Going to change the oil and filter on my bike this weekend. Thinking I might fit a magnetic drain plug when I do it - on the basis that I can't imagine it will do any harm and might do some good.
Anyone used one ? Do they catch any debris that the filter wouldn't otherwise trap ?
I’ve got one and it doesn’t seem to catch much since I’ve been gluing a neodymium dot magnet to the end of the oil filter casing
I run one in just about everything 4 stroke. I get them from Dimple Magnets - he calls them "Black Hole" magnets - they are very strong for their size. If you don't want to run a magnetic plug there are also external magnets that can be placed on the oil filter. The Viffer gets both. When cutting the filter open there is always a ring of swarf where the magnet was on the outside. In the photo a portion of the swarf on the plug was wiped away. To satisfy myself that it was indeed magnetic and not just typical crud, I wiped the rest off with a piece of clear sandwich wrap and then used the magnet underneath to pull the swarf around on the plastic wrap, which indeed it did. So it's definitely magnetic material that's being captured. Also, when I had my clutch cover off I could see in bottom of the pan and it looked nothing like that, so I was satisfied that this was matter being captured by the magnet. That was after about 4,000 mile service interval. Note that the plug comes pre-drilled for safety wire if you want to do that. If you go that route get plenty of extra crush washers either from him or on ebay or similar - saves time running around realizing you have to source one at each oil change.
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Thanks both. Didn't occur to me to put a magnet on the outside of the oil filter but that's a really good idea - will do that too.
Will put one on the filter on my car too.
What glue do you use to attach to filter ? I've got some Gorilla Glue that seems to stick anything to anything and stay stuck when it gets wet - will use that unless you suggest anything better.
The magnet holds it to the filter - nothing else required. The can is ferrous metal. They never move, even the slightest - so no worries there.
Thanks for reminding me, have been meaning to attach a magnet to both my bikes oil filters, just did both, complicated job. Must have saved me heaps.
No real surprise you don't find much on a magnetic drain plug, most stuff in there is non-ferrous except in the transmission. Superfine stuff that goes through a filter isn't a big deal the oil clearances between most engine bearings, etc. is 30 microns, the superfine stuff even smaller.
Haven't tried it on a filter but..... ferrous metal is a shield to magnetism I thought..... a magnet on the end of a filter, does it really do anything?
The photo is a bit blurry, but you can see where one of the 3 magnets was on the outside of the can. The other 2 were similar. Not nearly as much accumulation as on the drain plug, but then the plug gets 1st shot at anything magnetic before it's picked up and run through the pump. But it does show that some ferrous material is circulating through pressurized portion of the system. For my $.02 I'd like to capture as much as possible. Oddly, the most ferrous-free engine I have is my 250,000 mile Camry. It is amazing - even at 7,500 mile intervals there is hardly anything on the plug.
22 hours ago, raYzermanNo real surprise you don't find much on a magnetic drain plug, most stuff in there is non-ferrous except in the transmission. Superfine stuff that goes through a filter isn't a big deal the oil clearances between most engine bearings, etc. is 30 microns, the superfine stuff even smaller.
Haven't tried it on a filter but..... ferrous metal is a shield to magnetism I thought..... a magnet on the end of a filter, does it really do anything?
I honestly have no idea if there is benefit to doing this RaYzerman, but I had half a dozen small magnets sticking on my filing cabinet doing nothing so figured it can’t hurt sticking one on the filter. I will never go to the trouble of cutting a filter open to see either, but again it can’t hurt so why not.
Ari Henning clears it up rather well, as usual.