alternator bracket leaking oil?

[bigweb2001]

Hello, my 4.4 is leaking oil pretty good - my local Indy shop quoted me $1K to replace the gasket! (10 hours of labor, $5 gasket!).

Does this sound legit? common problem?

[fast4d]

what gasket? front timing cover? oil pan?

[PMPNX5]

Not sure if the 4.4 is the same setup as 3.0 but I replaced the oil filter housing gasket for $6.00 and a lot of time which the dealer quoted out at like 5 hours. Saved quite a bit, but was a real pita. There's a DIY somewhere on here about it. 10 hours seems crazy for any gasket though!

[bigweb2001]

I didn't even know there was a gasket on the alternator bracket, but this is what the area looks like:



Damn, these trucks are expensive to keep running!

[Weasel]

Yeah, the M62, M62tu, N62 and N62tu engines all have those profile gaskets behind the alternator housing. It is a big labor job and hard to get to. Those labor times are pretty much on que with most of them unfortunately. What year is your X5?

[bigweb2001]

Thanks, my 4.4 is a 2004. Sounds like I'm going to have to have it fixed, is there anything else I should ask the Indy to change while they are in there? In other words, are there other gaskets, etc, they can change while they have it apart to save me additional labor down the road?

Thanks

[Weasel]

Nothing really overlapping, it is a separate job from other common leaks. But if you have the water cooled alternator make sure they have some fresh BMW coolant on hand.

[joeboch348]

id change the alternator and water pump while its apart.

[Weasel]

If it is the water cooled alternator it is an expensive beast! I personally wouldn't worry about replacing it till it gives trouble.

[bigweb2001]

Just a sad update. I went to the dealer to get the emissions recall done and asked them for a quote for the leaking oil.

leaking alternator bracket gasket: $1700.
leaking timing cover gasket: $2500.




Back to the Indy, and give me the deal!

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