Coolant drain valve?

[CubbyChowder]

I've always hated draining coolant from the plug in the side of the block, such a mess and just seems like there should be a more elegant solution...

I started thinking tonight and decided to research a bit and came across an oil drain valve which could thread directly into the block and essentially provide a controlled spigot to drain coolant from.

https://www.amazon.com/Metric-Drain-M14X1-5-Replaces-15558-ZJ1-010AH/dp/B005IA5FP2

Has anyone done this before? Or something similar?

I ask because I have a lot of debris to flush out of my block and will likely have to flush several times and would really like to avoid having to pull that drain plug every time. This seems like it could actually work and would be much less of a nuisance. I realize that the debris could potentially clog up the passage but I feel like this could be a good solution in general for easily draining coolant. Thoughts?

[kronus]

Sh3rpak!ng (or something?) has something like that on his s52 coupe, but it's just an M12 to AN elbow to AN line to AN fitting to AN plug, iirc.

[CubbyChowder]

Sh3rpak!ng (or something?) has something like that on his s52 coupe, but it's just an M12 to AN elbow to AN line to AN fitting to AN plug, iirc.

I follow his build and looked back earlier to find it. That's definitely one way to do it, just a lot more fancy. I can tell he shares a similar frustration though. I went ahead and ordered it and will post my results. I really think it's something we all need, at least those of us that work on our own E30's.

[estoguy]

Sh3rpak!ng (or something?) has something like that on his s52 coupe, but it's just an M12 to AN elbow to AN line to AN fitting to AN plug, iirc.

I think something like this you make yourself would be cheaper than the item the OP posted.

I wouldn't mind something like this, considering I'm averaging a timing belt change every 18 months or so.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Funny, just came across this. I definitely over engineered it, but it does work very well.

Found out about these valves since then. I probably would've used this if I had seen it earlier. They are normally used to drain oil, but I don't see why they wouldn't work for water.

http://www.fumotousa.com/products.php

[NZM3]

If you do install one make sure that it is lock wired shut when finished, I can remember as a youngster being in Dads Austin miles from nowhere with an engine which overheated due water leaked out the radiator drain tap.
Being mounted on the engine there will be vibrations to loosen things up.

[CubbyChowder]

NZM3, do you think some loctite would do the trick? I'm not too familiar with lock wiring bolts up, How would I go about doing that?

My new concern with the valve that I posted about (and also purchased) is that the drain could potentially end up in the wrong position once it's fully tightened down if it's all one solid piece. There's no guarantee it'll be pointed down, unless it has some sort of ability to swivel while it's still loose. I guess we'll see

[jeffnhiscars]

Given the smaller opening than the block hole, I'm not sure this is worth the trouble for a major decrud requiring multiple flushes. Especially since that should be a one time deal when you first get a neglected car. After that it's new BMW blue every 2 years without the worry of a leaky valve.

My 2c fwiw

[Kershaw]

I'd be worried about any valve sitting that close to the exhaust. The rubber is bound to fail after a few years.

[CubbyChowder]

Both good points.

The smaller opening was a concern of mine for the flushing part of it. In my personal situation, I bought this motor after it had already been pulled to swap into my E30, so I didn't have the option to flush it out unfortunately.

As for the rubber (and this relates to my previous question), would some sort of thread locker/sealer potentially work in place of the o-ring? I don't think there is rubber anywhere else in the valve.

[Mihir]

When I do the flush on a nicer car, I just put my finger over the hole. That way you can throttle it and aim it pretty well down into a pan.

Way I see it, you aren't restricting the flow especially toward the end. And as others have said, longetivity of a part like that would definitely be of concern.

[Kershaw]

^ That sounds like a great idea. A friend and I had bought an e30 to flip one time and we couldn't get it to drain out of that hole. So we hooked an air compressor up to the bleed valve and proceeded to shoot dirty coolant absolutely everywhere when it still didnt come out and burst out of the themostat housing. Brilliant.

Poking the dirt wall with a screwdriver works a lot better.