E60Japanese

I bought a used E60 with an oil/fluid leak and the transmission is in safe mode
Yesterday I started looking at finding the oil/fluid leak
It appears that it is leaking from under the alternator somewhere
This started me thinking? Is it from the transmission or power steering?
I tried to undo the transmission filler plug but it’s jammed in
I tried to tap it gently with a chisel to free it but still no luck
I think I will have to take off the Trans cross member and lower it down so I can get better access to the filler plug.
I will also have to take off my alternator and try and find out if the fluid is actually power steering fluid or transmission fluid?
I got a code reader last week and the code fault for the tranny says 4F81
I checked on YouTube and it appears it could be a plastic cracked part inside the tranny
So I am still not close to finding what the problems are yet

I am wondering if anyone else has had a fluid leak around the same area?
To the front left side of the engine under or around the alternator?
And what is was and how they fixed it

Thanks for everyone’s help and suggestions

turboawd

what engine do you have?

are you using a socket allen head with a long handle ratchet to remove the plug?

E60Japanese

Thanks for helping again

At first I was only using a90% allen key spanner
I will buy a socket allen key today and try before i drop the transmission down

turboawd

yes, it will be tough to remove with a simple allen wrench.
you could try tapping on the bolt while you are trying to turn it at the same time.
or maybe even lightly torch the bolt to heat it up a little, may help.

txag_530i

I presume that you have an automatic transmission?

If so, then a normal hex-bit socket will not fit- it will be too long. You need to buy a short 8 mm hex-bit socket, and even then you might not have room for the socket and ratchet to fit. Perhaps a 1/4-inch drive 8 mm short bit and a 1/4-inch ratchet will work.

Try putting the closed end of a combination wrench on to the end of the "L" tool and using the extra leverage to pop the filler bolt loose. I had to do that on my car.

Alternatively, insert the "L" tool back in the filler plug as far as it will go and hit the long end with a ball pein hammer. That might shock the plug into moving. Just make sure that you don't strip that filler plug's head.

E60Japanese

I thought I would write an update as I now have fixed both problems

1: The Transmission filler bolt was really stuck in and no matter what I did I couldnt get it to move.
So I was able to drop the Trans cross member without removing the exhaust
It was a little tricky but I could do it.
I was then able to lower the transmission using my trolley jack.
With the filler now easily to get a direct hit at, I cut down an 8mm allenkey spanner
The end of the filler bolt was damaged from me trying to get it out but I was able to tap the allenkey I had cut all the way into the hole.
The hitting of the allenkey also was good in freeing the bolt up.
I then fitted an 8mm socket with a long extension over the allenkey and it poped lose
It was a huge relief.
I was them able to jack the trans up level and check the fluid level which was full, so I knew the front oil leak was not from the transmission hose or cooler

2: From under the car i could see that the oil was leaking above the power steering pump
So I removed the alternator and the oil filter housing and the gasket was hard and cracked inside the oil filter housing

a new $7 gasket and it was all fixed
The worse part of the whole job was cleaning the oil up from under the car
It took me about 3 hours as it was everywhere over the engine , transmission, floor pan and all plastic covers.
It must have been leaking for a long time and the previous owner just kept filling the car with oil.

turboawd

did you check the fluid level while the engine was running?

did you clear the trans code?

E60Japanese

No I didnt check with it running, I will on sunday
I will clear the trans code then to see what happens

txag_530i

If you removed the oil-fill plug from the transmission without the engine running and no fluid came out then I guarantee that the transmission is low on fluid.