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To be honest, I didn’t mark the position on the eccentric bolts, but the place I normally take the car to for tracking will no doubt thank me for replacing them. They’ve had to heat the bolts in the past till they were orange to adjust them, so will be easy this time round. I’ve put the new ones in about the same position, so at least there is a starting point for them. The other bolts weren’t too bad to remove.

This has been up for a while now in various places, and nobody seems to want it. Think it’s time I separated this, put it up on eBay and bump up the price. And what with bmw parts prices these days, and the e46 starting to rise in value! Ah well, eBay here it comes!

Here is the hole in the arm. Completely stripped on both. I’ve swapped the arms, and a pita wasn’t the word! Had to cut both eccentric bolts off with an angle grinder, and used a chisel to loosen the last bits remaining. The install wasn’t easy either. Tip: do the outer ones first, then the eccentric bolts then the long bolt last. Took a while to get the bolts in, as it twists around, but done now. The grinder kicked back on me, and cut a brake hose, so new ones arriving in the morning. To be fair, they were looking a little old, so won’t do any harm to replace and bleed them.

The bottom bolts on the rear shock absorbers aren’t tightening up, as I had to use an impact gun to remove them. Can I use a helicoil kit or a timesert to restore the threads? I’ve bought some Chinese arms just in case, but a little dubious as to putting them on, and genuine replacements are going on 2k. Tried eBay, but no luck.

The plan is to get the rear arms, all the drop links and anti roll bar bushes and a rear axle carrier first, then do the lot in one hit. I got a set of bolts with the front arms, but may use bmw ones. I’ve had a good look underneath the rear end, and the axle carrier is rather rusty, so will either get a new one or get one in reasonable condition from a breakers and have it stripped and powder coated with new bushes. Im gonna price up having the bodywork on the chassis around the rear stripped back, etch primed and a couple of coats of Por 15 on, as there is some rust that has gotten underneath the factory coating, and if I catch it now, it won’t return.

Had to book the car in this week at main dealers, as front differential seal was leaking. Just over £700, but did have both sides done. I think that the old fluid was thick and didn’t leak much, but as it was only services a couple of weeks ago, the fresh fluid is getting out easier. The local specialist wanted £375 per side plus all the parts. Also wanted a £1000 just to change the front suspension bars and wheel bearings. Quoted for 10 hours work plus wheel alignment. I’ll do this myself and save the money thanks. Also received these yesterday. Just under £500 for the tie rods and front links, and £540 for the front bearings. Will get the rears in a few weeks, and tie rods and anti roll bar bushes.

If the oil leak is coming from the oil filter housing, your oil level will more than likely show too high, as coolant will be mixing in with it. Did this myself a couple of months ago. Torque setting is 20nm for the bolts. The other place it could be is the oil filler cap housing gasket, and that’s a 5 min job to do Which side of the engine is the leak coming free m?

A few more pics. And some of the other items are; power steering reservoir and pipes, heater blower resistor, fuel, air and oil filters, fan shroud, and whatever else I’ve forgotten.

Im selling all these items, as I no longer have the car, and need to get my x6 done. All bought for a 2003 325ci m sport Radiator, coolant tank, hoses, thermostat, fan clutch, fan and water pump. Condenser. All 4 wheel bearings, Brembo pads and discs with brake callipers hoses and backing plates, powder coated rear subframe with bushes, headlight washers with flaps and hoses, Bilstein b12 pro kit with matching eibach springs, all top mounts, bump stops, spring pads, android car stereo, both front wings, all brake lines, and other bits. I have all the receipts from main dealer, and am selling as a job lot. Perfect for someone who is overhauling their car. I also have 4 Michelin pilot sport 5 225/40/18 that if the person who says he is buying them doesn’t will be thrown in. Everything is new, and approx 6k worth. Im asking £2500 for the lot. Cash on collection and bring a van.

