Greydog

Morning Eric Fingers crossed clearing the codes has done the trick, have you re-read the codes to see what if anything has come back? Dave

Morning Eric Welcome to the Forum Your problem could be a number of things or a combination of them, my initial thought is fuel delivery. It could be a clogged fuel filter, a fuel pump or regulator fault or a MAF or throttle body fault. and last but not least a vacuum leak. You need the codes read to give you some clues, Dave

Morning Simon We live in a world where some see maintenance/servicing as vital to improving the reliability and enjoyment of their car, but I fear today there are an ever increasing number who don't know or care where the bonnet catch is or what is under it. They just drive until it breaks then moan about the cost of repair. This isnt helped with Dealerships and a lot of Garages who do the minimum work at service normally just an oil and filter change. The poor old gearbox manual or auto is a classic example of rarely being serviced in their life yet the gearbox manufacturers supply maintenance schedules which are largely ignored.by Car manufacturers and Dealers around the world. My weekend is planned for me just had an Air spring fail so a pair ordered, plus the auxiliary water pump has developed a small leak, the MOT is not far away so good poke around and check everything to ensure we have another year ahead. What some see as a chore I enjoy and find strangely therapeutic especially if I can fix or better still improve something. Once your on top of all the little bits you will enjoy it more Dave

Hi Simon I have read that when the EGR is blanked off there is a small vacuum pipe that needs plugging as well, Also many others who have changed glow plugs have also changed the glow plug controller. Smoke or vapour from the oil cap is not unusual but with the cap of and engine running you will lose crankcase pressure which will effect idle. If your smoke at idle is white it could be an injector weeping or something as simple as the crankcase breather system at fault. Sounds like you are slowly making progress Dave

Morning I don't have a diesel but I think these will be breather pipes check www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box it will bring up your model then search gearbox and front diff to see where the breather pipes are. Sadly I think whoever you brought it from was telling massive porkies to get rid of the car. A 184hp 3.0d in standard form could reach 60 from rest in around 8.5sec, 50 to 80 should be around 7 secs so as I said no slouch if you have the 218hp engine obviously things will be quicker. Both engines can be ecu tuned to give quite large increases in power and torque. If who ever you brought it from did a service themselves and used the wrong fluid the box could be toast I am afraid, If they didn't follow the correct filling procedure and the box is low on fluid or overfilled damage can occur. My suspicion would be he was having gearbox issues and rather than get it fixed he did a fluid change hoping it would somehow magically fix things?? Unfortunately you are now in the difficult position of deciding what to do, do you spend money on a gearbox refurb? do you try to sell as is to recover some money? I would talk to citizens advice to get some legal advice about where you stand with this. Good Luck Dave

Morning Shane I don't know where/who you brought your X5 from (Trade I hope) but the 184hp 3.0 Diesel produces over 400 nm of torque most of it low down the rev range and they are no slouches, torque is what accelerates the car. Also what are you comparing it too? As an example I have the 4.6is X5 which has been breathed on and has close to 400hp and enough go in any gear to embarrass a lot of much newer sports cars but not much more torque than yours, yet compared with my wifes Subaru Outback (Perrin 3.0 twin turbo engine upgrade) it feels slow. The Subaru has more power and weighs less, a lot less so is really quick, Your car should reach 60 from rest in about 8.5 secs with strong mid range on kick down. By your description that "the engine revs like mad but no go" are you sure it isn't the gearbox at fault, have you tried the gearbox in all 3 modes? Lock up clutches in the torque converter would be my thought, you need a gearbox specialist with Autologic software to check the box for faults, As you say it's a recent purchase I would be talking to the seller to see if they will help with cost, or fix it, even give your money back. A full gearbox refurb I would think will be in the region of £2500 minimum so not cheap. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news I hope I am wrong. Good Luck Dave

Hi John Like you I do 90% of my own just using the Garage for annual service/MOT to keep the service records stamped. I am sure I read somewhere that there were some issues with the Mechatoric valve body solenoids with the early 6 speeds but can't find it now? A ZF agent will be able to plug in and diagnose accurately so you can make a more informed decision, good luck. Dave

