This is after my last 500miles of running in on semi-synthetic Mobil, have now changed to fully synthetic 10w/50 Silkolene Pro S.
There was probably double this when I changed after the first 500miles on Millers mineral running in oil!





Amazing really how much is floating around! lol

 

Ive got one only changed the oil twice since having it, ans didnt have that much metal on it.
Let me know how you get on with the Silkolene Pro S, as I got it did about 700miles then it sat parked up for a month and the oil had gone all manky and creamy.

 

I've fitted 1, the magnet's pretty strong,

 

Got one on my saph,cue the MSD bashers though.

 

Some of the galleries not cleaned out too well before the engine was built maybe?? Is it normal to have that much metal floating about?! Obviously doin a good job though nonetheless!!

 

looks like its worth having one of those, and not just a gimmick

 

Would there eventually be an adapter type oil plug with a 1/8th NPT fitting for people using oil senders? I Can't fit one of these as I have an adapter for my oil temperature sender.

 

You could easily fit the sender into any of the oil galleries or have a boss welded to your sump pan.

Alternatively, there are 'Black Hole' magnets that can go on your oil filter...

 

Seems like a good idea

 

Well I had it fitted to my last engine and everytime I dropped the oil there was a similar amount yes!
Yes Jonny for sure!

I think what everyone needs to remember is that what you see there is a build up of tiny tiny particles of metal, there is not one bit that you could pick up on it's own even with a pair of tweasers, it's like really fine dust, in the picture above it's grouped together in places to form what looks like spikes (larger pieces or metal) but it isnt it's just loads of tiny particles making what looks like bigger pieces, you cant even feel it in between your fingers!
So it may look a lot, but I dont think it is really...... your engine is wearing the whole time it's running.... where does all that wear (metal) go?

 

a 1/8 npt is available!

 

Cheers James, will have a look.

 

im not sure if we carry stock of them, if its something people want i can get some in no problem,

 

Also good for collecting lumps of cam follower and cam lobes as I'm probably about to find out!!

 

I have just bought 1 fitting it soon as pos .

 

i work on harriers for a living in the RAF. the main reason that mag plugs as we call them were introduced is to monitor wear rates in the engine and associated components such as gearboxes or generators giving us an early indication of likely component failure. the use of mag plugs in car engines, especially road car engines, in my opinion is not massively beneficial. the simple reason being that the small amounts of metal floating around in the oil that Karlos mentioned won't really cause much damage as the tolerances are not close enough for it to make a difference, also how many tuners do you know of that have the same sophisticated equipment as the military or civil aviation companies that can measure the wear rates according to how much material the plugs pick up? in effect the plugs are not doing the job they were designed for, but instead are there to provide some piece of mind to users who don't necessarily understand the true function of what they have bought. if this is the case and people genuinely think that fitting one of these sump plugs is saving their engines then i suppose thats all that matters but i just thought that people might like to hear what mag plugs were designed for so that maybe people have a better understanding of there use. i won't be suprised if i get a bashing for this comment but at the end of the day that is my opinion based around a working knowledge of these pieces of equipment gleaned from nearly eight years working in the aerospace industry. the simple fact is it's down to each individual to make their own opinions, mine is that i wouldn't fit one as i see it as unnecessary.

regards

Tom

 

It may well be unnecessary for road cars with regular oil changes Tom, but anything that removes metal from the oil is beneficial to the engines longevity and can in no way be a negative modification, certainly not for the price!
So whilst no one will be using it to meassure wear rates on components, it does serve a good purpose.... keeping your oil cleaner for longer and preventing it turning into what is effectively a cutting paste if not changed often enough!

 

yeah i have one for my sump and another for the gearbox waiting to be fitted

 

do they do these for the focus rs,might be worth me fitting one next oil change

 

[QUOTE=Karlos G;4844768]Well I had it fitted to my last engine and everytime I dropped the oil there was a similar amount yes!

