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Lock diff is an instant red flag.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1365354043.htm Pretty tempted by this, but it has been through a bunch of owners recently, with latest owner only having for a few months. I think it was $1 reserved earlier in the year. The filter on the photos looks turned up to maximum. Anyone know history on this one? Thoughts on these after 170k's?

Very good chance its the final stage register - sometimes people call it the hedgehog. Make sure you replace with a genuine one, as the cheaper ones are known to not last long before failing.

I enjoy BMWs. I'll go out on a limb and say the main reason I got one was actually to learn how to wrench. I have no delusions on this point, and it's pretty common on these forums even for the words "It's cheaper if you do the work yourself" with the full expectation of having to do work on it. One can argue every car needs work, and this is true. That said... 'regular maintenance' in reliable cars means regular oil changes. Not overhauling cooling systems... When Jalopnik is saying BMWs suck for reliability, their other end of the spectrum are Toyotas that last a million miles. We joke about 'lifetime fluids' that last the life of the warranty, isn't that simply an acceptance that it's not really just the trans fluid, but the whole car that's engineered for that 'life of the warranty' ? That's sure what it feels like when reading about the newer E60 and beyond, specially given comments on this forum about any newer BMW with over 100k KMs on it.

They look nearly rust free !

unbolt the driveshaft at the diff end and check the joints for beig seized etc

Vehicle Identification Number WBAFA92050LE56776 Type FA92 Model X5 4.8is - EUR Development Code E53 Chassis GEFZG Steering RL Doors 5 Engine N62/S Displacement 4.80 Power 265 Drivetrain ALLR Transmission AUT Color Le-mans-blau Metallic - 381 Upholstery Exclusivleder Walknappa/schwarz - V9SW Production Plant SPARTANBURG Production Date 2004-10-07 Exterieur Interieur 360° Standard Equipment 2KD Light Alloy Wheels V Spoke 168 Lm Raeder V-speiche 168 221 2-axle Self-leveling Suspension 2 Achs Niveauregulierung 226 Sports Suspension Settings Sportliche Fahrwerksabstimmung 249 Multi-function For Steering Wheel Multifunktion Fuer Lenkrad 255 Sports Leather Steering Wheel Sport-lederlenkrad 261 Side Airbag For Rear Passengers Seitenairbag Fuer Fondpassagiere 302 Alarm System Alarmanlage 321 Exterior Parts In Body Color Exterieurumfaenge In Wagenfarbe 413 Luggage Compartment Net Gepaeckraumtrennetz 423 Floor Mats, Velour Fussmatten In Velours 442 Cupholder Getraenkehalter 459 Seat Adjustm., Electr. W. Memory Sitzverstellung, Elektr.mit Memory 471 Interior Line Graphite Metallic Interieur Line Graphit Metallic 481 Sport Seats F Driver/front Passenger Sportsitze Fuer Fahrer/beifahrer 488 Lumbar Support Driver/front Passenger Lordosenstuetze Fahrer/beifahrer 494 Seat Heating F Driver/front Passenger Sitzheizung Fuer Fahrer/beifahrer 502 Headlight Washer System Scheinwerfer-waschanlage 521 Rain Sensor Regensensor 522 Xenon Light Xenon-licht 534 Automatic Air Conditioning Klimaautomatik 775 Individual Roof-lining Anthracite Individual Dachhimmel Anthrazit 785 White Direction Indicator Lights Weisse Blinkleuchten 840 High Speed Synchronisation Hochgeschwindigkeitsabstimmung 853 Language Version English Sprachversion Englisch Options 205 Automatic Transmission Automatic Getriebe 328 Aluminium Running Board Sill Aluminium-trittbrett 354 Green Stripe Windscreen Gruenkeil-frontscheibe 386 Roof Rail Dachreling 402 Panorama Glass Roof Panorama Glasdach 430 Interior And Exterior Mirror Packa Iinnen- Und Aussenspiegelpaket 441 Smokers Package Raucherpaket 464 Skibag Skisack 508 Park Distance Control (pdc) Park Distance Control (pdc) 548 Speedometer With Kilometer Reading Kilometertacho 601 Tv Function Tv-funktion 609 Navigation System Professional Navigationssystem Professional 638 Car Telephone Professional Autotelefon Professional 672 Cd Changer Bmw For 6 Cds Cd Wechsler 6-fach 676 Hifi Loudspeaker System Hifi Lautsprechersystem 810 Australia Version Australien-ausfuehrung 818 Main Battery Switch Batteriehauptschalter 825 Radio Control Oceania Radio-steuerung Ozeanien 861 Change Of Coding Data Set Aenderung Codierdatensatz 864 Overseas/dealer Directory Service Kontakt-flyer Uebersee 880 English / On-board Documentation Englisch / Bordliteratur 925 Shipping Protection Package Versandschutzpaket 984 Coding Service Interval Kodierung Wartungsintervall

The clone is usually at Caffeine and Classics each last Sunday of the month at Smales Farm North Shore, come have a look! https://www.facebook.com/CaffeineAndClassics

I admit it. I have 'issues'. I see something that looks well-engineered, and it makes me feel all tingly. (Just tingly... Don't get carried away!) How about the CAE shifters? Not cheap, but what do you expect? Conrad Timms - m3motorsport.co.nz - makes some fabulous parts, too: Seen anything that fits in this category? The sort of thing you perhaps don't need, can't justify, but want.

Thanks that fixed it... I'lll make sure to always leave it running for a few mins lol.

Bad landing??? Sorry