[marmit2017]

I have a 2011 535i with adaptive drive and recently had the oil pan gasket replaced, so they had to drop some components of the suspension and recalibrate. The front now sits noticeably higher afterwards, to the point I notice the headlight aim is higher than before. Anyone experience this or know a remedy? I had the Indy reinitialize the suspension a few times but still the same

[Blue Angel]

Did they tighten the suspension and sway bar bushings before lowering the car? If so, all the inboard bushings on the suspension need to be loosened and re-tightened with the car's weight on the suspension. Not doing this will cause the bushings to bind and add to the "sprung" rate of the front suspension, holding it at a higher ride height.

There are 10 bushings in total:

2 on each upper control arm (4 total)
1 on each lower control arm (2 total)
1 on each thrust arm (2 total)
2 on the sway bar (2 total, one on each side)

Realistically they would only need to reset the bushings they removed or loosened during the process. Other than that I can't think of any reason why the car would sit higher after a service like that, especially if they didn't touch the shocks/springs in the process.

[Blue Angel]

Also, there are level/height sensors for the headlight aiming. If the tiny brackets that hold the sensor tie rod to the control arm got bent this could affect your headlight aim. Just a thought, since technically the headlights should adjust themselves to the new higher suspension position (auto-correct their aim). If they're aimed high/low from where they should be that bracket may have been bent or not replaced properly if they removed it (not sure why they would have to?).

[marmit2017]

Originally Posted by Blue Angel

Did they tighten the suspension and sway bar bushings before lowering the car? If so, all the inboard bushings on the suspension need to be loosened and re-tightened with the car's weight on the suspension. Not doing this will cause the bushings to bind and add to the "sprung" rate of the front suspension, holding it at a higher ride height.

There are 10 bushings in total:

2 on each upper control arm (4 total)
1 on each lower control arm (2 total)
1 on each thrust arm (2 total)
2 on the sway bar (2 total, one on each side)

Realistically they would only need to reset the bushings they removed or loosened during the process. Other than that I can't think of any reason why the car would sit higher after a service like that, especially if they didn't touch the shocks/springs in the process.

Excuse my ignorance, but does it have to be tightened this way because of the adaptive drive components or would it be the same for base suspension?

Also is it going it be a lot of work to readjust, or is access to loosen and tighten the bolts easy?

[Blue Angel]

Ideally a shop would have a drive-on style (4-post) lift for this job, the same kind used during alignments. This allows good access while keeping the car "on the ground".

The main undertray cover has to come off to give access, but that's a two minute job once the car is elevated. The lower control/thrust arm bushings are then accessible, and resetting them is a simple two-wrench job. The upper control arm bolts are more involved, but I can't see why they would have loosened those to get at the oil pan? I have no idea about the sway bar bolts since my car is not Adaptive Drive, but I can't see them being too much work once the undertray is off.

If you follow BMW maintenance to the letter those lower control arm bolts should be replaced every time they're loosened, but I don't subscribe to that. If you do they're not expensive, and replacing them requires unloading the suspension, installing them loose, then torqueing to spec once the car is sitting on the ground again, preferably after being rolled forward/back and jostled around a bit to settle the suspension.

If I had a hoist and an alignment rack I could easily do this in less than an hour, unless the Adaptive Drive sway bar bushings are a pain for some reason. This would still be less than a two hour job in my driveway... I just went through this very thing after lowering my '16 F10.

[marmit2017]

Originally Posted by Blue Angel

Ideally a shop would have a drive-on style (4-post) lift for this job, the same kind used during alignments. This allows good access while keeping the car "on the ground".

The main undertray cover has to come off to give access, but that's a two minute job once the car is elevated. The lower control/thrust arm bushings are then accessible, and resetting them is a simple two-wrench job. The upper control arm bolts are more involved, but I can't see why they would have loosened those to get at the oil pan? I have no idea about the sway bar bolts since my car is not Adaptive Drive, but I can't see them being too much work once the undertray is off.

