Preventative maintenance on E70

[AdamsX5]

Not sure the pipes at solenoid leaked as he changed bag so would have just took off pipe at bag or would he take the solenoid off as well?

[Alan Gunn]

You can reset the transfer box yourself with the foxwell 510.

[Leslie]

Guides I watched let the air out at the solenoid first as the fitting on bag is hard to reach in situ plus car will drop like a stone if not fully supported as the bag s holding it up and you could get your fingers trapped. On a lift access is likely to be far better though ones I watched where just on the roadside no lift Sure they have their own way of doing things .

[AdamsX5]

Come to think of it they do release at solenoid first .
They do have lift for access for raising car but you have to get air out before you can get back out anyway so it must be let out at solenoid.
I’m trusting their judgement but I guess if new bag leaks then I’m dealing with a bunch of clowns. Sure my compressor is fine as it’s raised now all day.
The moral of story for me is “ if it Ain’t broke don’t fix it”
Should have waited until it got to this position before I got it sorted.

[Leslie]

Those little brass ferrules can leak if they have been on and off a few times sure they will have it sorted this time and I wouldn't want to leave it till it pops out on the road so best changed now

[AdamsX5]

Have the Arnott bag fitted which seemed well made. Cost £157 for bag. Anyway he took old bag out and it’ was creased but no sign of leak or holes. Anyway I asked him how he changed old bag which had collapsed. He said they just bust it and air came out. So didn’t need to get air out via solenoids. So he said it must be bag as he didn’t touch compressor area. Anyway he took second bag out using solenoid procedure and once out he inspected it. Said it was creased and threw it in bin.
Anyway hoping the bags hold pressure overnight.
He insisted that even though one bag was faulty both sides would be down in the morning as the car has self-levelling suspension. I stated not sure car would self-level if it was off. He assumed it did.
I hope it doesn’t sit on the ground tomorrow but my hunch says it will. Will report tomorrow and see what I need to do if it does.

[Alan Gunn]

My car sat for 3 weeks while we where away but had not gone down at all.
Biggest shock was it started first go lol it only did 20 miles in the 2 weeks before we went as well.

[Graeme]

Your man's insistence on the car levelling evenly on each side if one bag leaks is at odds with my experience. A leaking bag caused my car to sink on that side. I've had two bags. First was the left one at about 130k about 3 years ago. Symptoms were the car sank on the left side overnight, right side normal height. 18 months ago the right side went at 145k and again similar symptoms - down on the right overnight. Once the car was started the pump inflated the leaking bag but when parked the weight of the car gradually flattened the bag and the car sank on that side! The self levelling suspension resets when a new bag is inflated with the car on the ground, rather than on a ramp. It levels the front to back, not side to side, so the headlight beams are the same whatever the load in the back.

[AdamsX5]

Car has been sat since 11am this morning and no sign off air loss although I didn’t measure ride height at the time but it’s about same if not a little less. If the bag as leaking surely it would take less than a few hrs to flatten it. The leak maybe from the installation or valve block on the solenoid. If installation of small bolts on air pipes are tighten at either end bag and solenoid then leaks might occur. That would mean both sides would suffer if both bags were changed. However only one bag was changed so the other valves shouldn’t have been touched to let air out and if he is saying he didn’t even do that then replacing it with a second hand bag would mean a passenger side or faulty bag side lower ride height.
This has baffled me as it defies logic.. on Bmw outpost forums this happens to someone on both sides but not every night like intermittently. That surely isn’t s bag leak as that would be daily not now and again.
Anyone any clues .. why were both sides down when one bag has been changed... smell something fishy but I‘m giving them the benefit of the doubt.

[AdamsX5]

Update this morning :

Ok went to see state of rear air springs this morning
Measure both sides yesterday and they were roughly the same about 10cm from tyre.
Today passengers side is still the same where the bag was changed. However the drivers side is about 1cm less. So the theory that car self levels when it off is bullshit.
Now my assumption on this is the passenger side is fixed
as we have a new bag(Arnott) but the drivers side has a slow leak as it’s an old bag so it’s on its way out. What I don’t understand is why was that side all gone yesterday morning but holding up 90% today.
Lost for words here.

[Graeme]

Adam - if you haven't already done it, you need to have the car on flat level ground. Measure the distance from the centre of the wheel hub vertically to the highest point of the wheel arch, front and rear. Then compare the measurements each side...

Hope this helps,

Graeme