The brushes on the regulator is the only part that wears. The electronic components do not wear out. Actually, they have been "burned in" and are less likely to fail than a new one.

The brushes on the Bosch regulators cannot be un-soldered with a regular iron and has to be drilled out, then the new brushes can be soldered on. Bosch use a very high temperature "solder". This is a tip from the alternator rebuild place that gave me the cheapo regulator.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked