2010 BMW X6 40d E71
Discussion
Jakg said:
Fas1975 said:
Love it. Had an E71 40d myself for 3 years. Chopped it in for an X6M F86 and regretted it almost immediately.
Interested to know what you didn't like about the M - I was originally after an E71 X6M but there was a big variation in prices.Just didn't feel right. 9mpg didn't help, but for me, it just didn't feel right, and I definitely had buyers remorse immediately. I even had a moment when the two were parked side by side on the dealer forecourt thinking, what am I doing, but the ULEZ extension and having family within that zone was the driver for change
Fas1975 said:
I keep scouring the ads for a petrol E71 with the right spec.
Petrol makes way more sense for my usage profile, but there were barely any for sale and at stupid prices.d_a_n1979 said:
Yeah, they're either leggy or really expensive. But searching is half the fun 
Keep us posted with yours, following the thread with interest
Keep us posted with yours, following the thread with interest
X6's come with a 21mm rear anti-roll bar.
Same is used on the E70 X5, but the sport-suspension models get a 23mm one (as does the F16 X6 as well).
Access is fairly easy, just four bolts. Normally would swap the bushes and drop-links etc but my wallet still stings a bit and the ones on the bar I bought were better than what I already had fitted.
Working outside because the garage has a different immobile car for a change
Access is good but everything is crusty
Some penetrant later and the links came off without issue, was amazed
Slightly awkward getting the bar out - mostly because it's a metre long and the cars not that high off the ground, struggled to get the stands stable on gravel.
You can visually see the bottom one is a little thicker.
Same is used on the E70 X5, but the sport-suspension models get a 23mm one (as does the F16 X6 as well).
Access is fairly easy, just four bolts. Normally would swap the bushes and drop-links etc but my wallet still stings a bit and the ones on the bar I bought were better than what I already had fitted.
Working outside because the garage has a different immobile car for a change
Access is good but everything is crusty
Some penetrant later and the links came off without issue, was amazed
Slightly awkward getting the bar out - mostly because it's a metre long and the cars not that high off the ground, struggled to get the stands stable on gravel.
You can visually see the bottom one is a little thicker.
Jakg said:
The drivers side of the engine has a thick coating of oil, tracked the source back to this boost hose. Common on M57 engines but not found much about the N57.
Unfortunately this was not the main problem - after swapping, even before I got it back on the road, there was visible oil on the bottom of the engine.The tell tale is oil leaks off and onto the exhaust flexi, which burns off when hot causing smoke (and obviously an unpleasant smell).
The rocker cover gasket is a common problem on the N57, but also so is the rocker cover itself - it's plastic sections, glued together from the factory which can crack or warp.
I watched some videos on replacement and read TIS but it seemed like a lot of work, inlet manifold and scuttle trims needed removing etc. When I started I got even more confused - the TIS instructions didn't map to the car, and it seems like the ancillaries on N57 cars are very different, changing what needs to be removed etc so I just ended up guessing most of it.
Airbox, inlet piping, injectors, pipework and fuel rail removed
The injectors came out very easily (I got the engine hot in advance), which was good as they are known for being problematic.
The injectors were looking a bit of a state however
There's a receipt a couple of years ago for a new rocker gasket and injector seals, someone's definitely been in here before.
I've removed injectors on an M47 before and just put them back in many times without issue, but this time I thought I'd do it "properly" - injector bores cleaned, seats recut etc
Cleaned the injectors up and gave them an ultrasonic bath as well, they still aren't pretty but much cleaner. New copper washers and leak off o-rings.
When I removed the injector clamp bolts (which go through the valve cover) they were all covered in oil, which isn't right
Quite a bit of fighting later and the cover was off
There's a wiring loom that circles around 3/4 of the engine, and then all the pressure converters with it's vacuum lines on the other side. So you need to disconnect a lot of stuff to get slack to free it up. But all done without removing inlet or scuttle panel.
Old vs new cover
It's an aftermarket part and although advertised for my car, the N57 had two different variations of cover - the later one is a slightly different design, which is what this actually is, and I had the earlier one. Different shape gasket (not an issue now obviously) and has a separate part to mount the engine cover is, which wasn't included annoyingly so I've ordered one separately.
