The gasket sits in a channel molded into the casing of the alternator itself. It protrudes a little bit, and that gets wedged in between the casing, and the housing on the timing cover. I had no issues with it staying in place for installation, and once tightened, it's not going anywhere. - the M73 housing is a separate part, so I got to play with it on the bench. I used nothing as a sealant, as BMW makes no mention in TIS. Timm from the UK is an active member on the e38 forums ( meeknet.co.uk ) - and he does mention using some silicone grease, but I did not even do that ( Link here - Timms BMW Water-Coolled Alternator Replacement )


As an addendum, yes, I have some experience with o-ring glue kits, but that is not necessarily the same as Off the shelf Super Glue. I agree with EODguy that there could be bad reactions - based on what is in your glue, and the makeup of the O-ring provided.

Thanks Noodlesandsam. It's so strange that the replacement gasket looks nothing like the one that came off the original part (the oring that sits in the groove). Sheck out the link above f you're curious.

I looked at that ECS link, and compared it to the FCP Euro site. It is the same part #. Do you have one in hand? Mine is a square cross section ring, and fit exactly in place. Does your have a bosch part # on the bag? I'll look at my spare one

I don't have the part number. The ring came with the alternator. I did order another one tho that looks like it has a circular section.

The one that came with the alternator had a diamond-shaped section

Mine is 'square' - Diamond shaped might be one way to look at it. you can get them at the dealer - FCP Euro and the ECS link you had above are the same Bosch part #