The short one goes in the Manual transmission (auto I don't know ???) The longer one goes in the engine oil pan. These are Spoon ones but all the rest including the universal ones at auto parts stores do the same job but are a LOT CHEAPER.

 

i can only imagine that the drain plug magnet works. Its the same concept of a chip detector on a jet engine. When you check it you can't always see the metal particles but when you start to get some flakes or larger pieces of metal it lets us know that something is starting to go

 

Interesting blog on this subject:Beyond The Dyno

 

Nothing interesting about it. Just look at this photo of the actual CRAP removed from the oil supply on my Jazz. I'm a completely unbiased tester I have no connection what so ever with any plug company... the question you have to answer for yourself is would I want this crap still in my engine or removed by a magnetic drain plug for a couple of bucks. He has never used one or he could see the proof himself.

 

here's something you can try next time you change your oil, if you're interested. try taking a magnet and putting it in the drained oil and moving it around to see if you get anything on it. i did this and got nothing at all, so i figured i don't need a magnetic drain plug and decided not to buy one.

 

Thats because of the natural lip of the threaded hole is actually higher than the bottom of the pan causing all that nasty stuff to remain in the pan.

 

i'm using a set of j's racing magnetic drain bolt set and i can say they work very well

 

Millhouse609 has hit the proverbial nail on the head. The magnetic plugs are really designed as a troubleshooting aid. The metal commonly found on these plugs in a healthy engine (post break-in) would be harmlessly captured by the filter. It would take an engine a lifetime to produce enough of this powdery metal to completely clog an oil filter, so obviously they're not used for the purpose of preventing clogged filters.

I troubleshoot engines and APUs at an airline for a living. Every engine and APU type I work on uses chip detectors. Usually they are located in the bottom of the accessory drive gearbox, the oil tank, and in the oil scavenge system. Normally you'll see a chip detector on each main bearing scavenge line so that when a bearing goes bad you can pinpoint which one with a simple push and twist of the detector.

BTW Claymore, what you have there in your photo is what we would call a "Don King". What is known as harmless ring fuzz on your plug would mean an engine change in the airline biz.-- 'course the metal frags are usually bigger than what is on your plug!

 

If you think that particles would be captured by the oil filter and magnetic plugs are just an indicator and do no harm would you want that don king ( it is not just harmless fuzz there is MASS to the metallic particles collected) in your engine or removed like mine.

And why would you change the jet engine if it had particles on the plug if it wasn't dangerous to engine life???

ANYTHING an owner can do to trap and remove metallic particles from their engine for the cheap price of these plugs is a great investment.

 

I can't make sense of the question you're asking. The particles would be caught by the filter, so they would be removed. They just were attracted to your mag plug before the oil was sent through the filter. The oil in your engine collects in the oil pan after it has been circulated through the various oil passages. The oil pump pick-up then sucks it from the pan, sends it through the filter, on through the oil passages to the components such as bearings, cylinder walls, the valve train, etc., where it picks up the small metal particles, and then it drains back to the oil pan to start the cycle all over again. Any material like what you saw on your mag plug comes from the oil when it drains back into the pan, and it will most certainly be caught by the filter. If someone were to neglect changing their oil, and allow the filter to become completely clogged, then the bypass valve will allow the oil to go around the filter. In this case the metal particles would indeed travel through the engine causing harm. But you wouldn't let that happen would you?

You cannot compare a jet engine to an internal combustion engine. They are two completely different animals. The oil in a jet engine is not exposed to the combustion process as it is in your cars engine. There are no pistons, and therefore no piston rings (the source of your ring fuzz), so there are no normal metal particles when it comes to a jet engine. When we find an engine making metal, something is wrong, so the engine is pulled. Usually it is a bearing, but they are roller and/or ball bearings unlike your car which uses journal bearings.

Quite true, and a good quality filter will do this in a properly maintained engine. The mag plugs in an engine really are just a troubleshooting aid.

You'll notice I said "in an engine" in that last line. When it comes to automatic transmissions they do serve a higher purpose. In this case we're talking about a hydraulic system that usually uses a filter with a much coarser filter element than you see in an engine oil filter. Here you actually do need to trap as many metal particles as possible because the less efficient filter won't keep them out of the seals, etc. Most manufacturers will have a magnet somewhere in the fluid collection area for this purpose.
Mag plugs are a great idea in a manual tranny too. There is no filtering system on most manual transmissions, so keeping the particles out of circulation is a good idea.

 

good explanation mdm427!

 

I have seen those plugs work wonders. Its amazing how many shavings ppl have running thru their systems.

 

I don't mean to beat a dead horse here, and I certainly mean no disrespect, but the metal particles captured by oil pan mag plugs would not otherwise be "running thru their systems". The magnet is simply attracting the metal before it ever has a chance to go through the oil filter and be captured. If you could install a magnet directly after the oil filter, and before any of the engine components being lubricated, you would not see any such particles on said magnet. A good filter will retain particles that are 25 microns or larger in diameter. To put that number in perspective, a human hair measures about 70 microns in diameter.

Now don't get me wrong; I'm not saying mag plugs are a bad idea. They will absolutely save you the trouble of cutting open your oil filter to look for signs of abnormal wear.

 

But aren't you saying they are a bad idea?


and aren't you also saying they don't do anything because a good oil filter should do its job?


I'm not saying they are a godsend but they are useful. Especially if you have a engine already in rough shape. I hate to argue but in one statement your saying that it is a bad idea and not really useful because of the oil filter and then saying it absolutely saves you trouble...I just dont get it. But I will agree they aren't some 100% magically cure like a lot of people tend to act like.

 

i think he is just saying that yes they can be useful in situations for you to easily see the signs of wear on your engine, but that they are not necessary in order to keep a healthy engine because without them, the particles would still be removed from circulation.

 

I never said they were a bad idea.


I didn't say they don't do anything either. I said that they are a troubleshooting aid, and that the filter would have removed these particles from the oil had they not been attracted to the magnet first.


Yes they are useful! What I seem to be having a hard time explaining here is that you don't have to use a mag plug to remove these metal particles from your oil system.

I never said they were a bad idea, nor did I say they weren't useful. Again, what I am saying is that they aren't necessary to remove the metal particles from your oil, because they will be trapped by the filter.

As for the trouble they save, I was referring to the trouble of cutting open your oil filter to check for metal particles.

 

EXACTLY!!!

 

Agree with ^... nowhere did i get the impression that he was down talking a magnetic plug nor was he saying it was not a good idea.. he just said it isn't necessary for a healthy engine because your oil filter is taking care of the problem for you its just that your putting the plug before the filter even gets a chance to filter it..

 

Of course they do...........and all arguments on this subject are moot......because alll you have to do is install one and see how much iron it collects at the next oil change........

Ditto for any other drain plug you can think of: Tranny, Rear End.....whatever

And for those that say the filter will catch them...........they won't.........because of the Simple Reason that iron particles come in all sizes......a lot of em pass right through the filter.

Again......you wanna know if they work.......install one and see for yourself.

z

 

Its been 8 years!