Well Dave, I may have glossed over the amount of effort I put into the alternator swap on my 220 D. It's been over a decade now, but I seem to remember dinking around with fabricating a new adjuster mount and shimming the pulley to run in line with the crank.

I guess the main point is for MB folks to think of all the Northern European vehicles out there as potential parts donors. Volvo, Saab, Audi, VW and BMW electrical parts can be interchangeable--within reasonable limits. The local pick-a-part here is usually full of Volvo 740's and Saab 900's, which have fairly high amperage Bosch alts. I think they charge $25--cheap.

BTW: Our Passat has a 120 amp alternator and is a serpentine system. Late model VW's might be a good alternative for the other OM 60X engines with serp setups.