Bye Bye X5, hello D3 SE

[jep]

Finally taken the step and p/x'd my 04 X5 for an 07 D3 SE yesterday. It's not an auto or a petrol, so I'm fully resigned to taking the commute over the Peak District a little more slowly from now on, but I can't wait to get behind the wheel of a Disco again.



Next step is to swap my X5 winter alloys/tyres for a second set for the Disco and then I really can play in the snow!

[IroningMan]

Very smart. If it's a manual then look after the clutch - other than that set phasers to 'waft' and enjoy.

[camel_landy]

jep said:

Next step is to swap my X5 winter alloys/tyres for a second set for the Disco and then I really can play in the snow!

Hmmm... Check the dimensions of the alloys, as I have a nagging feeling that they might already fit your D3.

M

[jep]

Cheers IroningMan

I've read a little about the manual gearbox, and how the clutch can suffer from heavy wear during towing, but is there anything else I need to be concerned about?

I know next year will see the big "belts/pumps/105k" service, but otherwise the usual issues around bushes, air suspension (had to replace the compressor in the X5, so am used to that!), bootlid gas struts etc are pretty normal things to factor in to the running costs...

camel_landy said:

Hmmm... Check the dimensions of the alloys, as I have a nagging feeling that they might already fit your D3.

M

Cheers CL, I did wonder given the shared parts, however my X5 winter alloys are 235/65/17 which I believe may be too small for the D3 even if the tyre profile fits - happy to be corrected though as that would be a bonus!

ETA: Looks like there's a slim chance they're an exact match....

Spec	X5	D3
PCD	5x120mm	5x120mm
Bolt Pattern	5x4.72"	x4.72"
Offset	30-50mm	30-50mm
Hub Centre Bore	72.6mm	72.6mm
Wheel fittings	B 14x1.5mm	???

edited to merge posts

Edited by jep on Thursday 13th June 12:22

[IroningMan]

jep said:

I've read a little about the manual gearbox, and how the clutch can suffer from heavy wear during towing, but is there anything else I need to be concerned about?

There's a gear shift position ('x y sensor') sensor which can cause grief - it throws what appear to be very complex faults in response to the clutch slipping and the resulting mis-match between engine speed, the gear it thinks it's in and road speed. You lose the parking brake, gear indicator, reversing lights and all sorts.

It can be reset, and if it was a one-off clutch slip because of a poor pull away or duff gear change then you ought to see no more of it, but it may equally be your first indication that the clutch is on its way out.

Reading between the lines of the history of the problems somewhere like disco3.co.uk it's easy to imagine someone spending a fortune resolving the apparent symptoms - and then 'OMG now the clutch has gone aswell', when in reality it was a slowly failing clutch all along and nothing more.

[jep]

IroningMan said:

There's a gear shift position ('x y sensor') sensor which can cause grief - it throws what appear to be very complex faults in response to the clutch slipping and the resulting mis-match between engine speed, the gear it thinks it's in and road speed. You lose the parking brake, gear indicator, reversing lights and all sorts.

It can be reset, and if it was a one-off clutch slip because of a poor pull away or duff gear change then you ought to see no more of it, but it may equally be your first indication that the clutch is on its way out.

Reading between the lines of the history of the problems somewhere like disco3.co.uk it's easy to imagine someone spending a fortune resolving the apparent symptoms - and then 'OMG now the clutch has gone aswell', when in reality it was a slowly failing clutch all along and nothing more.

Ah, right... got it cheers!