E28 M5 self leveling suspension

Hi, I recently bought a 1988 M5 with self leveling suspension (SLS) in the rear shocks. Just found out that there was no oil in the SLS reservoir by the spare tire. I went to the dealer and bought a quart of SLS hydralic fluid to fill it up (expensive at $26). It fills it at the minimum mark now.
When the car is runing, I hear the SLS pump runs (seems to be all the time), but not sure if the system is working. There seems to be no leak anywhere. The rear sits a bit lower than the front. How do I test or adjust the system to see if it works? Thanks!

Originally Posted by kkau

Hi, I recently bought a 1988 M5 with self leveling suspension (SLS) in the rear shocks. Just found out that there was no oil in the SLS reservoir by the spare tire. I went to the dealer and bought a quart of SLS hydralic fluid to fill it up (expensive at $26). It fills it at the minimum mark now.
When the car is runing, I hear the SLS pump runs (seems to be all the time), but not sure if the system is working. There seems to be no leak anywhere. The rear sits a bit lower than the front. How do I test or adjust the system to see if it works? Thanks!

I looked in my Bentley manual and it has nothing to say about self-leveling. I do remember some time ago hearing about people converting to the regular rear suspension because of the problems they were experiencing. Maybe the guys on the M-series forum could be more helpful.

Originally Posted by kkau

Hi, I recently bought a 1988 M5 with self leveling suspension (SLS) in the rear shocks. Just found out that there was no oil in the SLS reservoir by the spare tire. I went to the dealer and bought a quart of SLS hydralic fluid to fill it up (expensive at $26). It fills it at the minimum mark now.
When the car is runing, I hear the SLS pump runs (seems to be all the time), but not sure if the system is working. There seems to be no leak anywhere. The rear sits a bit lower than the front. How do I test or adjust the system to see if it works? Thanks!

Head on over to myE28.com and search their archives. Plenty of M5 info there.
If you can get the car safely up in the air, you can try moving the linkage from the rear sway bar to a valve plumbed into the SLS system to see if that changes rear ride height.

My E28 SLS was removed by a PO, so can't do a direct comparison.