I forgot you're dealing with an M62 and not an N62.

Look up the procedure for replacing the Oil Separator.

looks like it would make sense to do that when i am doing the chains and guides.

so lets see here

there doesnt seem to be an X5-specific procedure for the timing guides/chains

but that "210k 740il" procedure seems to show alot of the "prep work" i.e. radiator, belts, etc so it gives one some idea.. although it doesnt list specific tools or brainless-level details so you can just act as a robot.

so it looks like if I _were_ to make a brain-dead level procedure that showed every freaking detail, tool, step, secret handshake, and how many times to blink your eyes, for the M62 in an X5, that would be a new thing that doesnt currently exist and would probably help alot of less experienced X5 owners greatly extend the life of their trucks.

so now I'm on a mission..but I guess I should wait until it actually needs to be done, which may be never if the noises dont start!

although I probably will attempt the valve cover removal to inspect the guides and if that seems to warrant an X5 specific procedure I'll post it

THe CCV is something you're probably going to want to do as preventative, cooling system as well.

The kid has SMALL hands, you don't. :rofl:

hahaha good point! maybe thats why his dad made him do it lol

Coolant temperature is about 195F, so the coolant that is used to cool the temperature has to be cooler than the heat in the alternator. Can't believe that the heat in an alternator is hotter than 195F.

it could easily get up to that temperature and well beyond..say its generating 100A at 14V, thats a couple horsepower right there of heat to dissipate, basically a small space heater, and that doesnt even include the drop across the regulator and diodes. then you put it right next to an operating engine, tucked away in some corner where there is no airflow. they probably added the alternator bracket gasket so it wouldnt conduct heat from the engine, but you still have radiative heat and I bet the air in that part of the engine isnt exactly chilled. lets say the underhood air temperature is 140F. so now a 50 or even 100F rise in temperature inside the alternator is easily reached.

and if you want it to be water and dust tight for longevity, you close it up and watercool instead of the usual open frame design. i wish my jeep had a water cooled alternator, then it wouldnt get the crap kicked out of it every time i drive through a huge puddle or mud pond.

heres some great info i got from a forum member about doing the valve cover gaskets on an X5 M62:

I took me approximately 3-4 hours per side doing it very carefully for the first time. Work methodically and keep thinking about your steps. I did it on two separate days.

The driver side is the hardest because the coolant hoses mounted to the wheel well are in the way. To make your life easy, you could drain your system, replace the hoses while you are at it and have a really easy time doing the work. I should have done this. If you don't, it turns out into a puzzle trying to maneuver the cover with gaskets attached in place, without knocking off the gaskets on the overhead cam bolts. I would recommend to use some stuff to make the gasket gutters a bit sticky. Do -not- use glycerine like BMW recommends; the gaskets will fall out on your way in. Every car part store has this. (Just forgot the name of it). Do a really good job cleaning the valve covers on the inside and especially get all the flaked off paint from out of the gutters..... which is actually the main reason why they end up leaking.

The passenger side is a bit easier, but you will have to remove the intake filter, MAF and intake ducts. I also moved the windshield fluid reservoir out of the way. Leave the reservoir pumps attached to the hoses. You can simply pull them out of the reservoir. However, I recommend to replace the little filters/gaskets that are attached to the reservoir, where the pumps stick in. They tend to start leaking if the car is old. It is 1 dollar part or so. And off course, remove the bulk head behind the engine. That will give you tons of space.

Beware of the little clips on the injectors. You need some long hook tools to get them off the injectors. Invest in that; it make your life easy. I did not go for the 'single powerful pull' method that some advise. Plastic gets brittle after a while. And when you reconnect the electronic wiring box back on top of the injectors, assure that you hear a solid click on each injector. If not, the engine will misfire like crazy and give you a blinking service engine light. I had this happen. I just waited for a code such that I could figure out which cylinder was misfiring. One quick push solved the issue. So, get yourself and OBD-II scanner for 25 bucks.

Finally, ensure you have some small ratchets and ratchet extensions. The cover bolts on the passenger side are a bit hard to get to in the front with the coolant reservoir in place. You can loosen it, but beware bending the collard hoses. They may start leaking on an older car. Mine did. Replace whatever is old and got bent excessively.

Let me know if you need more arise. I actually took a bunch of pictures. I meant to post my sequence and work but never got around to doing it. I can perhaps just post them. You will get it. But a lot of other people already did on the forum. Just look around.

I'm just thankful that when my alternator went out, I found that mid-2004 model year they changed to an air cooled unit. My build date was 05-2004... no expensive as gold alternator for me.