If you follow BMW maintenance to the letter those lower control arm bolts should be replaced every time they're loosened, but I don't subscribe to that. If you do they're not expensive, and replacing them requires unloading the suspension, installing them loose, then torqueing to spec once the car is sitting on the ground again, preferably after being rolled forward/back and jostled around a bit to settle the suspension.

If I had a hoist and an alignment rack I could easily do this in less than an hour, unless the Adaptive Drive sway bar bushings are a pain for some reason. This would still be less than a two hour job in my driveway... I just went through this very thing after lowering my '16 F10.

Thank you, I really appreciate your input. I saw the car visibly sat higher afterwards, but what confirmed it was the headlight aim is now higher which I could definitely tell. I do know that the car wasn't on an alignment rack, just a standard lift. I thought the Indy I took it to would know these procedures as they came highly rated. I'll take it back to them to look at.

[Blue Angel]

That's just the most obvious reason I can think of for sitting high.

If they don't have a drive-on style lift then tightening the bushings with the suspension loaded can be a pain. I did it on small service ramps in my driveway, tightening as much as I could to keep the bushings from moving, then jacking the car up and torqueing afterwards.

Good luck, and let us know if that solves the problem.

[marmit2017]

Originally Posted by Blue Angel

That's just the most obvious reason I can think of for sitting high.

If they don't have a drive-on style lift then tightening the bushings with the suspension loaded can be a pain. I did it on small service ramps in my driveway, tightening as much as I could to keep the bushings from moving, then jacking the car up and torqueing afterwards.

Good luck, and let us know if that solves the problem.

Does your car have adaptive drive or just the normal suspension?

[cdmulders]

Originally Posted by marmit2017

Does your car have adaptive drive or just the normal suspension?

My two cents worth - as far as I know, adaptive drive (electronically controlled shocks and in some cases sway bar) does not affect ride height. The computer & sensors just affect the compression and rebound rates to change the way the car handles. Therefore, I believe Blue Angel is on the money for a likely cause of your suspension height changes. The only thing I can add is that I have read in some cases where the springs were not seated properly causing a height difference. Is it also possible that the front springs were not put back properly? This is a guess on my part and could be completely in err.

Good luck!

[marmit2017]

Originally Posted by cdmulders

My two cents worth - as far as I know, adaptive drive (electronically controlled shocks and in some cases sway bar) does not affect ride height. The computer & sensors just affect the compression and rebound rates to change the way the car handles. Therefore, I believe Blue Angel is on the money for a likely cause of your suspension height changes. The only thing I can add is that I have read in some cases where the springs were not seated properly causing a height difference. Is it also possible that the front springs were not put back properly? This is a guess on my part and could be completely in err.

Good luck!

I thought springs are not removed when replacing the oil pan gasket, but I could be mistaken?

[Unspec]

Originally Posted by Blue Angel

Ideally a shop would have a drive-on style (4-post) lift for this job, the same kind used during alignments. This allows good access while keeping the car "on the ground".

The main undertray cover has to come off to give access, but that's a two minute job once the car is elevated. The lower control/thrust arm bushings are then accessible, and resetting them is a simple two-wrench job. The upper control arm bolts are more involved, but I can't see why they would have loosened those to get at the oil pan? I have no idea about the sway bar bolts since my car is not Adaptive Drive, but I can't see them being too much work once the undertray is off.

If you follow BMW maintenance to the letter those lower control arm bolts should be replaced every time they're loosened, but I don't subscribe to that. If you do they're not expensive, and replacing them requires unloading the suspension, installing them loose, then torqueing to spec once the car is sitting on the ground again, preferably after being rolled forward/back and jostled around a bit to settle the suspension.

If I had a hoist and an alignment rack I could easily do this in less than an hour, unless the Adaptive Drive sway bar bushings are a pain for some reason. This would still be less than a two hour job in my driveway... I just went through this very thing after lowering my '16 F10.

Those bolts must be replaced. They are TTY.

[Blue Angel]

Originally Posted by marmit2017

Does your car have adaptive drive or just the normal suspension?

Mine is just the standard suspension. Well, it has coilovers now, but no Adaptive Drive.

[Blue Angel]

Originally Posted by Unspec

Those bolts must be replaced. They are TTY.

Agreed, officially.