While the car was in the garage yesterday, I asked the tech to look at the suspension and all the arms. He said it would be cheaper to replace the arms and wishbones with oem ones as the labour to do the bushes would be a fortune. Im gonna change the springs and dampers anyway, and have already picked what Im getting, so will shop around and see what I can get the arms and wishbones for.

Just picked the car up from having the gearbox and differentials done. One of the studs on the gearbox oil pan was just spinning, so had to be drilled and a nut and bolt fitted. I’d got a fuel filter from main dealer, but had the wrong filter in the box, so went and got them to change it for me on the way home. I’ll have that fitted in the next few weeks when I have the power steering and brake fluid changed. Total cost for differential oil was £212, and the gearbox filter and oil was £591. Labour was £400. Now, I’ll save up and replace the wheel bearings and brake backing discs,radius arms, wishbones, rear subframe bushes and suspension. Anyway, driving the car now, the gear changes are smooth, and feels much better. Bet you’re all running round trying to get rid of your x6’s now!😂 When I bought this, I knew I’d have to pay out big due to the mileage. At this mileage, it would be advisable to refresh the suspension and handling, as by now, the stock gear is way past its use by date, and the engine work Im having done is both preventative and will give many miles of trouble free driving.

Here is my x6 40d. Bought last September, and am now in the process of bringing it up to scratch. First of all, these cars are hideously expensive to own and maintain as Im finding out. My C63 AMG is much cheaper to maintain, but as it’s an investment/show car- odd weekend car, I don’t use it often. The x6 had 2 previous owners and had 152k on it when I got it, and had to immediately have the timing chain done as it was rattling. I had this done by fixed automotive in Stockport at a cost of £1800. Then I had to do the tyres, as they were worn. 1250 for a set of Pirelli p zero runflats. I also changed the air filter and the 3 pollen filters which was about £130. In December, I had the transfer box fluid done for £120, then last month the gasket for the oil filter housing went. For a new gasket, bolts and an oil change and fresh bmw antifreeze came to around £300. Now it’s February, and the car is going in week after next for the fluids on the front and rear differentials and a gearbox service. That’s gonna be £1300. In April, the power steering fluid and the brake fluid are due, and that will be about £200. Also I am booking it in for the intake to be walnut blasted and the inlet manifold cleaning which is £750. Then it’s injectors, glow plugs, suspension arms and springs and shocks. I’ve looked at this, and have decided on Koni shocks with standard springs. After that, it’s the rod bearings, and a new oil pump. Now you know how expensive these cars are! I’ll update this as things are done. Other than that, it’s not a bad car. My biggest hate is that when you open the tailgate after it’s been raining, some water drips into the boot due to the design and the way water channels down the glass. Sometimes the parking sensors play up, but only when wet or covered in road grime. The interior is good, and other than the oyster leather needing a re dye, which the kit cost me £50 from the scratch doctor and a couple of the bamboo trims needing replacing because they have long cracks in, all I have to do is upgrade the hifi and put in a digital cluster As for fuel economy, normally 29 to the gallon, but when I did the oil filter housing gasket, I put shell helix ultra 5/30 in, and the mpg has gone down to 27, so might put in some Castrol edge 0/30 or 5/30 and see how it goes. As for fuel, I normally run on shell v power with an occasional tank of shell fuel save in it. Oh, and I got a set of floating centre caps off the mrs for Valentine’s Day, so will put them on tomorrow.

I use a bmw specialist near me, very well known and reasonably priced unlike genuine bmw parts!

The last time I did a dust boot on a ball joint was back in the 80’s! Been that long, that I’d totally forgotten about that. There’s no clunking or anything, am just doing a refresh of the chassis bushes due to the mileage. It’s going in for a gearbox service and new differential fluid at the end of the month, so I’ll get the garage to have a look and take it from there.

Hi, was about to order the front radius arms and top and bottom wishbones for the front of the car, but baulked at nearly £1500 from bmw. My question is can I get ball joints for these if I polybush them, and I have read that if I order lemforder or Mahle replacements, that the ball joints aren’t the same. Any thoughts on this?