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Radiator Flush- Engine drain plug

50K views 23 replies 15 participants last post by  chudzikb 
#1 ·
Wanted to see if anyone else has changed the coolant on their e46 lately. I have a 325xi and the radiator flush was easy, but am having some trouble locating the engine coolant plug, my bentley manual picture isn't quite what im seeing under the car. I think I might have located the plug up high on the block next to where the exhaust enters, looks like a plug anyway. But if it is the right one, how in the heck do you even get it loose, its tight space to work a ratchet or much of anything else either. Any ideas would be fantastic.

Thanks everyone.
 
#4 ·
Hmm interesting, the guy on bmw330ci.net says it's on the driver side, while the guy on BMW325i.net says it's in the exhaust side. I thought the plug was on the exhaust side, but I couldn't get it loose for the life of me, so I just did a partial drain/fill when I changed my thermostat.
 
#7 ·
I was thinking about draining my own coolant.

When I added up the cost to buy the coolant, buy the long handled pivoting head wrench needed to open that bolt, considered the probability I would need to replace one or more plastic parts in the process and get completely soaked with coolant while completing the drain....

When the stealership told me they charge $200 including the fluid I decided I'll let them get wet.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I don't know of anyone who is so proud of his incompetance as you, or as clueless on technical matters as you.

It cost me about $50 for the OEM fluids. Based on equivalent local buying power, that eqautes to $25. Can you see why you car is high maintenance ?

There's no need to get wet in this job either. One of my other posts describes a splash free method for draining the engine block: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=609938&highlight=engine+block+drain.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I don't know of anyone who is so proud of his incompetance as you, or as clueless on technical matters as you.

It cost me about $50 for the OEM fluids. Based on equivalent local buying power, that eqautes to $25. Can you see why you car is high maintenance ?
You spent 6 hours trying to figure out how to put a baggie around a hole and you still ended up getting wet.

You're the techno-god alright.

:lmao:

I'm happy to throw a few bucks at some moron like you to go crawl under there and get wet. Its a simple enough task that's hard to screw up and just as importantly, easy to tell when you do.



.
 
#8 ·
Well, no dealership within 250 miles for me, and good lord there is no way im letting anyone around here touch my car unless it is completely necessary- :) But i do know what you mean especially the water in the face thing, but i guess its all part of diy, get wet and greasy. Ok, so after looking at the bmw325i.net post about the coolant flush, i am sure that even though it didnt look quite the same as my bentley manual picture, that the plug 3/4 of the way up the block on the exhaust side in the terribly cramped location that you need a extended attatchment for your ratchet set "is" in fact the engine coolant drain plug. HAHA
Thanks everyone for your helps.
 
#17 ·
When I did my cooling system refresh (thermostat, water pump, expansion tank, belts), I had the same problem as the OP. I obviously was able to drain much of the fluid through the two plugs in the front of the engine compartment, but when it came time to remove the plug from the engine block, I tried for about 30 minutes and gave up. Didn't have an adequate extension for my socket set, and I couldn't generate enough leverage to get it loose. Ended up taking the car to an indy shop to have the fluid drained and replaced. Cost me about $85, and well worth it.

Am I showing pride in my incompetence too?
 
#19 ·
I had a question regarding the engine drain plug. After draining the two radiator screws, i went under to take out the engine drain plug and this is what i saw:



shouldnt it look like this?:

http://www.bmw330ci.net/maintenance/coolant/Coolant7.jpg

any ideas? cant get it off...
for you i would just buy extra coolant and drain and fill twice through thte radiator drain as dfrilling and tapping that would be a nightmare
 
#20 ·
Radiator drain plug DIY remove reinstall

I just finished a cooling system rebuild on my E46, M54 330XI. I got the block drain plug out with two 10" 3/8 inch extensions, and a 3/8 inch swivel then of course a 13mm socket. I'd suggest you use a 12 pt. socket vs. a 6 point which aids in a solid seat on the bolt head. You also should use two 10", or one 20" extension if you can find one to avoid play created by using too many extensions. Use a flash light and extend the tool just forward of the front boot, (passenger side), and just behind the AC compressor. Make sure the socket is tight on the drain plug head pressing the tool against the head, (to avoid allowing it to torque off), and TURN with some force. It will crack free and just unscrew it. I kept going until it turned all the way out and fell onto the cross member and I then fished if off by feeling around. (I also used rhino ramps....As you're not directly underneath but off to the side, you also won't get wet, at all. Getting the plug back in is tricky as my arm was a little too fat to thread up there, so I had my 18 year old son with thinner arms thread it in. Use the extensions again but with a torque wrench and tighten to 25 nm. I've attached pictures of the drain plug and tools I used. Finally I used a torque wrench in place of the small ratchet. That's it!!
 

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#21 ·
Just got done changing the coolant on my '03 330xi. Found this thread when I saw how difficult the engine block drain plug was to reach!

I used a single 24" (although 18" would have been easier to use I think) 3/8" extension, a swivel, and the socket. Had bought the 1.5" hose from another thread to help keep from making a mess but was not usable with the xi, too tight in there. Had a big catch pan. After draining the rest of system I undid the bolt and it was like the Hoover dam let go. The big catch pan caught most of it but it was still a mess.

To get the bolt back on I applied a little super glue to the new gasket to attach it to the bolt so it wouldn't fall off while I was trying to get it back on. I was only able to get my hand with a few inches of the hole, not close enough so I put just a LITTLE super glue on one of the sides of the hex on the bolt, just enough to keep it falling out of the socket and used the extension to get it back in. Took about ten minutes until I was able to get the threads to catch.

Kevin
 
#22 ·
I ended up draining my coolant from the engine block last spring. On my left hand drive 2000 328Ci the block drain was on the passenger or exhaust side of the block.

I used a cheapie 3/8" pivoting socket wrench I bought on eBay and it did the job.

The Bentley Manual for my car showed that the bolt would be a normal looking hex bolt. Mine wasn't. It was an allen key type bolt.

Those bolts have a copper washer on them that you should replace. If I remember correctly, a 1/2" copper washer from my local aftermarket parts guy did the trick.

After doing this DIY I decided I'm just going to drain the radiator every fall and fill it up with new blue goo.

It's easier than wrestling under the car every four years and achieves the same kind of outcome.


For everybody who asked for a torque wrench for Christmas, it's impossible to get one in there.
 
#24 ·
Just did this as well on a 04 330. Was located on the passanger side, might have gotten a little on me when taking out, but, not as bad as the E36. (needed a shower after the E36) Did the fill with 1/2 gallon of blue gold and distilled water, drove around for a bit, drained and refilled with a gallon of blue gold and a gallon of distilled water. Had the heat on when driving to flush out the core as well. No issues getting the the bolt, but, I do not have that crazy AWD stuff to work around. All in all not so bad. Did the water pump, pullies and the thermostat housing at the same time. At least there was no annoying mechanical fan to remove, the electric one came right out with no difficulty.
 
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