'02 x5 4.4 rear air suspension issues

[jjmead1]

First thread so I apologize in advance...

I recently purchased this x5 from a friend who had the rear air ride sensors replaced. He did so because it was sagging and would not return to ride height. Now a few months later I own it and the same issue is present. I can sometimes hear the compressor trying to inflate but the ride height never returns. I feel like it happened after I washed it at a typical coin op.

I tried searching the forums but the forum search currently crashes and won't perform. Sorta like my air ride system.

My questions are
1. can you completely get rid of this system?
2. what parts and have you done it?
3. is it possible to do with a jack and jackstands?
4. with some degree of mechanical fortitude about how long does it take?

Found this and it looks too easy, and still leaves me with the air system.
https://youtu.be/zmQ8XqPy4B8


I got the X5 for little and have replaced the left drive axle and all the brakes. I am fairly mechanical, but do not own any power tools, only hand tools so let me know if this presents and issue.

Thanks and I apologize for not finding any answers using the search, it just crashed every time. Youtube seems to have some help but they all seem to be not my vehicle. I tried my first oil change using Youtube to locate the filter, spent a while underneath looking for the filter....only to later return to common sense and find it up top in plain sight.

[David.X5]

Fixing it is probably $100 or $200. Swapping it with coil overs or some such is probably $1000-$2000.

Why not fix it? Sure you don't have a leaky air bag (what BMW calls the air spring)? It's very common and the Arnott replacements are not expensive.

Not a good car to own if you can't pay AND can't DIY when it needs fixing. It will need fixing frequently...

[jjmead1]

David,

I am pretty good at fixing. I hate paying because I believe I can fix it myself. Thus far, I have fixed everything I have come across. Looked at replacing the air bags, most likely will follow that route. Seems the least expensive route. Appears to take about three hours.
Thanks for your reply.

[CapeX5]

before you just start throwing parts at it, i.e. air springs, diagnose the problem specifically!! Could be a leaky air fitting, a split hose, etc! Diagnosing problems correctly is the hard part. Fixing is easy. Look at the system, and figure out by process of elimination what the issue is.

[jjmead1]

I am going to trouble shoot for sure.
One other question, is it possible to reset by simply disconnecting battery for a few hours?

[bmw540san]

I'm sure some may disagree but it seems to me that about only advantage of rear air bags is if you're towing something it stays level.
Everything else I read about leads me to conclusion that OEM coil springs setup is superior to air bags.
Also, if you shop around it's actually relatively inexpensive to switch to conventional setup.
Case in point: For under $1200 I got parts listed bellow and I'm about to tackle it this weekend (all parts are either OEM, Bilstein, Vaico or other reputable brands)

Rear:

2 x Bilstein Performance (not sport) yellow shock
2 X OEM BMW rear coil spring
2 x OEM BMW shock boot
2 x OEM BMW upper spring pad
2 x OEM BMW lower spring pad
2 x Vaico shock mount
2 x Febi additional shock absorber (hard foam insert)
6 x OEM BMW shock mount nut


Front (reuse OEM coil springs):

2 x Bilstein Performance (not sport) yellow strut with built in boot
2 x OEM BMW upper spring pad with built in bearing
2 x OEM BMW lower spring pad
2 x Lemforder strut mount
6 x strut mount nut


I consider Bilstein Performance (formerly called HD) to be perfect replacement for my X5. Some claim they're to harsh but I believe it's matter of personal choice. I have them on both E39 and my wife and daughter don't consider it harsh either.
P.A soft that I have can easily delete suspension warning light after removing rear air bags.

[Awntchi]

" a friend who had the rear air ride sensors replaced "

The first thing you should check is that sensor, your friend might have reassembled it the wrong way...these sensor have to be is a specific position (long arm pointing upwards with a slight angle). Could be an easy and cost free fix...

[jjmead1]

Looking in to this tomorrow. Thanks. Did find out one air hose was pinched under compressor housing.
Pulled battery and put back in. Dynamic ride light came on dash and so did abs light.
Fuses seemed fine. Still unaware of main cause of failure. More work to be done tomorrow.

[Awntchi]

It's a common X5 issue, pulling the battery will almost always cause these lights to go off. There are many threads on this forum about this. You might get away with fixing the 4x4 light by doing the wheel turn (lock to lock) procedure but it might also have fried the module. I would scan and reset these errors first before tearing into anything.

Let's hope it is the air hose that was the culprit...even easier fix than the sensors

[jjmead1]

I need to trigger the compressor. I am going to start by checking sensor positions.