Strange Noise & Rear suspension Problem??

[martinc]

Hi all,

I have just bought a 2007 X5 3.0D and its suddenly developed a problem.

When you unlock the car and open the drivers door a strange noise comes from under the drivers seat area? it sounds like a fan catching fouling and is loud? This sound continues for approx 5 mins.

In addition to this the rear of the car is currently sat very low on rear ( Both sides ) and will not move at all, this also brings a fault on the dash " LEVEL CONTROL SYSTEM FAILURE" ???

I would appreiate any guidence as i cant drive it as it is because the ride is very very hard as you can imagein with car being on the stops.  :'(

[pcdee]

Sounds like the pump which inflates the rear air bags.

Mine went a few years ago and sounded similar to your description

You also shouldn't be driving it.

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[martinc]

thats what my local garage said , is it an expensive fix? or is it a DIY job?

Also is it worth replacing the airbags on the rear at the same tieme?

thanks for the advice , i wont be driving until fixed.

[pcdee]

[quote="martinc"]
thats what my local garage said , is it an expensive fix? or is it a DIY job?

Also is it worth replacing the airbags on the rear at the same tieme?

thanks for the advice , i wont be driving until fixed.
[/quote]Not too sure about the pump but the bags you can diy.

Cost wise I think your probably looking at about £600 for parts only.

I bought my pump of ebay which came from Germany.

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[Alan Gunn]

Sounds like the pump is running all the time.
It could be the valve on the pump has dirt/dust in it.
You can fix them with a strip down clean and then some lubrication on the parts when putting back together.

[martinc]

yeah i agree with the advice , ive looked at pricing one up and its coming in around £400 , and the airbags are £60 each.

i take it thats its wise to replace the airbags at the same time?

[Alan Gunn]

[quote="martinc"]
yeah i agree with the advice , ive looked at pricing one up and its coming in around £400 , and the airbags are £60 each.

i take it thats its wise to replace the airbags at the same time?
[/quote]
You can get a kit to repair the valves on the pump.
Do a search on here as it was talked about in the last few months.

[martinc]

Oh right , that might be a possibility. Thanks

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[martinc]

Also , how difficult are the airbags and compressor to change??

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[DavetheBlade]

Air bags not that difficult to replace, I should know I've replaced 3 sets now in the space of 2 weeks. The first 2 were the Ebay specials at just under £50 each, these failed within an hour of fitting, supplier sent replacements, these failed within a week. Gave up with them and went to Eurocar Parts and ended up with a pair of Bilstens. I think they're listed just under £300 each bit had a 50% discount code so reasonable for a known make. That was 7 months ago and still fine.
When the ebay bags went I assumed they must be good so started looking at the compressor and valve block. Once you've got the panels off on the drivers side, just disconnect the electrical blocks, then it's 4 bolts to drop the cage holding the compressor. From there you'll easily see what needs to be done to swap the compressor. The Arnott site has good how to's on this but hopefully it will be just be your bags as your symtoms sound the same as mine and bags cured it, eventually.

[martinc]

Thanks for that as I was just looking at the eBay ones ! Will definitely go the euro route now.

I think the compressor is on its way out as it's making one horrible noise so I might get a new one or a reconditioned one .

Any recommendations?

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[DavetheBlade]

You may get lucky with the ebay ones, I know many have just not me but I can't fault the quality of the Bilsteins compared to the cheaper ebay ones.
Maybe wait and see how the compressor is once the springs have been done. They're not the most tuneful of things at best, mine sounded like a cow being rogered by a pneumatic drill when the springs were leaking but sounds fine now when it occasionally fires up.

[martinc]

That's interesting , so it might be worth just  replacing them and see what happens I suppose. Hopefully it's still ok.

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[martinc]

Parts have finally arrived !

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