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Reviving a flood damage E70

15K views 82 replies 29 participants last post by  NoI4plz 
#1 ·
2103 X5 which was flooded on the lot.
I have cleaned up inside after taking pretty much everything out and engine compartment. Replaced fluids, hand turned engine. Now the fun part of elctronics! I have replaced front and rear fuse panels. All the light on the dash light up when I put the key. The climate control, interior lights etc work. No power to command system, headlights, power seats, windows,doors, and engine. I also changed liftgate module which is working fine. where else shall I look for a major source of power distribution, before going to next step?
Thanks.
 
#47 ·
I think it was salt...I looked at the auction site where it was listed.
 
#46 ·
looong time noooo seeeee folks! :D

Didn't have time to read through all the BS, I just read the OP's post and jumped straight to here:

A brand spanking new 2013 model got flooded and you are trying to salvage it yourself... hmmm, what happened to insurance?
 
#50 · (Edited)
#54 ·
They might be different platforms, but the electronics architecture is the same or one evolution up for the F, compared to the E
 
#53 ·
Good work thus far.

BTW, how are the flex-ray cables underneath the carpeting. Are they okay?

One request, would you mind Visual documenting your progress, would love to see how the nitty gritty on the X5 repair process.!
 
#55 ·
Katanaplanet, this is a great project of yours. Truly a challenge but why not? I guess the reward may even not be the completion but the process of mastering each step. Wishing you the best of success. I am an engineer and if I would live next door, I'd come around to help. :thumbup:
 
#56 ·
Everything is possible, the question is sometimes if its worth it.
It's kinda simple:
0) remove everything from the car,
Wash every single piece with fresh water, then alcohol, dry it etc.
Flush engine and tranny, inspect all sensors, wash them off.
1) get full inpa
2) read modules one by one
3) replace it or fix them
4) put everything together and get rid of it;)
 
#57 ·
I have to say that I am a bit surprised by responses in this thread. Based on the purchase price, the vehicle can be parted out with minimal financial loss.

From a project perspective, a perfectly running 100% trouble free vehicle (even BMW struggles with that at times) may not be the end goal. Personally, I get alot of pleasure out of learning how and why something works. If Katana enjoys digging into the details and solving each puzzle, I could see how it could be quite enjoyable.

If in the end, he has a properly running vehicle, he will have had some fun and potentially realize a profit. If it fails, he may lose a few dollars. Either way, he still learned alot about how to troulbe shoot his vehicles. He got out of his wife's hair for a few hours and maybe enjoyed a beer or two while kicking around solutions with other enthusiasts.

I am interested in the results. I wish I was more savvy in BMW, I would offer to help.

Brian
 
#61 ·
A neat project, interested in how you go about it and the insight you can provide on the X5. It would be great if a thread could be started that you could document your progress without all the NOISE that comes naturally in forums such as this. I'll be on the sidelines cheering you on! Please keep us informed.
 
#70 · (Edited)
You may not but if you could provide feedback at the end as to the costs, it may help others who may be considering a similar effort. Of course, each instance may well be different but it would be nice to have a reference from someone who accomplished it as to what the final toll comes out to in the end.

I once restored a Hydroplane that everyone else had written off. What wasn't rotted was gone when I first started. I fiberglassed portions of the transom, replaced entire chunks of mahogany (boat was nearly 100% mahogany sheets), added a canvas front, etc. It was a 'summer project" for me and I am certain I spent WAY more than it was worth doing it but to me, it was a large model that I wanted to put back together better than new. At the end of the project, I enjoyed riding in it (until that one day I about flipped it doing 75MPH). We bought the boat for $10.00 and had nearly $2,500 into it at the end (2 heads & one racing lower unit, 4 props, etc). I think we got $1,600 from a collector and that helped me pay for my 1st year in college.

PS - The boat had originally set a speed record for the fastest straight line alcohol-burning engine of 99.17MPH in the late 60's & was even listed in the Guiness book of world records when I restored it (back in the late 70s). Mighty Flighty was it's name & I retained it when I restored it. It was a LOT of fun and very rewarding. I am certain you will find a similar feeling once you get to the end of this journey. Good luck & god's speed!
 
#71 ·
katana- Have you gotten a cable, laptop and EDIBAS/INPA.GT1 software up and running??? Cable is ~ $30, SW free...
 
#75 ·
Search here, Other sub-forums will have more geek focus.

Bmwcoding.com

Do either of the cars turn over? Run?

A
 
#73 ·
^ blue dragon is a good source of info on these matters :)
 
#77 ·
As I understand it, this guy is a BMW master tech. (I think...I like his posts and inputs..thx).

OP- when you have two dissimilar metals- like when a copper wire is crimped into a metal pin in a connector, and salt gets in their, it will cause corrosion due to moisture in the air and galvanic action- over time this corrosion causes the contact to become intermittent when the actual copper looses contact with the metal in the crimp, essentially 'insulated' by the corrosion.

This is why people have posted that 'freshwater might be OK'...the salt is like metastatic cancer, it can crop up later unpredictably.

What is challenging, you can undo the connector and it looks good- but you need to look into the actual crimp on each wire in each pin of the connector....

A
 
#78 ·
OLD THREAD ALERT....



Huh. Wonder what happened to this guy/car?

Any bets?

:angel:
 
#79 ·
Well the X5 was not as bad as I expected. Once I took the seats and door panels out an started following the wiring from the battery and changed modules coming in the way, rear fuse modules, lift gate module, fuel pump module, motors and modules for the front seats, windows(front and rear), front fuse panels and the main power module, engine module(under hood), spark plugs and wires. It came back to life except the main headlights which I knew needed the modules too.
Before I could put all back together, and start the 5 series an exporter offered 30K more for both as is, and i let it go!!
He shipped them to middle east I guess..
Since the vehicles were totally brand new it was not as hard or complicated as most people/experts here suggested. Most IMO had never opened a car before.
 
#80 ·
wow, that was fast. Thx for the update.

Getting the car running isnt the hard part- having it run for 5 years without issue is the trick...and that we dont know from your experience
 
#81 ·
Thats true. But Most of the body and parts are coated pretty good. Open connections, seat and door motors, and modules sustain most damage in a salt water flood.With all the seats and door panels, and carpeting out, cleanup is pretty thorough. Only thing I could not red rid of in my few days of restoration was salt residue on the aluminum in the engine.
 
#83 ·
was the net flip a profit?

That sounds good if its a profit
 
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