I'm going to be doing my first alternator dissasembly. I'm doing the FD alternator swap onto my S5 and I need to grind down the lip around the shaft. I've taking the outer 4 bolts off but the casing didn't seem to want to budge. I didn't want to force things and break anything that's connected internally. There are 4 inner screws that I can also remove. From looking at the 3rd gen FSM those screws hold a plate which holds the front bearing in place. Do I remove all the bolts and screws (8 total) before trying to force the casing apart?

Okay it's been a while since I disassembled an alternator but from what I remember. After you remove the outer screws the case will seperate. After that the coil will stay inplace to one side because the connections are soilered inplace. You will also need to hold the brushes down with a pin to re-assemble. Sounds like you need to wiggle yours loose.

I do have extra alternators if you are seeking one

i have a disassembly diagram if you still need one. it wont post on here, so let me know.