Sorry John you were unclear in your post and didn't explain that your headunit is not OEM. From the screen shot you have posted it looks to be an Android based system. to get information regarding upgrades you will need to Google the manufacturer of your headunit. There are several of these on ebay most are Chinese/ Dave

Simple things first, battery condition has to be tip top. Make sure your battery is fully charged. Disconnect the battery, take off the door card and using a really good electrical contact cleaner get to work on all the plugs, modules and airbag connections behind the door card same under the seat for the occupancy mat. reconnect everything and reconnect the battery clear the codes start the engine and see if the codes come back. If they do swap the front door control modules if the fault moves you know it's the module if it doesn't it is probably the air bag unit. It goes without saying take care and make sure the battery is disconnected when unplugging or disconnecting airbags.

Morning Jamie Welcome to the Forum, White smoke normally un-burnt fuel, Black smoke over-fueling, Blue smoke oil!! The cause could be turbo seals wearing or valve stem oil seals. Your engine is fairly low mileage and I assume serviced annually so worn valve guides or piston rings should be lower on the culprit list, I would look towards the turbo with the intercooler. Any oil in the intercooler pipes or intercooler can get sucked into the turbo result blue smoke. The turbo lives a hard life so if a turbo oil seal is wearing it could let oil by and result in blue smoke I would get it checked by someone who knows their way around diesels. I hope this helps Dave

Looks really nice, an ABS sensor isnt the end of the world annoying and frustrating but a relatively easy fix. Dave

Morning Micheal I would check the discount tyre sites they often have deals going on that would help. Our sons friend runs Nexen on his X5 3.0d same sizes as ours and has had no issues. I think the trick is to (a) stand a rear and front side by side to see how close they are in diameter if there is little difference OK, if there is a difference (my Dunlops were nearly 10mm) but swapped the front pair with the wholesaler and virtually no difference as I said bit of a faff but in my opinion worth it (b) Make sure you get 4 wheel alignment checked and adjusted if needed after fitting to protect your investment. My current set of Bridgestone were £670 fitted just over a year ago and I am very happy with them., it could be that due to odd tyre wear (tracking) the previous owner changed tyres at different times putting the wear rate (and rolling radius) out of sync. Good luck Dave

Not a diseasel driver Liam, however on my Brother inlaws 535 he gets an orange coil symbol it goes out after about 10 secs if you wait. He never waits and the car always starts first turn his car is also now mega miles as he commutes regularly to Holland for business. So dont know if that helps or not Dave

Welcome Richard Great choice enjoy your New Beemer Dave

Welcome to the Forum Alexei A real Pocket Rocket, you may have trouble getting the dog in the boot !! It will be interesting to hear your comparisons between the 2 cars ENJOY not jealous at all 🤭 Dave

Hi Simon Do you have a code reader? Certainly a BMW specific code reader would pin point just were the issue is, I use BMW 1.4.0 (about £15 on ebay) which gives me a clear description of the fault in English. Others I know use Carly for BMW or INPA which ever they would tell you (a) if it is an injector issue or something else as changing parts can become expensive. My sons Toyota had an injector issue the Dealer wanted a small mortgage to replace them, he went to a Diesel specialist (he used to service our Horse Lorry) he sent them off for refurbishing less than a 1/3 rd of the dealer cost. Dave

Hi Micheal Fingers crossed for you !! My 4.6 has the same size tyres so I know what you mean, obviously wind up occurs even in a straight line but is really noticeable when on lock parking reversing etc I would do the chalk mark test also every now and then open your door before you switch off if you hear a clicking sound after switch off the transfer case gear is damaged and will need attention.

