows and hardens, becoming very difficult to remove. 

Circa ~2005 BMW was still shipping cars covered in a heavy wax coating that was pressured washed off with high heat water.

Took me forever to assemble all the right pieces to finish the rear suspension. After finally getting the right sized RSM bushings that were back ordered, I realized I was also missing the reverse mounted reinforcement plate that secures the shock to the body. Since the mounts are TCK I tried to email them to see if I could order just the top plate. Crickets. Never got a response. Ended up ordering some Rogue Engineering zinc plated ones to test and they just so happened to fit!
So in total we’ve got:
- Rogue Engineering RSM reverse mount reinforcement plates
- TCK Single Adjustable shocks
- TCK adjustable perch + spring cone
- Rogue Engineering perch reinforcement plates
- Hyperco 600lb spring
- TCK RSM + Buna bushings
Hopefully will have time tomorrow to toss the wheels on and dial in fitment. 

Figured I'd start with more interior work.
Firstly started with installing the Never Done glove box sag fix.



I then moved on to removing the seats and center console. This is to prep for the dash replacement and to install the restored Z3M center console pieces.


Center console painted and assembled with Z3M center pieces and new VDO classic gauges. 

Awesome spec!

The time has come to replace my wife's W body Impala and we both wanted a SUV as a replacement. I kept in mind that I wanted to go used BMW over newer economy because while I find the interiors nice in newer economy cars the road noise still speaks to the quality underneath.  It's the curse of growing up with these fine used automobiles knowing how things could be. The goals for this vehicle were really for long trips on vacations or at least day trips. After being impressed with that F10's condition I rented off Turo and @timmer's diesel thread, a E70 35d was the only vehicle we considered looking at. The desire also formed long ago when I worked at the dealership too, I loved driving the E90 and E70 diesels when they were new. They were my go-to errand runners when I had the choice. Father @andyhundley also told me they regularly service 10 of these at his job with no major issues after the EGR is "fixed".
I know its a pretty crazy car market right now but I don't feel like the prices on these have inflated much if any. The v8 X5's are the bottom because of their reliability and the diesels are just above that because its different. I saw many 80-120k examples for $12-15k on the market. CoPart auctions were often going for $8-10k as well for clean titled vehicles. Cinnamon Brown Nevada Leather interior was a must for me so that narrowed my search by quite a bit though. I initially looked in November and prices were a little lower on average then but I didn't see any winners at the time. Around the holidays this popped up in New Jersey though and after a week of contemplation I finally made the call. 
Being a 1 owner, clean carfax with recent service and being at a Euro specific car dealership really sweetened the deal. I'm really glad I looked back on @suspenceful's E70 thread as well because he mentioned using Lemon Squad for a PPI. Jeff at Torch Light Motors was happy to have them come out and inspect the vehicle and I was impressed with their report. I've attached it for those interested, really detailed and 94 pictures all around and under along with 3 short videos. 
Timing worked out pretty perfectly too as @BMWben is currently stationed out in Newport, RI for training before he moves to Japan. Along with a few other things out east I wanted to do, I figured why rent when I can buy? That and along with the Impala giving my wife some more trouble we decide to pull the trigger. Im flying out to Newark, NJ on the 28th and I'll spend a week out east and drive home on the 6th after a weekend of skiing in upstate New York at Whiteface. 
2013 BMW X5 xDrive35D
Deep Sea Blue Metalic
Cinnamon Brown Nevada Leather
Convenience Package (ZCV) - Comfort Access was a must for me
Cold Weather Package (ZCW) - Same with heated seats, heated rears was a bonus. 
Premium Package (ZPP) - All included in ZCV - The Rear view camera with top view I always loved using. 
Option 300 Space Saver Spare, not originally equipped but it has it! Thrilled this doesn't have run flats anymore. 
New Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires

LemonSquad460341.pdf

This x 100000 
it’s a plague 
 

So rough idle was due to a bad serpentine belt.  A new belt, fan and fan clutch later I was back on the road!
Mike installed new control arms, poly lollipops, new inner & outer tierods, power steering line, new steering wheel, wired up heated seats, new head light adjuster & mount and getting an alignment tomorrow.  

And just like that, goes from 3D printed plastic to machined aluminum. 😁



I was about to call up some machine shops, but ended up finding a company called Bimmertune out of Lithuania. They already sold the custom centercaps for BBS RC wheels at a very nice price. Free shipping was incredibly fast as well. Some new domed BBS center cap stickers are on their way as well.
I also picked up a throttle body adapter plate from them while I was at it.

It's to mount the M52TUB28 throttle body to an M54B30 manifold. I have the B30 manifold on the shelf already and hear it's great gains up top without affecting the low end torque for the TUB engines. That will be a project for when I feel very confident, lol. 

