Cheap option for magnetic drain plugs (superplug)

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Lumberg

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After doing lits of research, it looks like the superplug, a $22 product (plus $8 shipping) is nothing but a neodymium magnet on a standard bolt. It looks like this site:

http://www.wondermagnets.com/cgi-bin/edatcat/WMSstore.pl?user_action=detail&catalogno=0016

has a 1/4"x1/2" neodymium rod which will simply stick to the end of your drain plug, for about $.60 each. See the last post in this thread to see why you don't even need to glue it to the drain plug

I ordered 10 magnets and shipping was $6.22 I figure I can put them in my vehicles as well as those of my relatives, and have a few spare in the unlikely event that one does come unattached from the drain plug. OF course epoxying it to the D.P. could be a good sleep-better-at-night procedure
smile.gif
 
Good idea. I've often wondered why more don't just put one on the outside of the filter. I don't see how this would be a bad thing. I guess NOT seeing the beard on it wouldn't do.

I've had a mag plug in my Caravan for over decade ..it always has something on it ...but you never quite seem to get it all off. It's like trying to wipe off graphite that slides and sticks ..but moves around.

Heck ...I'll put a few of em on my wife's 4.0 jeep engine. Now I'll have a 4.0 that doesn't look like an "iron hog" on my next UOA
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btw- I wonder how these handle heat. Some do not retain their potency under heat.
dunno.gif


[ May 29, 2004, 01:23 AM: Message edited by: Gary Allan ]
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gary Allan:
I've often wondered why more don't just put one on the outside of the filter.
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I don't think that would really do anything for you. 99% of the stuff that would get caught on the magnet would have been caught by the filter anyway. With a magnetic drain plug, it catches the things before they make their way through your oil pump...
 
quote:
99% of the stuff that would get caught on the magnet would have been caught by the filter anyway.
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Are you sure about this? I don't think ferrous material has a specific micron lower limit. I would think that any piece under 20 microns (nominal) would pass straight through the filter and just keep spinning around. Now they might ..those suspended in the oil at the time of shut down ..just fall to the bottom of the pan and stay there (no velocity to maintain them in suspension). That is, they, in time, just become part of the sludge blanket on the bottom of the pan. They may also bond with some other components in the oil flow ..

quote:
With a magnetic drain plug, it catches the things before they make their way through your oil pump...
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This I can't argue with.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gary Allan:
Good idea. I've often wondered why more don't just put one on the outside of the filter. I don't see how this would be a bad thing. I guess NOT seeing the beard on it wouldn't do.

I've had a mag plug in my Caravan for over decade ..it always has something on it ...but you never quite seem to get it all off. It's like trying to wipe off graphite that slides and sticks ..but moves around.

Heck ...I'll put a few of em on my wife's 4.0 jeep engine. Now I'll have a 4.0 that doesn't look like an "iron hog" on my next UOA
grin.gif


btw- I wonder how these handle heat. Some do not retain their potency under heat.
dunno.gif

Click to expand...
you know after I made this post I thought of that. Since I have spare ones I will keep one out of the heat and after each OC I will compare strengths. If these do degrade I will keep replacing them, and then replace with Samarium Cobalt. I guess this is another experiment I should report back to here with.
 
IF my grade school memories are correct you will have to get that magnet up to 400°F for it to lose it's magnetic attraction. Please do not quote me though.
 
Those of you who use a magnefine inline AT filter may cut open a used filter and use the magnet by attaching it outside their full flow filter. I do this and I am very pleased with the results
 
actually when you oorder from forcefield they include a card with the temp limits. it's in Celsuis, but I'm farily sure the figure is less than 300 degrees F for neodynium. The samarium cobalt are higher, perhaps you're thinking of those.
 
I made a magnetic plug a long time ago, before you could buy them cheap off the net. I took a spare drain plug and drilled a small hole in it. I glued a generic magnet inside the hole with some JB Weld. It worked fine for as long as I owned that car, probably >100,000 miles.

Personally, I'd rather use a dab of JB Weld than risk the magnet getting loose in the pan.
 
With a neodymium or samarium-cobalt magnet it ain't goin' anywhere - glue or not. Has anyone ever experienced even the el cheapo ceramic magnets in the bottom of AT pans coming loose and ripping the tranny's guts out?
 
Bingo Ray.

I would be way more worried about the JB Weld or gorilla snot coming loose and ripping the shizzle out of your tranny or engine. If the magnet ain't gonna stick to the big hunk o'metal pan how is it gonna grab the teeny little pieces of wear metals?

Steve
 
My pan is cast aluminum. On the V8 SHO motors the cam sprockets spin loose and the ad hoc non-official ford has buried it's head in the sand fix is to weld them in the car.

After three oil changes I put in the super plug. Still three more oil changes later I am pulling weld splatter and wire out with each oil change.
 
Hey, seven years later and I still have most of those magnets.

They have held up great in engine oil sumps.

I did have one bad result. I put one on the drain plug of my '99 Protege manual trans. It did feel a little funny putting it in, like it hit something. As I backed out of the driveway there was a weird hiccup backing up. Then I never felt anything after that.

I also had a magnet on the fill plug, and also a slight leak in one of the axle seals.

A while later I added some gear oil and pulling the fill plug, I saw about half of the drain plug magnet (in pieces) stuck to the fill plug magnet.

Luckily magnets are quite soft so I don't think it did much damage. The whole episode is cringe inducing, however.

But the things withstand the heat quite well!
 
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