My alternator was starting to play up, not providing enough oomph with lights and heating on during the winter. Steptoe kindly offered a replacement part at a great price and I finally got around to fitting it.
Took the front cover off and undid the bolts and it wouldn't budge, was no way of getting the belt off it was solidly tight and the alternator was resting on the engine block. Took the bolts out and managed to angle it enough to remove the belt and remove the alternator.
Compared the length of the old belt to the new and the old was significantly shorter. Checked the part number for my new belt against the realoem.com database and it's fine, but couldn't find a match for the bmw part number on the old one.
Fitted the new alternator and belt and everything's been fine which was a relief. I wonder if excessive strain from the short belt could have damaged the alternator internally. Any thoughts?
Took the front cover off and undid the bolts and it wouldn't budge, was no way of getting the belt off it was solidly tight and the alternator was resting on the engine block. Took the bolts out and managed to angle it enough to remove the belt and remove the alternator.
Compared the length of the old belt to the new and the old was significantly shorter. Checked the part number for my new belt against the realoem.com database and it's fine, but couldn't find a match for the bmw part number on the old one.
Fitted the new alternator and belt and everything's been fine which was a relief. I wonder if excessive strain from the short belt could have damaged the alternator internally. Any thoughts?