You are oh so correct about there being thousands of posts and debates about what is best. 

I avoided coated bearings as it seems they are typically coating stock sized bearings, which is extra not good. 

I went with BE bearings and bolts, as it seems they are the most consistent in sizing and you are basically paying for them to check and provide matched sets over something like ACL's where you want to mix shells to get extra clearance but not too much. I don't want to have to be in there twice so the extra couple dollars for QC is worth it to me.

In looking at the journal dimensions and bearing tolerances I quickly understand why these have bearing failures, that's a damn tight clearance!

Ope I lied time to open the hood back up. Forgot that when I was doing the headers, setting the expansion tank out of the way on it's side broke the measure stick off. Since it was brittle enough to break that easily I figured it's time to replace the whole tank and hose. Installation was super easy with this huge syringe I got to suck all the fluid out and pump it back into the new tank, took no more than 15 min total. Only downside was the cost. Just the hose to the tank was $80!! Since I couldn't find any aftermarket alternatives on FCP, I bit the bullet. Also managed to fish out the loose piece while I had the tank out, thankfully it didn't make it's way into the cooling system.

Sure the S65 is like the S54 with constant debate about which bearings are the best, coated vs non coated etc. Curious what you ended up going with?

We got a bunch of snow recently, had to move the M3 out of the garage to work on other things. She didn't like the cold. 

Ordered rod bearings, motor mounts, and exhaust gaskets.
I really enjoy this thing. I have neglected all other vehicles since obtaining the M3...

LOOOOOOOONG overdue update on this car. 
I got all the parts I need to swap the brake system(I think). I called Wilwood and figured out the exact calipers I got from @DrLeadFoot because I needed to get an idea of what size masters I should run with the pedalbox and the calipers front and rear. Despite everything I read on the internet(5/8ths F&R), I wanted to be certain. It turns out, due to the size and stroke if the rear Calipers, Wilwood suggests a 3/4th master for the rear. The front calipers are an older design (cast with raised Wilwood logo) which I actually prefer but still utilize the same parts as the new design (cast with printed logo) and wilwood said a 5/8ths is perfect for them.  
So here is what I ended up getting;
Wilwood 4 piston Forged Superlites Wilwood 11.75" Ultralite 2 pc rotors Wilwood BP-20 pads Wilwood 340-11299 pedal assembly Wilwood 5/8th master for the front Wilwood 3/4th master for the rear  Wilwood 3/4th master for the clutch Garagistic mounting bracket Wilwood bias valve
Size comparison of the rotors 

The old brake setup

The new brake setup

And a test fit with my wheels

Super stoked that these fit with ample room left 

It took me about a good 3 hours to fit everything and trim the heat shields and find hardware that would work for mocking up.

As of now I only have the rotors and calipers installed just to mock them up. They will be coming back off and the new rotors will go on, the hats and calipers will be painted and rebuilt before finally assembly.
The next steps now is to get the pedal box to fit in the car. It says on the garagistic site that I need a non-airbag steering column, which I am going to soon learn the reason behind. 

Got everything buttoned back up in the engine bay and the hood shut for spring. Only have the rear suspension to do now, since it was delayed because of some back ordered RSM bushings. Then just counting down the days until I can drive it again. Hopefully will have my own house and garage soon after as well

Noticed a bit of oil collecting on the top of the valve cover and realized it was coming from one of the gaskets on the nuts holding the valve cover on. Since I didn't know the last time a valve adjustment was done, I figured this would be a good 2 for 1. Ordered a new valve cover gasket kit, new spark plugs and a valve shim kit.
Once I got in there I noticed the cam lobes had some odd wear on the tips. Checked each cam follower and they didn't seem to be chewed up, so it remains a mystery. Guessing some sort of abrasive made its way into the engine at some point. Will monitor it closely and check samples with blackstone next season. Worst case I have a spare S54 thats a bit lower mileage.
The valve adjustment went pretty smoothly, ended up replacing 6 shims total and got everything in spec.
Current mileage: 136,136

Also tackled a couple small things like swapping out the tired old sway bar end links (will likely get adjustable ones if I go down the path of corner balancing), and replaced all the fender liner bolts with clean ones.

Kind of forgot to post this, but anyways my secret Santa found me an old German m coupe dealer brochure, AutoWeek magazine from 98 featuring the m coupe, and a CCA beanie. Love it all!

You're welcome!  The GTA shirt had your name on it as soon as I saw it!

Thanks Santa! Always need another bottle opener and flashlight. The clear corners were the perfect gift too, the set I have has rotted foam gaskets which you can't buy separately and these newer Depo's have rubber gaskets 👍

LOL! It really do bee like that 

I've receieved some extremely fresh threads in the mail! The return label didnt have a name, so thanks very much to whoever sent these! 

Fixed.
https://www.xdelete.app/