Preventative replacement of alternator?

[80stech]

Originally Posted by Bdc101

Mine was a Bosch rebuilt unit that failed prematurely, not a new one. Bosch "rebuilt" units are done by some chinese third party under license. The second time I replace it, it was easy to spend a few extra bucks for a Valeo.

Yep, the way things change these days with companies it's a crap shoot!
When I bought a Bosch rebuilt it was more expensive than the new Bosch but turned out to be good.

[andrewwynn]

It's a dice throw. That said alternator swap on m54 is about 3/10 difficulty sou recommend getting whichever didn't raise your Spidey sense but get it from a big national brand with stores within a bike ride distance and a lifetime warranty.


–awr–

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[Bdc101]

I just checked and Valeo is the original manufacturer for the 220-amp alternator on my 35d (according to RealOEM).


Part number 12317603775 is the voltage regulator and is only about $60 for a Valeo version. Andrew, do you know if I need any special tools to remove the voltage regulator? The last time I did this was on a Toyota about 15 years ago and it was just attached to the end of the alternator. But FCP has a bunch of "decoupler" tools in their section for the alternator. Just want to check before I take the car apart.


Edit: Nevermind, it appears you can access it on the back of the alternator if you take it off.

[andrewwynn]

I have a write up on xoutpost that shows how I actually refurbished mine and I’m pretty sure it shows the process of removing and reinstalling.

it was quite a while ago. I can’t remember if soldering was involved. I of course, did Saturn because I switched the polarity of the field winding.


–awr–

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