Frozen 5HP24 fill plug and other questions

[red740is]

Of all the unlikely things, my trans fill plug is frozen in place! I was draining the tranny as I'm pulling it out to replace my leaking rear main seal (so much fun) and while it was draining, I figured I'd crack the fill plug it loose since I had my allen wrench there and was waiting for the fluid to empty. I had a 16" cheater pipe and the hex wrench was bending.. with my "calibrated arm" I'd guess I had a good 100 lbs FT on it (and yes, anti-clockwise).

Has anyone else experienced this? If so, what was your trick to get it out without stripping anything? Once I have it pulled, it will be easy to apply a few hammer blows to the plug head and possibly some heat if need be.. open to any suggestions!

Also, I've read that the 5hp24 holds 9 liters incl. torque converter. Since I'm pulling it out of the car, I'm going to replace the currently not leaking trans front seal and empty the torque converter. Since I know I won't get all the fluid out, would 8 liters be a safe guess on the refill? I'm going to use the ZF Lifeguard 5 fluid and don't want too much extra as it's not cheap..

Think I'll replace both the drain and fill plugs, and it seems replacing the pan bolts after the filter/gasket change is strongly recommended?

Thanks!

[dburt86]

put a gun on it, and roll into it. Dont just let it rip.

Ive stripped similar things and i would just slot them with a die grinder and use a air hammer to free it. Works every time.

[psjr]

This is why most guides will recommend cracking the fill plug first.
I had a drain plug on pretty darn tight on one of my 5HP30s, but with enough force it came off and I put in a new one (it was somehow damaged on the outside).

Replacing the pan bolts is only recommended because the heads on the T27 Torx bolts that came with the car strip very easily if they are on there tighter than the spec torque.
BMW has since upgraded their T27 transmission bolts to T40, which of course handle extra torque much better.
Bolt size is M6-1.00x25, I was able to pick up 100 hex heads and 100 washers for $25 at my hardware store.

EDIT: Actually the 5HP24 may need some M6-1.00x30s, but I haven't done one so I can't say for sure.

[Binjammin]

Ugh I had that happen to me on a ... iunno something Japanese... Rodeo? It was like 12 years ago. I ended up using a chisel and hammer to drive it loose. Mangulated the bolt but we were replacing it at that point.

[red740is]

Thanks for the suggestions..once I have the transmission out it will be easier to get to and muck with.