Alternator Bracket Seal - Anyone did this job tthemselves?

[rocksteadyX5]

Has anyone attempted to replace their leaking Alternator bracket seal themselves? I couldn't find much detail write up on doing it on the N62. Found this Pelican BMW Tech Article - The Infamous Alternator Bracket Oil Leak on the E65 BMW 7-Series -

but wanted to know what I am in for. I assume from allot of the reading I would need to rent and engine hoist - that's where I get nervous. :-)
But I am not afraid of a challenge.

04 4.4i N62

[mb-X5]

I haven't done this repair myself, but I did take my '05 4.4i apart this summer to replace the valve seals, hoses, water pump, water pump transfer pipe, etc, and looked into replacing this seal as an additional preventative measure. I wanted to replace every rubber gasket I could while I was in there. I still have the rubber seal ready to go.

Since it wasn't leaking on mine, I decided to leave it alone as it will be a major PITA to get too.

It is apparent once you get access to the alternator mounting plate that you have to hold the engine to remove the engine mount on the drivers side, and you will have to remove the front differential. The front differential is mounted to the engine block right in front of the bolt that need to be removed to remove the alternator mounting bracket.

Once the front differential and engine mount are out of the way, it shouldn't be too difficult to change the gasket

There is a write up on the procedure somewhere online. I can't remember where I found it. Probably on here, or on Bimmerfest.

Good luck.

[pezho405]

When i did alot of the gaskets and service on my 04 4.4 n62 after i finished doing everything and needed to do the alternator bracket seal i just gave up. I was tired, did alot of work that weekend.

It was ridiculously tight in there, not much space. however i do not think that i did use an engine bar. I have the seal, maybe ill do it next time i do a big service

EDIT: actually i dont think you needed the engine bar/hoist for it but i think i just wasnt able to reach a bolt or something.

[superwidebodyx5]

RocksteadyX5, have u finished your alternator bracket leak repair yet ? if not, go to search link on top and type in (How to remove an alternator bracket from N62 engine) type it in exactly how i typed in. Boscani28 has an answer for you with all the pictures and step by step process on how to remove it. good luck. i have done it myself on my 2001 6cylinder.Just to give you a heads up, u are going to need a special tool (2 wrenches,called fan clutch wrench) to remove the fan from the main pulley.Then u able to remove the fan shroud .

[rocksteadyX5]

Originally Posted by superwidebodyx5

RocksteadyX5, have u finished your alternator bracket leak repair yet ? if not, go to search link on top and type in (How to remove an alternator bracket from N62 engine) type it in exactly how i typed in. Boscani28 has an answer for you with all the pictures and step by step process on how to remove it. good luck. i have done it myself on my 2001 6cylinder.Just to give you a heads up, u are going to need a special tool (2 wrenches,called fan clutch wrench) to remove the fan from the main pulley.Then u able to remove the fan shroud .

Thanks superwidebodyx5 but that is a totally different engine. It looks like the M62. My car is the 2004 4.4i with the N62 engine.

[rocksteadyX5]

Originally Posted by pezho405

When i did alot of the gaskets and service on my 04 4.4 n62 after i finished doing everything and needed to do the alternator bracket seal i just gave up. I was tired, did alot of work that weekend.

It was ridiculously tight in there, not much space. however i do not think that i did use an engine bar. I have the seal, maybe ill do it next time i do a big service

EDIT: actually i dont think you needed the engine bar/hoist for it but i think i just wasnt able to reach a bolt or something.

From allot of reading and from what I understand you do need an engine hoist to lift the engine out a bit to get to that tight spot. So I think I will go get some price quotes to see how much I need to empty my pockets. Sucks to pay close to $1000.00 to replace a #$%@#$%@ $5.0 part.