[gmwman]

Well I made it over the initial hurdle sorting out my 535xi 6mt and have put 8k miles trouble free (almost) and commuting 400 miles/week with it so fingers crossed. Although it is far from perfect so I might start checking off some of the simple things I'd like to address and hopefully be on track to a 100% perfect car someday.

I had been under the car so often in the beginning I didn't put the belly covers back on and one morning a metal debris flew off a truck in front of me, hit my bumper, and went underneath my car. It sliced a power steering hose and I fixed it with flex tape and many hose clamps in the parking lot. I actually drove like this for a few days until the replacement came in and it didn't leak at all. Not making that mistake again, they are there for a reason!

Also before I started commuting every week I did rotors and brakes all around. Nice to see some shiny metal for a period.

Anyway the reason I am writing here now is because the front suspension is an inch or so higher than the rear which aesthetically drives me nuts. I already replaced the front suspension with all OEM parts although the height was different even before this. I replaced everything except for the springs.

Any ideas before I throw money at parts? Maybe springs, bags, strut mounts?

 

[HotGrbg]

I would research what factory ride height was on your year/model before trying to fix something that may not be broken.

 

[dharmabmw]

Does your car have air suspension in the back?

 

[gmwman]

Does your car have air suspension in the back?

I'm not even sure. Is that what the cylinder thing is next to the strut in the picture? I'm having a hard time finding it on realoem, closest thing I can find that looks like it is the control arm end stop.

 

[dharmabmw]

Enter your Vin into realoem. That will give you the build of your car.

I think the cylindrical part on the left side of the picture is a subframe bushing but you need to confirm that with a lookup.

Since I looked at the picture again, I can confirm that you don't have air suspension. The rear suspension system is coil over. It's possible that the rear strut on one side has lost it's gas charge leading to the sag.

 

[SunglassesGuy]

make sure both shocks are in good condition and the coil springs are mounted/aligned correctly and shocks have been installed at correct position. your car does seem to sit a bit high. maybe because its an xi ???

 

[gmwman]

make sure both shocks are in good condition and the coil springs are mounted/aligned correctly and shocks have been installed at correct position. your car does seem to sit a bit high. maybe because its an xi ???

I'll check the others. The struts bottom out on a lip on the wheel carrier piece. Can I simply raise the rear struts? Maybe when I go in for an alignment if I ever get around to replacing the steering rack which has a tiny leak.

 

[Doug Huffman]

TIS has guidance and requirements on normal position for ride height. Alignment does nod address ride height but does require the same standard position.

BMW TIS or NewTIS.info. Both subscription NewTIS requires invitation.