Suspension help anyone?

[chelsea]

Hi, hope you are all well.

For a while now I have noticed that my e53 2005 d may be sitting a little lower on the left hand side but thought that it could be just me imagining things,noticed it immediately today when I got to work !

It seems to be sitting approx 2" lower on the passenger left hand side this is both front and rear?

I have done the usual searches and have got some idea of the problems it could be but nothing that says both corners, it seems its usually only one corner that goes bad.

Does anyone have any idea what it could be or are able to give me a link to some kind of trouble shoot for the problem?
many thanks for any help.

[graemeX5]

Hi

I assume you gave a 3.0 d diesel and usually they only have air suspension on rear at most, some just have springs all round.

Have you gone over any potholes as possibly you could have cracked a spring and so the car sags, but not sure if you would crack two springs on same side though but worth checking.

Also I know it's an odd question but just in case have you got a suspension switch, by which you can raise or lower the suspension, on dash to the right of steering column as fitted on the 4.8i? In which case that may explain it dropping both front and rear if there is leak in system. Normally if there is just air suspension on the rear then one side goes down due to a leak, aproblem with an airbag, the Compressor or valve block but it can even be a pipe.

If not then it may be worth checking suspension heights all round accurately when car is on level ground to check for the variances between both sides. If it's only a little lower on the drivers side it could just be the springs are worn, because when driving and you look at the car ahead with only a driver in generally it leans to that side as extra weight.

I know from experience that on my car it couldn't cope with a set of 22" wheels as the rear air suspension is set to cope with 20" wheels and so it end up on th rear one side higher than the other until recoded. I used specialist Jason at BW chiptune who fixed it - details on the forum.

Again it's worth checking the recent posts on suspension as I'm sure one was due to a faulty valve block next to the compressor

Hope that gives you a start
Graeme

[chelsea]

thanks graeme,
Will do a few checks at the weekend, it doesent seem to do it all the time, yesterday it sat straight as a die?

[X5-D-Sport]

Hi Chelsea,

Sounds like the valve block is leaking...

I filed a response to this one some time ago...

I managed to procure the exact correct silicone o-ring lubricant the manufacturers use to lube the seals, ad squirted some into the output side of my suspn pump.... let some air out of each side so the rear sagged a few inches, then fired up the pump again, then another cc of lube silicone, and pump again.....

Mine used to sag every few weeks.....
5 months on, it's never sagged since...

The seals dry out and pollution & dust gets in the pump after years of use & can create micro leaks in the seal surfaces due to dirt ingress.... the silicone flushes it through and wets the seal rings & seats again...

I got plots of this stuff & will gladly talk you thru it & mail you a syringe of this stuff if you want...
And it's gotta be cheaper than a new valve block....

If she sagged every day, then you defo have a leak...
If it's an occasional sag then its specifically the valve block in the pump housing....

Grant B

[chelsea]

Only just seen this reply Grant, well some months on I guess and it is/was still sagging, I have stripped the boot out this morning and done some tests etc (see other post) and have measured the height and will recheck in the morning and over the next few days, I have rechecked one hour after re inflating and all is still good so whatever it is then its only a very small leak and as you said if it does go down again then I will do as you suggested and service the valve block.
Many thanks for the tips Grant 

Paul.

[X5-D-Sport]

The valve block will be the likely culprit.
Administering the oil I have will instantly resolve the issue for at least 12 months.

The reason is that the "0" rings get dry in their seats & crap gets in there also & allows a small leak.
The silicone flushes this crud out & lubricates the seal again.