The low mass X-ray binary ( LMXB ) associated with the M31 globular cluster Bo 158 is known to exhibit intensity dips on a \sim 2.78 hr period .
This is due to obscuration of the X-ray source on the orbital period by material on the outer edge of the accretion disc .
However , the depth of dipping varied from < 10 % to \sim 83 % in three archival XMM-Newton observations of Bo 158 .
Previous work suggested that the dip depth was anticorrelated with the X-ray luminosity .
However , we present results from three new XMM-Newton observations that suggest that the evolution of dipping is instead due to precession of the accretion disc .
Such precession is expected in neutron star LMXBs with mass ratios < 0.3 ( i.e .
with orbital periods < 4 hr ) , such as the Galactic dipping LMXB 4U 1916 - 053 .
We simulated the accretion disc of Bo 158 using cutting-edge 3D smoothed particle hydrodynamics ( SPH ) , and using the observed parameters .
Our results show disc variability on two time-scales .
The disc precesses in a prograde direction on a period of 81 \pm 3 hr .
Also , a radiatively-driven disc warp is present in the inner disc , which undergoes retrograde precesson on a \sim 31 hr period .
From the system geometry , we conclude that the dipping evolution is driven by the disc precession .
Hence we predict that the dipping behaviour repeats on a \sim 81 hr cycle .