Car is lower on one side

[Jona1971]

Hi,

The gap between the top of my tyres and the wheel arches is 80mm all round except the rear offside which is 50mm.

I've had a look underneath and the spring looks OK. The rebound test seems fine with 1 bounce.

Any ideas?

(It's a 318i auto pre-facelift saloon)

Thanks,

[Speedtouch]

Assuming you've done the measurements with the car parked on level ground, the possibilities are;

1. Bent trailing arm
2. Seized trailing arm bush(es)
3. Different tyre profile/wheel size
4. Facelift rear wheelarch has been fitted - those were about an inch lower at the back than the pre-facelift ones.
5. Sagged coil spring
6. Broken coil spring mounting platform

[Jona1971]

Thanks for that,

I turned the car around 180 degrees and the measurements are the same.

1. ok, don't know - could be
2. ok, don't know - could be
3. same wheels and same make and profile of tyres
4. I measured both sides of the car and the gap between the wheel arch and the top of the car is the same
5. I measured the spring and the "saggy" side is 5 inches and the ok side is 6 inches
6. Can't tell, but it looks ok

It's getting the car MOT'd next week I'll get them to have a good look.
My rear disc brake conversion may be closer than I thought...

[Speedtouch]

Sounds like a sagged coil spring to me...

[Jona1971]

Thanks, I think so too.

[TheDutch]

Could also be the damper, replacing mine made a noticeable difference to ride height.

[Jona1971]

Right, I replaced the trailing arms, trailing arm bushes and springs when doing a rear disc conversion. The car handles better with less wallowing around the corners but the rear offside is still 30mm lower than the rear nearside.

I have the dampers from the Touring donor car but have not fitted them due to no access to the top as I've got a big lpg tank in the boot.

Also, I noticed the rear beam moved when jacking up the car, could it be these bushes?
Any other ideas?

Thanks,

[Speedtouch]

Could well be:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... ame_Bushes

[Jona1971]

Thanks Speedtouch,
Yep, reading the article it looks like that's the problem.

[Jona1971]

OK, I've ordered the bushes.

How long should this job take? I'm considering letting the garage do it when they MOT the car this week.

[Jona1971]

Rear bushes replaced and its all OK now. No nasty thunks or dodgy ride height.

[Speedtouch]

Good to hear that, dude.