I pulled the alt out of my 540 for a regulator replacement last spring while I had the water pump out. I'm afraid that made my project less entertaining -- although it may have been a lot funnier with you narrating, Jeff.

I suppose that blown-off battery vent hose came from charging the battery at 20 volts. Glad you didn't notice the presence of all that free hydrogen when you were lighting up a smoke.

Does your 530's alt have that black plastic cover on the back for the air duct like the 540? It adds to the fun at removal time.

Moreover, when I took the back cover off my alternator I found it had trapped a shitload of animal and vegetable matter -- dead bugs, leaves, etc. Considering that it gets hot enough back there that BMW decided it needs forced ventilation, it gave me pause.

Anyway, the V8 alternator isn't BMW's finest engineering moment, that's for sure.