TDIclub Secret Society of BMW Owners (SSBMWO)

[KrashDH]

Well, my very first experience diving into an auto transmission is complete. Oof, I will miss the manual in the TDI (but I still have a Cummins manual).
I split the valve body and replaced a bunch of components with upgraded ones. then did the transmission flush and fill which is black magic in itself. When I first put the girl in "R" to get it off the ramps, I was relieved when nothing blew up. So many tiny parts and check valves and such in that valve body

 

[Zambee500]

Well I am joining the club. Reading JM Popaleetus posts last couple of pages sums it up for me too. Not sure what I am getting myself into here, but the crappy Chrysler minivan has to go and picking up a 2018 X5d with 80k miles end of this week. I'll be third owner. From the CarFax report, looks like the first owner put 74k miles on it and was dealership maintained. The second owner only put 6k miles on it, but it has a relatively new set of Pirellis on it and I'm thinking if someone put top end tires then they probably took good care of maintenance items. If not, only 6k miles overdue. Just don't know if it was the first or second owner who put the tires on it, but I'll try to get a date code off of them and see if that helps.

I guess first things first will be an oil change. Looks like our trusted vendors have oil change kits for this vehicle in 0w30, 5w30, and 5w40 flavors that are all LL04 spec. What's the conventional wisdom on BMW diesels and how hard they are on motor oil? Good for the 10k OCI?

And looks like ZF recommends transmission service on the ZF8HP every 80,000 - 120,000 km (~50-75k miles). So that will be on the short-term to-do list as well. A tune and address alphabet issues will be longer term priority (unless it needs a replacement DEF tank or NOx sensors, etc. sooner).

Hope it proves trouble-free in the very short term.

 

[Tin Man]

Well I am joining the club. Reading JM Popaleetus posts last couple of pages sums it up for me too. Not sure what I am getting myself into here, but the crappy Chrysler minivan has to go and picking up a 2018 X5d with 80k miles end of this week. I'll be third owner. From the CarFax report, looks like the first owner put 74k miles on it and was dealership maintained. The second owner only put 6k miles on it, but it has a relatively new set of Pirellis on it and I'm thinking if someone put top end tires then they probably took good care of maintenance items. If not, only 6k miles overdue. Just don't know if it was the first or second owner who put the tires on it, but I'll try to get a date code off of them and see if that helps.

I guess first things first will be an oil change. Looks like our trusted vendors have oil change kits for this vehicle in 0w30, 5w30, and 5w40 flavors that are all LL04 spec. What's the conventional wisdom on BMW diesels and how hard they are on motor oil? Good for the 10k OCI?

And looks like ZF recommends transmission service on the ZF8HP every 80,000 - 120,000 km (~50-75k miles). So that will be on the short-term to-do list as well. A tune and address alphabet issues will be longer term priority (unless it needs a replacement DEF tank or NOx sensors, etc. sooner).

Hope it proves trouble-free in the very short term.

BMW actually recommends, at least for 2016 535d LL12-FE 0W30 and shows it protects better than LL04 so you might want to research and see what the engine label is in your particular car. My engine compartment verifies this with a sticker from the factory.

I have 4 Blackstone engine oil analyses with Motul full synthetic done that are quite good at 10,000 mile intervals.

Cheers

 

[JDSwan87]

Spotted a black BMW X5D in Ohio on the 80/90 turnpike Thursday 8/8/2024 with a Florida license plate MAX TORQ. Have to wonder if he lurks here as well.

 

[KrashDH]

I've been doing a lot of work lately to the 335d.

• Installed an Android HU that can switch between android and the stock BMW CIC
• Backup cam
• Front and rear dashcams
• All new rotors, pads, fluid flush
• Rear window seals
• Windscreen ceramic tint to protect the inside from UV (80%, doesn't even look like anything is on there)
• New suspension setup to ditch the coilovers (used European OEM Mperformance springs and Billy B8's)
• New wheels and tires
• Converted the rear console cover (with the vents) to one that has usb power outlets (even though I'll never have ppl back there likely)
• Fixed all the stripped plastic threads where the cabin filter bolts down with brass inserts

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Wow. You have been busy. Bet it looks nice.

I realized yesterday that I parked my 335d in the IDParts warehouse in early May after state inspection and haven't driven it since. May be time to drag it out.

 

[Zambee500]

I've been doing a lot of work lately to the 335d.

• Installed an Android HU that can switch between android and the stock BMW CIC

If I may ask, what head unit did you install?

We have Android-using drivers in the house, and we picked up a 2018 X5d earlier this summer, which was the last MY before BMW started supporting Android Auto. The original owner did option the Apple CarPlay though, so it's got that for the 1 iPhone driver in our family.

So it's on the priority list, albeit not at the top yet, to get Android into the X5 and get this sorted out.

