I have removed the alternator twice on my '05 4.4 (N62 engine). One trick I discovered that would turn a 2 hours install job to 20 minutes job is to knock in the bolt hole metal gasket flush with the alternator before install as shown in the picture. Even new alternators have the gasket sticking out. The alternator slips right in with no struggles when the gasket is flush. That gasket bites into the block when you tighten the alternator mounting bolt and is what makes alternator removal or install such a struggle.

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'05 E53 X5 4.4i, '97 E39 528, '07 E92 335i, '16 F86 X6M.