540 engine block coolant drain plugs.

[525SEI BRIT]

Fiddly little bastards!!!...

[markus]

how did u manage to get them? im gonna have to in the future.

[yaofeng]

By putting the engine on the stand, just kidding.. There is no reason to ever touch those two bolts.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/yaofengchen/BMW_95_540/DSC_2739-1.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/yaofengchen/BMW_95_540/DSC_2834-2.jpg

[markus]

wow ur not kidding. so just loosen the radiator plug and i should be ok?

[yaofeng]

How clean do you want it to be? You want to blow dry the block after loosening and removing the two plugs too before filling it with fresh coolant? I wouldn't worry about it.

[dt8068]

What? I at least loosened the driver's side bolt when I flushed my coolant recently. WAY more coolant came out of the block than the radiator drain.

The driver's side one is not hard to get to, but the passenger side I just gave up on.

[yaofeng]

Ah ha! So you didn't drain all coolant after all. Did the sky fall?

[525SEI BRIT]

how did u manage to get them? im gonna have to in the future.
Ok so I know from previous posts people have struggled with these. So I must admit I was a little put off!

Mines an English car so bear with me, I don’t know what affect putting the steering column on the wrong side has to access.

The drivers one (RHD) is easy to access with an open-ended 13mm spanner. problem is the exhaust manifold (headers) covers the bolt so it won’t come out all the way, but 2-3 turns is all you need. (And then just patents as the coolant and flush drains.

You need to wriggle your hand and spanner up a tight space from behind the engine mount in front of the down pipes.

The passenger side looks easer cos it seems exposed, but this was tricky and took a few attempts as it was super tight (ie. not lose!) and at an angle meant I couldn’t get the leverage with a normal spanner or socket/wrench. There is a heat shield bolted to the cross member, remove it to gain better access. (4 bolts)

I finally managed to work it off with a clever old Hallfords tool. came in a socket set of my dads he bought about 18 years ago! It has a thin spanner like handle and a type of socket (12 & 13mm) with a hinge on each end. (Not seen these tools any were else. I know that doesn’t help!) In hindsight ideally I could have done with a 13mm ratchet spanner with a hinged neck; I think this would have been a better option. (Next purchase!)

It’s probably worth mentioning my hand is still sore now!! I did do loads more stuff though, including installing Rouge gearbox mounts, but it is tight.

At least the same amount of fluid came out of each side as the rad, so if you only drain the rad you would need to do it 3 times as often!

Good luck.