Magnets on or in a filter? Issues?

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OceanRuns

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I've been reading about folks placing magnets either on or in their oil filters. Anyone here do this?

Any of these issues legitimate concerns?

1. Would the magnets possibly interfere with any of the valves within the filter?

2. This website ( http://www.oilfiltermagnets.com/ granted, someone trying to sell something) claims that placing magnets on the filter causes deposits between the wall and the media. This is a very narrow area, and can impeded oil flow. Their solution is to place a magnet in the filter.

3. I read someone suggesting that the captured particles could become slightly magnetized, break lose, and then stick to someone in the engine.

Thoughts?

Magnets are pretty cheap. The whole thing is an intriguing idea. But, curious whether there are concerns.
 
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filter causes deposits between the wall and the media. This is a very narrow area, and can impeded oil flow. Their solution is to place a magnet in the filter.


hard to believe that much metal dust in the oil!!
 
The way I look at it is, anything that would be collected to a magnet would be circulated in the oil anyway. That's how it got to the magnet. If it was small enough to not get collected in the oil filter, it's not gonna do much harm anyway. Changing your oil will get rid of anything that shouldn't be in your oil. That's been proven a million and a half times with used oil analysis. Think about how many motors have been built over the last 100 years without oil filter magnets, and last hundreds of thousands of miles. The rest of your car will give up before the motor does with minimal care.,,,
 
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My Chevy engine has a magnetic drain plug from the factory. It had a few pieces on it the first time I changed the oil, never any since. The transmission also has a magnet in the pan, again a factory item, and it had a few pieces the first time I drained the fluid after it was overhauled, and never again.

The site mentioned is talking about supposedly catching particles so tiny that even if they were circulating, they would be small enough to go through bearing clearances without touching anything. There's a lot of other stuff on the site that pegs my semi-educated nonsense meter (catching non-ferrous metals? Fascinating!), but that's just one point. It looks like a solution in search of a problem - a solution that does nothing but separate people from their money.

Just my $.02.
 
I would never drop anything inside an oil filter. The possibility of the magnet moving to a position that blocks the outlet passage would worry me to death. So my choice would be put a magnet on the outside or use a magnetic drain plug.
 
Magnets lose force as temperature increases. Make sure you find one that maintains strength at operating temps. I use Dimple Magnets for this reason, but I'm sure there are others. I use them in the AT, PS, differential and engine oil. I have no idea if they make a statistical difference in wear but there is always some black goo on the magnet. I would not place one inside a filter. Hope this helps.
 
One potential issue I see is that even if the magnet doesn't lose strength but you drive normally, say never exceeding 3500 RPM, there will be a certain amount of particles collected on the magnet based on the force that the flowing oil exerts on the particles.

Now, if for whatever reason the engine needs to rev much higher, the oil flow will increase and therefore the force exerted on the stuck particles. Since the magnetic force is constant, some particles will be released from the magnet all at once. That release would not be desirable and would totally defeat the purpose of the magnet.
 
Originally Posted By: Sam_Julier
I use Dimple Magnets for this reason, but I'm sure there are others.


Can you post a link to the ones you use? Thanks.
 
Originally Posted By: mikered30
How much of your engine is aluminum?


Virtually none of the parts that actually WEAR. Very few engines have bare aluminum cylinder bores, most are iron-sleeved. Piston rings are iron. Piston skirts are aluminum, and create wear metals. A number of engines have aluminum bearings (either aluminum insert shells, or in the case of cam bearings they sometimes run directly on machined bearing surfaces in the head casting. But then, bearings are always non-ferrous. If they're not aluminum, they're babbit or babbit/copper layered.
 
This always sounds like a good idea to me but have never gone beyond thinking about it somehow. One thing's for sure, the UOA will not tell you the true story on all wear metals any longer but I suppose most bearing materials are still present.
 
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Originally Posted By: 6starprez
I would never drop anything inside an oil filter. The possibility of the magnet moving to a position that blocks the outlet passage would worry me to death. So my choice would be put a magnet on the outside or use a magnetic drain plug.


The Allison transmission spin off filter on the Duramax has a magnet that needs to be cleaned and reinstalled on the new filter, so there must be some merit to magnets, the Allison is the gold standard for diesel pickups transmissions .
 
oil filters let particles through up to 40 microns, that's 40 times bigger than the typical oil film thickness. An after the oil filter bypass valve opens anything that can be picked up by the oil pump can pass.

Carefully considered placement of a magnet isn't a bad idea
 
Originally Posted By: OceanRuns

2. This website ( http://www.oilfiltermagnets.com/ granted, someone trying to sell something) claims that placing magnets on the filter causes deposits between the wall and the media. This is a very narrow area, and can impeded oil flow. Their solution is to place a magnet in the filter.


That's crazy to put a magnet inside the center tube! No way I'd do that one.

And putting a magnet on the outside of the can is not going to "impede oil flow" on the inside of the oil filter. The build up on the inside isn't that much to cause any change in flow. And besides with a positive displacement oil pump there is no impeding since it will push the oil through even if there is a slight increase in resistance.
 
Originally Posted By: Jetronic
oil filters let particles through up to 40 microns, that's 40 times bigger than the typical oil film thickness. An after the oil filter bypass valve opens anything that can be picked up by the oil pump can pass.

Carefully considered placement of a magnet isn't a bad idea


I don't think my Fram Ultra is going to pass any 40 micron particles. Bypass events are rarer than you'd think.

I use an external filter mag though it always picks up some grit.



Here a pic of my last XG3980


20p7af.jpg
 
All oil filter magnets do is separate people from their money.

There is no proof that using oil filter magnets will prolong engine life.
 
I once read on this site that a magnet might possibly cause a problem. The reason being is that if ferrous metal should break away from the magnet and was magnetized it can cause damage. He mentioned the magnetized piece of metal making its way to the crankshaft. Possibly getting stuck in between a bearing and the shaft and remain there causing damage. I found that person's thoughts on the topic interesting. The crank/bearing area is just one example of possible damage.
 
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