My bad: I heard the death-rattle from the alternator bearings, but drove home anyway Sunday night. Heading up the ATL Downtown connector, I thought I'd hit some road trash when the alternator light illuminated and the coolant temp gauge spiked. Fortunately, close enough to drop it off at a nearby indy shop. The freezing alt. had blown out belts, pulleys, and took half the fan blades! It did give me the opportunity to install the replacement Bosch alternator I bought in September 2017(!) when I first heard the alternator rattle [but it didn't fail]. Now 215k miles on my X5 bought with 81k miles on it in October 2013. I've driven it way more than I expected .....

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2006 X5 3.0 6-spd w/Evo UUC ssk
sport/premium pkgs
born Valentine's Day, 2006.