simon-york
05-14-2005, 11:21 AM
Gentlemen!
A few weeks back I was asking you all - and a guy with an M5 seemed to have a similar problem - about a worn bearing noise that was most noticeable when the car was cold and was engine-speed related. Well the car was in with my independent yesterday and he reckoned it was the alternator. Well, I took the fan belt off today and sure enough the noise went; to my surprse really because it did sound to be nearer to the bulkhead than that.
I put in a secondhand unit off the Bay - only thing is it is the same make (Bosch) but a 140A unit rather than a 115A one. I am hoping this will be ok. Bentleys does say fit the same one, but I assume it is fine fitting one capable of supplying a higher current if the electrical system requires it. Physically the units look alike, but Bentleys also warns against fitting the wrong type of regulator saying this could damage the electical system. The car is running fine so far, so I hope someone here can offer words of reassurance.
Finally I had a complete BMW exhaust fitted yesterday to my M30 engined 530i. This with all new brackets, and new black tail pipe trims came to the princely sum of £885 - which for our friends across the Atlantic will be the thick end of $1900. I am told it will last at least 10 years....which makes it look a little more reasonable but I need a second job to run the car!
A few weeks back I was asking you all - and a guy with an M5 seemed to have a similar problem - about a worn bearing noise that was most noticeable when the car was cold and was engine-speed related. Well the car was in with my independent yesterday and he reckoned it was the alternator. Well, I took the fan belt off today and sure enough the noise went; to my surprse really because it did sound to be nearer to the bulkhead than that.
I put in a secondhand unit off the Bay - only thing is it is the same make (Bosch) but a 140A unit rather than a 115A one. I am hoping this will be ok. Bentleys does say fit the same one, but I assume it is fine fitting one capable of supplying a higher current if the electrical system requires it. Physically the units look alike, but Bentleys also warns against fitting the wrong type of regulator saying this could damage the electical system. The car is running fine so far, so I hope someone here can offer words of reassurance.
Finally I had a complete BMW exhaust fitted yesterday to my M30 engined 530i. This with all new brackets, and new black tail pipe trims came to the princely sum of £885 - which for our friends across the Atlantic will be the thick end of $1900. I am told it will last at least 10 years....which makes it look a little more reasonable but I need a second job to run the car!