Closer inspection and the old rocker cover looked ok, but the gasket (which is 6 years old) looks like it's melted
Cleaned up the mating faces and put it all back together - I was a bit worried with all the cleaning I'd contaminated the oil with fluids etc so I gave it a change as well, and fitted a magnetic sump plug.
Because the fuel system was drained down, I bled it on ISTA before starting - it would've started eventually, but this apparently makes things easier on the high-pressure fuel pump.
All back together and... nothings exploded. Which is good going, as this was one of the more complex jobs I've tackled. Whether it's fixed the leak, we'll see!
Edited by Jakg on Saturday 18th May 00:24
The X6 came with CIC iDrive, USB & Bluetooth, but in early CIC fashion you can't stream music over bluetooth and USB is for USB drives, not phones.
I tried to fit a USB 3.5mm Bluetooth adapter as a temporary measure, but something was broken internally in the 3.5mm socket so I replaced that.
I also fitted a USB C power supply for faster charging. Not the neatest install, but fairly hidden in the armrest.
I tried to fit a USB 3.5mm Bluetooth adapter as a temporary measure, but something was broken internally in the 3.5mm socket so I replaced that.
I also fitted a USB C power supply for faster charging. Not the neatest install, but fairly hidden in the armrest.
Jakg said:
The X6 came with CIC iDrive, USB & Bluetooth, but in early CIC fashion you can't stream music over bluetooth and USB is for USB drives, not phones.
The solution to these problems is a Combox - BMW speak for an optional multimedia interface found on slightly later CIC iDrive installations.I have one in my 335d and it works well, but it came already retrofitted. To get one installed is >£400 so I thought this would just sit on the back burner for a bit.
I typed the part number into eBay expecting to have to wait and instead there were loads, and £50 later I had one to work out how to fit.
The car currently has the TCU & MULF modules, which the Combox replaces.
The TCU is on the wheel arch in the boot, and the combox goes here.
The MULF module is under the rear seats on an X6 - on an X5 it's next to the MULF, which would've been much easier.
Removed the seats and pulled all the wiring back.
The combox uses a different connector, but requires the connections from both the TCU & MULF.
Luckily I already had a TCU -> Combox adaptor spare
I just needed to connect the MULF connections into the combox plug as well.
Unfortunately because the MULF was further away, the connections weren't long enough to get back to the combox, so they had to be extended. I tried soldersticks for the first time over crimps, mostly so that when terminated it wouldn't be too bulky so could rewrap the loom.
On the combox end I bought the proper MQS terminals so that it *should* just clip in like factory... unfortunately, it didn't.
In hindsight, I should've got the genuine BMW connections with a loom on the end and used those as the extensions, and wired it up without the adaptor as well into a new single connector.
Combox fitted with some slight modifications to the aerial connection.
All together and looks fairly neat thanks to lots of loom tape...
Coding was fairly straightforward:
- Write the VIN to the combox (note - it's the VIN the car is coded with, not the actual VIN - theres no check digit on the one on the car!)
- Update the VO codes to remove the TCU+MULF stuff and add the combox stuff, write back to the car
- Default-code some of the modules so they reconfigure themselves around the new VO
- Code out the TCU SOS warning as I couldn't get it to go away otherwise
After all that, USB phone connectivity, with album art
I was getting poor audio quality (popping, crackling etc) and it was suggested it might be a MOST issue - the TCU, MULF, amp etc all sit on the MOST fibre optic loop, so if you remove one (e.g. like I have with MULF gone) you have to bridge the cable to keep the loop connected.
I tried a different bypass loop but that didn't work at all, I found that the MOST loops seem to all go via a junction box which happens to be next to the combox etc - I could remove the whole redundant MOST leg that went to the MULF and move the connections over like it was never there, which is much neater.
Removed MOST cabling vs bypass
Back together and works fine now, and the whole retrofit has been less than £60, so I'm happy, plus I learnt quite a bit.
Finally, updated the 14 year outdated maps
Nice work on it. The combox is a must have for CIC installations now, and how funny in the location of the MULF. My E91 has had a combox fitted, the prices of some of the bits are wild. Like the plugs. I have BMW apps working now and the only one that is worth it is Spotify. Most other apps have stopped working now, and are useless. Spotify still allows searching and other good stuff, although the logo has gone funny…
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