Bmw x3 FAQ And DIY compilation

It would be great to see a DIY for installing angel eyes on my X3. Its been a couple of years now that I purchased them but haven't attempted it yet for lack of any DIY's relating to said endeavor.

Originally Posted by PeteC

Great that this thread is now a Sticky. What is the "drive dog"?

Yes, thanks to KrisL for doing so!

The drive dog it's a plastic bracket (part of the window regulator) where the driving wire snaps in to make the window go up and down. This is the most common reported failure and there's no need to replace the whole regulator assembly (which is expen$ive). Drive dogs are around $50.00 and it's apparently a fairly easy DIY.
There's a link on the first post.

Added a 2004-2006 oil change DIY to the first post!

Approved Oil from BMW is attached, figured that it should be in the FAQ or other info section, thoughts?

Added!

Just thought I would add my 0.02.

If your sunroof gets stuck or moves only a couple of inches with every full push of button (when it should normally move all the way) you would want to reset it before calling dealer. To reset, turn the key to position 2, don't start the car, press the sunroof button "up" (where you press it to open in tilt position) and hold it there, after about ten seconds the sun roof will cycle through entire open and close cycle, do not leave the button till it completes the cycle. The sunroof is now reset.

Originally Posted by enamoured

Just thought I would add my 0.02.

If your sunroof gets stuck or moves only a couple of inches with every full push of button (when it should normally move all the way) you would want to reset it before calling dealer. To reset, turn the key to position 2, don't start the car, press the sunroof button "up" (where you press it to open in tilt position) and hold it there, after about ten seconds the sun roof will cycle through entire open and close cycle, do not leave the button till it completes the cycle. The sunroof is now reset.

Thanks! added to the first post.

Here is a source for SIB's - http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/tsbs/tsbsearch.cfm

Funny thing is, I can't find the T-case fluid one currently being discussed.

Originally Posted by kenza

X3-t, i have a DIY for window regulator drive dog repair and replacement. The doc with pics can be found at www.kenza.biz/rear-window-repair.doc

cheers!

I saved ths excellent file as a PDF which uses 510KB instead of the 6.5MB that the WORD 2007 Doc uses.

To avoid that long download, might be good to replace the link with this PDF file?

Also helpful for Apple users who don't have (or want) Microsoft WORD or anything similar on their machine.

I don't believe the overhead for the WORD formatting and infrastructure is warranted for something like this.

What do you think?

Great idea, thanks. Now we just need to get ahold of Kenza to see if he can switch it. I might as well add it to the list of attachments.

Sorry I haven't kept up to date with my sound system updates, but hopefully this pdf that helped me will make up for some of it.

This is what I used to remove the door panels and install speakers.

Originally Posted by X3-terrestrial

Great idea, thanks. Now we just need to get ahold of Kenza to see if he can switch it. I might as well add it to the list of attachments.

Supercorse, thanks for this conversion! X3-t, I guess you could put it as an attachment to the first post, that way it would not depend on my home PC

As it has been over 2 years out-of-warranty and no problems at all,
I thought my 2004 X3 deserved fresh fluid in the hard-working transfer case.

As with some other things, an easy job in the X3 compared to other BMW models:

About 2 years ago I started hearing an odd noise on cold startups as soon as D or R was engaged.

Dealer could not hear it even after keeping the car overnight, but I was fairly sure it was the tensioner pulley for the alternator, water pump, PS pump.

Got around to changing it last week, and the noise is definitely gone.
Original tensioner pulley was in better shape than I expected - just a slight rumble on spinning it, no discernible rocking.
Could have lubed it and put it back for another few years, but decided to put a new one on for fun.
Now it sounds quiter overall - but that's maybe the placebo effect.

Didn't want to mess with the hydraulic upgrade - will be happy with 6 years life on the replacement mechanical tensioner.
Makes better economic sense to me, particularly as some 3-series owners had failures of hydraulic tensioners.

Quick and easy DIY:

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Anyone have a DIY walkthrough of oil change for the N52 engine. Mostly interested in where the drain bolt is located and the torque setting for the drain bolt.

The oil drain plug on an LCI X3 (N52 engine) is located under the front plastic cover (the square one) on the aluminum stiffener plate. I torque mine to 30nm (22 -23 ft lbs) with a 3/8" torque wrench.

Originally Posted by SWMc

The oil drain plug on an LCI X3 (N52 engine) is located under the front plastic cover (the square one) on the aluminum stiffener plate. I torque mine to 30nm (22 -23 ft lbs) with a 3/8" torque wrench.

My drain plug is exposed in a round hole (always open). It is a 2007.

I just torque my plug to 18 ft-lbs. No issues!

Originally Posted by new_e46

Anyone have a DIY walkthrough of oil change for the N52 engine. Mostly interested in where the drain bolt is located and the torque setting for the drain bolt.

Changed my oil on my 07 si this weekend, took some pictures, will get them up some point this week.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...2&postcount=20

Would anyone have a DIY to get access to the rear shock mounts? If the rear shocks are like any bmw, they should be really easy to replace. Getting to the rear shock mounts are a bit different in the X3.

Anyone rip their rip their interiors out and gain access to the rear shock mounts and have detailed instructions?

Chagrin covered it near the end of this thread: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=271239


Worth putting the official procedure PDF (attach.) in the DIY compilation?

Is there a DIY for cleaning clogged sunroof drains? Pics?

There's a great post on the 5-series forum suggesting replacing the drain hoses with thicker, firmer hose. Has anyone tried this on an X3?

thanks for doing this..

Hi all.

Thanks for the tips on servicing the X3. I just did an oil change on my X3 and will have to do brake pads soon. I see the recommendation is to keep with the BMW pads, although they do create more dust.

Not sure what oil you guys use but I have always bought mine from Opie Oils. http://www.opieoils.co.uk/ I'm not sure about this forum but my Impreza forum gets a good discount.

My next service in 10k miles will also include the air and diesel filter. Does anyone have a guide where these are located ?

Cheers

Matt