545i

Friend of mine has 2005 545i leaking oil he took it to the dealer and they tol him the alternotor brakit seal leaking, with estimate 1200$ to fix that. What does that means
Thank u
Ziad

Originally Posted by Zkanaan

Friend of mine has 2005 545i leaking oil he took it to the dealer and they tol him the alternotor brakit seal leaking, with estimate 1200$ to fix that. What does that means
Thank u
Ziad

The alternator bracket gasket is a small T-shaped gasket that is trapped between the alternator bracket and the engine block, and is used to seal off a hole where different models using the same engine block picked up oil with an oil cooler (small radiator that the oil was routed to for cooling before being returned to the engine).

The cost of changing this $2 gasket is in the many hours of labor. Many components need to be removed from the engine first to get the alternator off the alternator bracket. Then on the alternator bracket itself one of the bolts is in a position such that the engine engine must be loosened at its mounts and the driver's side of the engine needs to be raises slightly to gain access to one of the alternator bracket bolts.

It is unfortunately one of the weak points of the 545i V8 (N62B44) engine gasket design.

Good to know. How many hours would you estimate it would take to get to the alternator and remove the alternator? And then of course, double it to put everything back on.

My vehicle is currently having the alternator replaced. The part is around $600-700 and the labor is a whopping $700 as well! Was surprised with the labor costs.

Originally Posted by patrick_y

Good to know. How many hours would you estimate it would take to get to the alternator and remove the alternator? And then of course, double it to put everything back on.

My vehicle is currently having the alternator replaced. The part is around $600-700 and the labor is a whopping $700 as well! Was surprised with the labor costs.

If you are a professional and have done it before I would estimate about three hours to remove and replace the alternator (I took longer because it was my first time and I had to stop and run for parts like copper tube to fix the vent tube which typically crumbles if it is the original part).

I purchased the alternator for my 545i (Valeo OE unit) brand new for $283 delivered. If you were to purchase the alternator yourself and take it to an indy the labor should be $300-$400, for total parts and labor of less than $700.