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Engine Block Coolant Drain Plug on 550 V8 (N62)?

23K views 42 replies 17 participants last post by  mikluha 
#1 ·
Does anyone know where the engine block coolant drain plug is located on the V8 N62 engine? Any photos?

I have the Bentley manual, which shows a picture of where the plug is on the 6-cylinder engine, but only says "the plug is on the left side of the V8," with no picture or description of *where*.

I spent an hour and a half yesterday crawling all over the car trying to locate a plug, with no success. Searches on Bimmerfest, 5Post, Bimmerforums, and Google were fruitless. Very frustrating.

I was trying to replace the coolant, but I was only able to collect 1.5 gallons out of the almost 3.75 gallon system capacity.

Any ideas?
 
#3 ·
It is located under the exhaust manifold driver side. It I really pain to get there as the area is so tight. I had my fender liner removed when I drained the coolant from engine block and still had to struggle to get that bolt out and put in. Use the flash light to locate it. You will need different joints and extensions to work but be careful not to strip the engine block Thread when you put that bolt back or you gonna get in big trouble. Start the thread by hand the tighten it around 18 ft lb. You also gonna need to use new washer. I think that helps
 
#4 ·
Awesome! Thanks for the info!!
 
#7 · (Edited)
Here are some pics of the driver side . I suggest to pic up an xtra bolt with the washer before hand . I dropped it several times , and finding the washer as it falls off the bolt when it drops , it is as much of a pain as to get the bolt back on there .

I tried to just loosen it as 545 mike suggested but went 1/2 turn to much and dropped the bolt . So getting it back on is a Mother Effer .. After 3 hours of trying I cut a piece of hose and stuck it on the bolt to get a little xtra reach and still could not get it on there . My hands and forearms were just too fat ! So went and got my friend across the street a really skinny guy with skinny skeletor arms .. Took him 15 minutes with the hose extender to get the bolt started ..

Margals suggestion is great advice.. Make sure the bolt is in all the way by hand or at least half way in , before you tighten it with the ratchet ..

One more thing that will help ,, once i got smart after dropping the bolt a couple times and the washer falling off the bolt . I got a little gasket sealer on one side and put it on the washer and it stuck the washer on the bolt . It worked like a charm man . Cause the washer sticks on the bolt when you drop it and will save you a ton of time having to look for it if it slips off the bolt ..
 

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#8 ·
I used a 1/4" drive swivel socket with long 1/4" extension a 1/4 to 3/8 adaptor, and a long 3/extension. I put a little tape around were it swivels to stiffen it up. Took about 10 min to get it started. It's very tight and needs a little angle to get it started.

Sent from BimmerApp mobile app
 
#10 · (Edited)
@HF, Thank you. I took the picture and just wanted to confirm I 'm looking at the same location. I took the picture from driver side. May be I took it from the different angle so it looks little bit different from yours. Great work.
Your getting close .. You have to get a zip tie and move the hydraulic hose to the left and tie it to the strut to keep it out of the way .
The passenger side drain bolt is easier to locate because the steering rack is not in the way . If you look on that side the bolt is just behind the ac compressor by the 4 to one downturn on the manifold .
 
#22 · (Edited)
It is , n62 -tu is the same block and has the same drain plugs , in the same location .

You have to remove the driver wheel and the plastic cover that the tie rod goes thru . Then get a zip tie and move the power steering hose to the left and zip tie it to the coil spring and get it out of the way . Get a flash light and you will see the exact location as in my pictures.. You should have a straight look angle at it . See how my extensions in the picture have a straight projection to it . Its in a vertical line site below the third exhaust port to the right of the exhaust pipe . Right above where the pipe bends towards the rear .
 
#23 ·
Still need help?

I just finished this coolant flush on my '09 550i w/ the N62 engine. The posts above were helpful, but didn't cover my particular make/model, where the drain plug required a different method of getting around the exhaust manifold.

If anyone still needs help w/ this job let me know and I'll post a full set of pics & tips.

-dingo
 
#24 ·
I just finished this coolant flush on my '09 550i w/ the N62 engine. The posts above were helpful, but didn't cover my particular make/model, where the drain plug required a different method of getting around the exhaust manifold.

If anyone still needs help w/ this job let me know and I'll post a full set of pics & tips.

-dingo
The exhaust in the way is a pain , but it was a reach issue with me . I had trouble with my hands and forearms were too fat to reach in there . Post up the pictures .. Curious to see what you say was different . A 545 and a 550 have the same n62 block and the drain plugs are in the same location .
 
#30 ·
Hey guys,

The drain bolt is getting the best of me. I was able to locate it thanks to the previous posts, at this point I cannot get the socket on there and remove it.

Is it just a straight shot with a really long extension on the 13mm socket? H_F is clearly coming straight out past the steering column. Somehow Dingo got in behind the column with the flex socket.

I can get socket onto the bolt head but it just slips off when I apply any torque. Any tips on socket/extension/u-joint combination to break this sucker free?
Thanks!
 
#31 · (Edited)
U gotta use a swivel because the exhaust is in the way of getting a straight shot at it .You will just strip the head of the bolt if you don't use one . Also get a new bolt in just in case you drop it and can't find it , or it gets alittle damaged from taking it off and round the corners of the hex head .
 
#35 ·
Alternatively, keep on flushing with RO water 5-6-7 times than removing that plug?
It would be the same result, wouldn't it?
On a N62, cooling system capacity is about 3.75 gallon. The petcock drains how much?
(I know I am 4 yrs late asking this. I just needed to do a flush this morning.)
 
#36 ·
ya, that would do the trick as long as you use distilled water and have no corrosion in the water channels. (don't use tap, cause some of it will remain.) everything is aluminum, so there should not be any unless something was done improperly to cause corrosion. you can try starting the engine briefly with petcock open a few times to move remaining distilled water using the water pump. I'm also wondering if there is a drain bolt on the right side, didn't see it mentioned.

as you referenced, measure how much comes out of the petcock, do your math, and you may have to do an additional drain and refil with pure antifreeze to get your mixture back up to 50/50
 
#38 ·
About 1.5 Gallon came out from the petcock. That is for my 2006 750i (E65 N62 4.8L). Total capacity is 3.75G.
I did the RO flush 4 times. Then it has 2.25G inside still. I then poured in 1.5G concentrated coolant (not the ready to use), run engine till warm, then drain and add another 1.5G.
good to know. I've been flushing the engine of my Firebird (cast iron block/heads), so this subject is near and dear to my heart. Its been a challenge, to say the least. Been working on it on /off for two weeks, and lots and lots of acid flushes!
 
#39 ·
Putting back drain plug was real p.i.t.a. work. Alternator bracket gasket replacement was far easyer.
After trying all sorts of tools and tricks that did'nt work, I finally lowered subframe from one side. I left center and front bolt in little bit, to hold subframe attached. This gave me little bit more access from wheel arch, so I could get my hand in there. For plug I used little bit rubber hose, so I could have better grip. Also used little bit masking tape to hold washer in place. Hose seen in picture was little bit too long, so I cut about 1cm from it, to get clearence from manifold. Plug has to be strait to get it going.
1017542
 
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