I realize that this thread is 2 years old and snik has undoubtedly figured something out by now. But just in case someone comes across this posting when they have a problem getting the door handle carrier fitted properly, I wanted to add my recent experience working on my son's e53 rear door handle carrier.

Same as snik and some other postings I found, we had trouble aligning the hex bolt. Tightening the front philips screw caused the rear part of the door handle to become misaligned.

Eventually we figured out it was because the bowden cable was pressing against the door lock/latch actuator. If we removed the bowden cable the door handle carrier fit perfectly and all the screw holes aligned nicely. Put the bowden cable back into the door handle carrier and things were shifted a few millimeters out of alignment. The solution was to remove the 3 torx-30 bolts that hold the door lock actuator in place. With the door lock actuator out of the way, the door handle carrier with bowden cable was easy to position. Then the door lock actuator was replaced, and the 3 T-30 bolts tightened up.

Just looking at a number of postings, this (door lock actuator hampering the proper seating of the door handle carrier) seems to be a bigger problem with the rear door. Certainly, I have done a front door handle carrier without having to do anything with the door lock actuator. Others have also stated that for the rear the door lock rod will hamper removing the door handle carrier - it has been recommended to pop the door lock rod out of the actuator to allow the door handle carrier to be removed/installed.

So when doing the rear door handle carrier, my strong advice is to start by unbolting the door lock/latch actuator and letting it drop down inside the door frame a few inches. This will allow you to much more easily remove the door handle carrier (gets the door lock rod out of the way), and prevents any problem getting the door handle carrier fitted properly where all the bolts line up.

Hope that helps someone in the future.

__________________
Stephen
2010 e70 35d- now driven by son #2
2005 e53 3.0 - now driven by son #1
2021 G05 45e PHEV - now driven by me
2008 ML320 CDI - driven by wife