Seems to be several options from changing out the head unit with an Android HU (which is what I did to my 2014 CKRA Passat) to buying a Multi-Media Interface (MMI) running $300 - $700 that plug into the back of the O.E. iDrive head unit and supposedly run seamlessly with O.E. screen/system.
I also see a Android iOS Box for $200 that runs Android through Apple CarPlay via the auxiliary port. But when you use the Aux port it, apparently, doesn't allow you to use Sirius/XM or the tuner or other iDrive media options. So it's either/or.

 

[LNXGUY]

Get a Mr12Volt MMI that runs audio through the MOST bus. Fairly certain they make one for ID6 (NBTEVO)

 

[KrashDH]

If I may ask, what head unit did you install?

We have Android-using drivers in the house, and we picked up a 2018 X5d earlier this summer, which was the last MY before BMW started supporting Android Auto. The original owner did option the Apple CarPlay though, so it's got that for the 1 iPhone driver in our family.

So it's on the priority list, albeit not at the top yet, to get Android into the X5 and get this sorted out.

Seems to be several options from changing out the head unit with an Android HU (which is what I did to my 2014 CKRA Passat) to buying a Multi-Media Interface (MMI) running $300 - $700 that plug into the back of the O.E. iDrive head unit and supposedly run seamlessly with O.E. screen/system.
I also see a Android iOS Box for $200 that runs Android through Apple CarPlay via the auxiliary port. But when you use the Aux port it, apparently, doesn't allow you to use Sirius/XM or the tuner or other iDrive media options. So it's either/or.

I ended up going with a Mekede unit with the Snapdragon 680 processor, with 8/256. It's been great so far. I've installed a backup camera with it as well.
I didn't run audio through the AUX center console plug in though, there's a way to run it through the quadlock, but you have to go into ProTools or similar and activate the "Rear Aux" option. Sound quality is on par with the regular car BT despite what you see on the forums.

Get a Mr12Volt MMI that runs audio through the MOST bus. Fairly certain they make one for ID6 (NBTEVO)

Ah hey I recognize your handle from over on the Bimmerforum

 

[hanknum]

Anyone here from Santa Barbara? Particularly, anyone here with a E70 with the license plate "BMW TDI"?

 

[Tin Man]

Well, my wife and I went full hog into BMW EV's with a 2023 i4 eDrive35 and now for me an i5 eDrive40. Both are very nice and handle very well, getting well over 100 mpge and paying $0.016/KWHr getting about 3 miles per KWHr. I consider it a "next step" since owning a diesel in the USA is difficult if one is a new car buyer. I'm not a "Greta" but consider myself a practical environmentalist.

Our 2017 Jaguar XE 2.0d was ruined by the dealer and poor support from Jaguar so we traded it in with some problems after about 67,000 miles. The dealer since has been bought out but Jaguar looks like it will lose its US market.

One of my best friends bought my 2016 535d with 159,000 miles very well cared for (no, I didn't "drive it like I stole it" and fed it only brand name diesel from busy stations) with the BlackStone lab reports near perfect through 158,000 miles on Motul LL12 FE 0W30 oil every 10,000 miles.

I'll miss the diesel and sort of am still attached to it but BMW EV's are exceptional. My Bavarian-born mechanic refuses to work on diesels because its so "rare" so I've moved on.

My past diesels:
1997 Ford Navistar 7.3 turbo E450 chassis 30 ft. Safari C-class motorhome
2002 VW NB TDI GLS 5-speed
2004 VW NB TDI GLS PD DSG
2005 Mercedes E320 CDI
2011 BMW 335d sport package
2016 BMW 535d
2017 Jaguar XE 2.0d

Cheers.

 

[KrashDH]

A bit of big news for my 2011 335d saga...

After a lot of deliberation and going back and forth, I've decided to move forward with manual swapping the car. It's going to be a big project, but I found someone that had all the parts from a donor 330d over in Europe that is shipping me everything except the clutch (won't hold the d's power anyway) and 2.35 rear diff (need that ratio for this swap). I found a 2.35 diff which is pretty rare so I snatched it up. The only thing I need now is a clutch to hold the power since I'm pretty decently tuned (375whp/600 ft-lb tq). I've got a couple leads from 2 or 3 companies on potential clutch options. It's going to be tough though as I want it to be well mannered, not a super heavy pressure plate, and not rattle the gearbox to death. I think I may be able to achieve 2 of those things.

We'll see how all this goes, parts are being shipped, plan for the swap is April/may when it warms up

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

I'll watch this with interest.

 

[KrashDH]

I'll watch this with interest.

I probably won't do an in depth write up, there's a couple of threads over on the e90 post about this swap, but as I do, I'm sure I'll be taking pictures along the way and try to post some up.

The auto in these are honestly beasts, and since I rebuilt the valve body with the Sonnax kit, new solenoids, and seals, it's cherry. But I'm just not personally getting along with the auto.