Hi john www.newtis.info is a BMW technical information site as used by BMW Dealers so that should give all the information your looking for regarding tests and expected results Dave

Morning Micheal Welcome to the forum, tasty car. Tyre size looks OK (check the tyre info sticker on the door shut) but the Xdrive system is sensitive to different rolling radius of tyres front to rear, are your tyres fitted Run Flats (they should be I believe)? What your getting is wind up in the transfer case which can cause expensive damage. There is a ton of information on the Web on this subject which appears far worse with the staggered set up. BMW recommend only Star rated tyres be used to ensure the front/rear rolling radius is as close as possible. My X5 came with Yoko;s fitted when I brought it same symptoms as yours, I parked the car on a level piece of road and made a chalk mark on the tyre front and rear at ground level then got my son to roll the car forward while i watched the rear at 1 revolution chalk mark back to the ground the front had gone way past maybe 30 or 40mm. I fitted 4 Michelin Diamaris which fixed the issues currently running Bridgstones with no problems. Over the years I have run Pirelli, Dunlop and Falken but all 4 have been changed at the same time I always use the same fitting centre and we stand the tyres side by side to see if they are the same diameter before fitting. We did find a difference with the Dunlop's he sent the fronts back the replacements were a match. Bit of a Faff but cheaper than transmission damage. Dave

Morning John Welcome to the Forum The Steering Angle sensor is one of the few issues I have not had to deal with, I take it you have cleaned all the connectors/plugs with contact cleaner just in case it is a gungy joint that has a continuity failure when the system self tests at ignition on? Check www.newtis.info for BMW's test and check information. I have read about a few folks that have had to change the sensor and there are how too's on You Tube and the Pelikan parts website (US site but good info) Dave

Hi John Trevor is correct in suggesting a transmission specialist make sure they are ZF agents or approved repairers. Just a question I thought all ZF boxes fitted after 2006 were GA6HP19Z 6 speed boxes. Check www.realoem.com put in the last 7 digits of your Vin that will bring up your model then check the Gearbox section for numbers. I don't want to be a doom monger but if someone has refilled your box with the incorrect fluid it could kill the transmission. ZF recommend service/fluid and filter changes every 60 to 80000 miles BMW used to say sealed for life (read end of warranty as life) sadly they are not the only Manufacturer who says this. Fingers Crossed Dave

Welcome Liam Welcome to the Forum, You ask about the 5 series but your title says 430D I dont know if they are specked differently. My brother inlaws 535d estate does but it is 5 years old now so if I were you I would look at www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your vin number in the search box that will call up your model. Check if a dipstick was listed, it could be an option if the on-board system gives you level check facility. Check www.newtis.info also if a dipstick is fitted that may give clues as to where it is hidden. Good Luck Dave

Morning Simon If your EGR valve is a couple of years old it may well be worth giving it a clean, if the car only had short journeys they can soot up quite quickly. A couple of web sites I use that are a great help are www.realoem.com a BMW parts site if you put the last 7 digits of your Vin number in the search box it will bring up your model it ensures you will be getting the right part for your car. Then www.newtis.info the same technical information used by BMW Dealers this will tell/show how to change your filter.I did read somewhere that the system is self bleeding but check on newtis to be sure. I hope these sites help Dave

Morning Sam If your sensors are OK and there is no change with your new sensor fitted, there could be a fault in the loom or the ABS unit could be faulty. I would be looking towards the ABS unit, there are several repairers BBA Reman, ECU Testing, Autotronics, ATPelectronics to name a few. I have used BBA and Ecu in the past with 100% success both businesses offered an exchange unit 24hr turn around. I hope you get to the bottom of the issue Dave

Hi Warren I would expect that connector blocks/plugs will be the same it's their position that might vary, even if they don't match as you have access to the donor car wire cutters and a soldering iron may solve the snag. Check the DME part numbers are interchangable in case the engine management function was different (fueling etc) your smart phone is your friend take lots of pictures so you can compare one to the other. Pictures are great when putting stuff back as well, they may even help someone else in your position. www.realoem.com will give you part number information put the last 7 digits of your Vin in the search box and you will have access to all parts for your car. You can manually search the donor if you don't have the Vin. www.newtis.info is a BMW technical information site the same information as used by BMW Dealers that will help with how too's, torque settings etc. Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly Dave