• $1500 purchase price. Ish.
  
• All wheel drive required
  
• Vehicle may not be equipped with Low range
  
• No sharing what you bought 'til you arrive in August (Matthew is coming on the trip but we know what each other bought)
  

• It runs well
  
• The transmission shifts through all five gears on its own
  
• All the windows, door locks, rear hatch, and sunroof work
  
• It is blue and has most of its clearcoat (minus a small spot on the roof)
  
• The tires are all matching and have decent tread remaining - about four years old
  
• It drives well, no real steering slop or front-end slop under braking
  
• Someone installed an "Eonon" Android head unit with USB/Bluetooth and some of the speakers work
  
• It'll do 70 mph and not overheat or otherwise make me worry (for now)
  

• The dashboard is a Christmas tree (ABS, DSC, Brake fluid, transmission failsafe, Service Engine Soon)
  
• Although the turn signals, headlights, high beams, hazards all work, the cluster doesn't really tell you about it
  
• It only sometimes knows how to make door chime sounds
  
• Occasionally it doesn't realize you've closed the door or buckled your seatbelt
  
• It's dirty as shit inside
  
• Headliner is falling down a bit in the rear
  
• Headlights are foggy (but can be polished)
  
• The Eonon head unit is impossible to figure out and some of the speakers do not work
  
• Keyless entry remote doesn't work - the door lock cylinder was replaced and a separate key is required to operate the locks
  

(06-17-2019, 01:14 PM)ScottyB Wrote: this might be my favorite trucky thing you've bought.  how long are you keeping it after you flog it on the trails?

with an orbital polish and some simple green/leather wipes inside, it might actually look kinda awesome...at least good enough to flip it and not lose your shorts.

(06-17-2019, 01:30 PM)JPolen01 Wrote: I don't hate this at all. Will you have a stop midway through the excursion where you make modifications to each vehicle?

(06-17-2019, 06:36 PM)davej Wrote: Perfect buy!  My only question is regarding light bars. How many, over 10, will you be installing?

Edit for a second question. Does this have a factory tow hitch? Apparently you can sell those for probably half of what you paid.

• Replace O2 sensor
  
• Replace FR wheel speed sensor
  
• Clean MAF
  
• Bleed brakes
  
• Oil & filter change
  
• Transmission drain & fill (kit from FCP Euro, new filter)
  
• Replace ignition switch
  
• Clean the everloving funk out of it
  

(06-17-2019, 10:14 AM)Jake Wrote: I went off-roading in the Shenandoah Valley last year with some friends. We decided to go again this year, but add a Top Gear-esque "challenge" element to it.

Challenge Rules:

• $1500 purchase price. Ish.
  
  

(06-17-2019, 10:34 PM)Steve85 Wrote: Love this idea!

Oh, and if this is the trip you took with Tom (with his wife's Raptor), be forewarned, he is a LeMons veteran and therefore well versed in bullshitting budget limits. He'll show up in a stadium truck and be like "it's a lifted junkyard camry..."

(06-18-2019, 10:11 AM)NTIman Wrote: Inlet valve sounds more like something in the ABS module. Likely internal wiring to a specific solenoid.

Probably worth driving down the road and graphing the wheel speed sensors to make sure those are ok (which I imagine they are).

Depending on what's available for that vehicle and that scan tool, you may be able to run an active test on each solenoid to test their operations.

(06-18-2019, 11:19 AM)davej Wrote: If you want to try an abs module swap we've got that e39 540i you'd be welcome to pull from.

Unsure of compatibility, but I think they need to be recoded if you put a different one in.

(06-18-2019, 01:36 PM).RJ Wrote: I'm going to assume this X5 shares its same basic architecture (kcan) as the E90 - if thats the case then if you only throw parts at it then expect disappointment and an empty wallet.  These things are unfortunately so interconnected and the scan tools really dont tell you enough other than symptoms, leaving you in the dark for troubleshooting.  See if you can get your hands on a laptop loaded with the dealer software.

Case in point - a bad TPMS module took down the whole canbus and put the car in limp mode in my E91.  But the symptoms pointed to any one of a dozen causes so said the internet - water intrusion, a bad fuse box, other interior controller, etc, and the problem is they all are prone to failure.

But good luck.  I think this is a worthy challenge.

(06-18-2019, 02:42 PM)Jake Wrote: It's just a big E39, actually.