Ouch, New alternator needed for my 540i

[Max M4X WW]

Well after a breakdown/recovery on the way to MBW yesterday my local indy has diagnosed the problem to a failed alternator. The noises were awful, thought it was the auto box! Shame the new alternator is £500! (+fitting)

Will hopefully have the car back soon (it was already booked in Wednesday for some front bush investigation, will await to see how much that is going to cost!)

Can anyone tell me how much replacing all of the bushes at the front of an E39 is likely to cost? I have a knock on slow cobbled roads and the usual brake vibration at the moment.

Max

[Olf]

The previous owner had just done the alternator on my 545. He reckoned it was £1,800 worth of work an a stealer. Whole from of the car has to come off, again apparently. Hence the monthly instalments to the warranty.

[Max M4X WW]

Luckily the total job will be a shade less than half that, but this is an E39 so probably slightly less involved.

[roofer]

There's no way on earth anyone would get £500 off me for an alternator ! much less £1800 !

[Max M4X WW]

They are 250-300ish for your cars as they are not water cooled units, seems to make them a lot more expensive.

I'm trying to find out if they can be re-built.

[Fox-]

I had the alternator replaced on my E39 530i Sport for about £350ish? I take it yours is different?

[Max M4X WW]

Yes they are water-cooled and seem to be a lot more expensive!

[Vixpy1]

Breaker?

[Max M4X WW]

False economy really, would have to pay fitting charges twice if it went again?

[roofer]

There's very little actually goes wrong with an alternator. You have the brush pack (replacable)rectifier (replaceable) regulator pack (replaceable) and bearings (replaceable) As long as the rotor hasn't contacted the stator through bearing failure (very rare) then its all re usable. From the noise you describe, i would guess the front bearing has gone,although a failed tensioner makes a horrific noise... take it to a decent recon place and give them no more than £150.00 to sort it.

I used to recondition Alternators/Dynamo's (old blokes will know what they are) and Starters. Repair kits are in expensive, and the Alternator itself is not a dark art. Removal tips here, for 740 but identical.

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/355405

Edited by roofer on Monday 12th September 20:08

Edited by roofer on Monday 12th September 20:12

[Waynester]

Max M4X WW said:

Can anyone tell me how much replacing all of the bushes at the front of an E39 is likely to cost? I have a knock on slow cobbled roads and the usual brake vibration at the moment.
Max

Would also be interested in guesstimation?

[Fox-]

Waynester said:

Would also be interested in guesstimation?

New Lemforder upper and lower control arms will cost you about £450ish in parts plus I'd imagine £150-£200 in labour to fit them?

Don't compromise with cheaper components - buy right, buy Lemforder.

[Max M4X WW]

Fox- said:

New Lemforder upper and lower control arms will cost you about £450ish in parts plus I'd imagine £150-£200 in labour to fit them?

I'll just be doing whatever needs doing then! Not spending £1500 in one go!

[Fox-]

Max M4X WW said:

I'll just be doing whatever needs doing then! Not spending £1500 in one go!

£450+£150 = £600 not £1500?

[Max M4X WW]

Sorry, I meant including the alternator. Still not quite £1500 but still too much!

[8Tech]

Even specialist auto electrical centres would not touch the water cooled alternator but you can get them for around £350.00 and fitting should not be more than around £125.00

[Max M4X WW]

The price of £500 is for a Bosch item from ECP.

Labour is for diagnosis/fitting at a level you would expect of an indy I guess..

[bga]

I have a receipt for the supply & fit of a recon alternator for my 540 in 2009.

£295 +VAT which, from what I can make out, includes 1 hour labour to fit.

[Max M4X WW]

Is that for a water-cooled one?

Its all done now anyway, along with a brake bar which should sort my suspension noises.

[bga]

Max M4X WW said:

Is that for a water-cooled one?

Its all done now anyway, along with a brake bar which should sort my suspension noises.

It was, though it was before I got the car. Glad it is all sorted now.