E39 2001 B10 3.3 Ride Height Problem

Barry S · Post by **Barry S** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 12:31 am

I am a proud owner of a 2001 B10 3.3 (No 135) which has a drop in ride height on the rear offside (or maybe it is an increase in ride height on the rear nearside). On a level surface, the gap between the top of the rear nearside tyre and the wheel arch is 5.5 cm (3 fingers) whilst the rear offside is 3.75 cm (2 fingers).

I had the rear offside shock absorber changed but it made no difference to the gaps.

I would be grateful if a B10 3.3 could provide me with the measurements on their car.

Could the problem be due to a weak spring?

Many thanks.

Barry

Post by **Charles** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 1:11 am

I read somewhere recently that the chassis/suspension mounts are set to take into account a typically large German driver in a LHD car - hence why the nearside sits higher than the offside of your RHD car when unladen.

Probably complete tosh but placing 100kg in the front passenger seat and then remeasuring might generate a surprise result ...

Bruce M · Post by **Bruce M** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 10:19 am

It is possible that the spring is weakening. There will be signs of corrosion on the spring if this is the case.

However, BMWs do often had a slight variation side to side of about a cm of so.

So I'd keep an eye on it and if it get worst, consider changing the springs. Shocks shouldn't make any difference.

Barry S · Post by **Barry S** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 12:09 pm

Charles and Bruce,

Many thanks for your responses - very useful.
I've owned numerous BMWs for over 30 years and never had one that had a really noticebale tilt on one side so I'm favouring the weak spring problem at the moment.

Is anyone with a B10 3.3 able to provide me with their measurments between top of tyre and wheel arch?

Barry

---pete--- · Post by **---pete---** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 1:15 pm

Different car but my 2000 B3 has the same noticable lower offside. When I spoke to my local BMW dealer, they inspected and found no issues with springs etc but did mention what Charles has said about the setup allowing for a LHD driver!

Barry S · Post by **Barry S** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 1:30 pm

I've booked the car in with 'Wheels in Motion' in Chesham for a complete chassis and suspension alignment check (Â£45 plus VAT) - they reckon they will find the problem.

The car handles fine but it is just so annoying see it on the drive leaning to one side! (maybe I'll have to create a dip in the drive).

Bruce M · Post by **Bruce M** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 2:35 pm

found mention of a tweek on a E46 forum.

The 4WD E46 models use a thicker rubber cushion between the spring and the chassis. Some owners use one of the thicker pads to correct the slight lean. The std rubber pad is 5mm thick and the 4WD one is 15mm thick.

probably not worth the hassle though!

Barry S · Post by **Barry S** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 2:57 pm

Thanks Bruce - I reckon my problem is a bit more involved than a tweek but it's interesting to see how system can be changed if required.

Bruce M · Post by **Bruce M** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 3:03 pm

Ah, the wonder of google.

via another forum, this is a well discussed "issue".

The driver weight bias theory gets plenty of flak because there is nothing in any of the technical manuals about it.

However, as part of the chassis alignment process, there is a test (extract from TIS on the net). The car is supposed to be correctly weighted (not M3), with weights in both front seats, the rear seat, boot and a full tank. Then the ride height is supposed to be measured on both sides (from wheel arch edge to the lower rim lip on the alloy). If the measurement is out of spec, the car needs repaired (probably a new spring). Interestingly, the spec listed for each model (no Alpinas obviously) allows for a tolerance of +/- 10mm. So the maximum acceptable variation side to side would be 20mm (+10mm one side, -10mm on the other). Note, the measurement method eliminates any tyre variation. So if the difference is >20mm them the car is out of spec, although this doesn't necessarily spot a problem, if both springs have sagged.

Barry S · Post by **Barry S** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 3:08 pm

Thanks Bruce - I reckon my problem is a bit more involved than a tweek but it's interesting to see how system can be changed if required.

Barry S · Post by **Barry S** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 3:12 pm

Ooops - submitted the previous response twice!

Bruce - that's very interesting. Amazing that my B10 sounds as if it's within tolerance - it's just a shame my eyes don't see it that way! Ha ha.

I'm very interested see the results of the chassis/steering alignment test.

joylove · Post by **joylove** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 3:15 pm

An error of 50% is permittable? Yikes!

sward · Post by **sward** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 4:00 pm

My B10 3.3 has a slight drop on the driver's side rear, about 1 finger width less space between top of tyre and arch compared with the nearside. I asked Sytner Birmingham to have a look at it when it was in for service last month, and they checked all the suspension components and declared there to be no problem. Sounds rather like your car but the other way inclined! I can measure these gaps for you tomorrow. I take it you'd like it in milimeters rather than in fingers!

Barry S · Post by **Barry S** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 4:56 pm

sward,

That's the same side as mine and the difference (in fingers) is the same - very interesting. I presume Sytners didn't check the springs?

When I look at the rear springs, I can see 6 coils showing on one side (the 'high' side) and 4 on the 'low' side.

I've also noted that the drop on the rear driver's side results in differences between the gaps at the front wheels as well (although not as much as the difference at the back).

Yes, if you could let me have the wheel arch to top of tyre for all 4 corners of the car, that would be great.

Post by **Charles** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 6:36 pm

Being serious for a moment, mine has been like this since the first day I got it - namely the nearside rear being slighly higher than the offside.

Plenty of alignments in between and nothing to note in terms of misalignment, damaged springs or the like.

Just a quirk in the chassis set-up, perhaps?