Lol ahh right there's obviously no problems then just looks a lot though like you say the particles are so small!!
If i didn't run my oil temp from the sump plug i'd fit one, maybe if the sump has to come off at some point i'll weld a boss for the temp sensor in.

 

Have fitted one of these and am pleased they work, worth every penny these are

 

if get 1 of those really strong round magnets and stick it to the sump
i do then when i remove the plug i remove the magnet bringing it downward, you see the oil colour change to glittery! lol
you need a steel sump tho i guess

 

I agree with you to a point there Tom, it would be totally pointless to use a mag plug to prolong engine life in a military applications simply because the oil quantity compared with a motor vehicle is massive, and actually using them as they do (to measure engine wear) is much easier with large quantity's of oil.

Its all debatable really because the oil filter in a car is more than capable of filtering crap of that size.

I recently stripped my bmw's auto box to change filters and fluid, dropping the pan showed two large magnets covered in metal filings, there was NONE in the fluid (after careful filtering to see). More so the gearbox is stamped as "sealed for life", so to me the magnets were not fitted for inspections purposes but for removing ferrous particulates from the fluid (like they did), BMW being the tight German tossers they are really would not have fitted them had they not been of worth while benefit.

All in all i don't know if a sump plug magnet is worth it lol, but as Karlos says, it doesn't do any harm, and isn't expensive

Rob,

 

No lol,

The most you can hope for by using one is to prolong engine life by reducing long term wear.... your engine (if im remembering rightly) wasn't that old and suddenly failed....

Rob,

 

screw that! lol good luck with the next lump mate!!!!

Rob,

 

Got one fitted too but not got it running yet. Galleries were full of crud so cleaned them out with a magnetic pick up tool.

 

Bought one my self and had it fitted when I had my car serviced last week at Jamsport can't wait to see how much crap it's picked up when I do my next oil change.

 

valid point Rob, but as we all know it's age and exposure to temperature that degrades oil. just by fitting magnets to filter out miniscule particles of metal would not provide that much more protection to an engine in my mind. if a car is driven hard regularly, and lets face it who really just pootles around in an RST, then the best and really only way to protect the engine and ensure longevity is to make sure you change the oil and filter regularly as this stops damage being done due to degraded or dirty oil that is left way overdue. as i said before it's down to individual choice but to be honest mine will get used so little when it's rebuilt that the cost of regular oil changes will not be an issue for me personelly.

Karlos, i'm willing to bet that once the engine is properly run in the amounts you notice on the plug get smaller with every oil change. as i'm more than sure you're aware engines will produce a lot of swarf when being run in as all the new components bed themselves in hence why the oil is changed so regularly when running a new build in. p.s i've followed what you've posted on here quite avidly and hope this engine holds together a lot longer than the last and produces the figures you're after mate.

regards

Tom

 

Minis have had magentic sump plugs for 50 years, and the sole reason as far as im aware is to keep oil fragments away from the oil pump.

So I think that your logic is flawed, just cause you use them one way, doesnt mean its their only useful purpose.

 

Yes mate I imagine it will, there was a lot less this time than after the first 500miles thats for sure!
Thanks mate, I hope it does too!! So far so good, I'm really happy with it

 

I think you mean metal fragments chip! lol

 

yes mate, of course, thanks for spotting that.

 

Read what he wrote properly mate. He stated they were in his opinion unnecessary and explained why and to my mind I am siding with his opinion also. No production cars come out the factory with these fitted to the oil sump as standard Rob pointed out their use in a "sealed for life" gearbox which I also agree with but I fail to see how one could prolong engine longevity drastically with one of these unless fitted on an engine with zero miles. It is also more than likely that the life span of an engine will outlast your ownership so again I can see why they are unnecessary. Fail to see how his logic is flawed.

 

actually lots of high end cars have them fitted as standard

and i cant imagen for a minuite that manufacturers like porsche use them to measure engine wear lol

 

In the case of a mini, they have them there to collect gearbox swarf and stop it getting into the engine bearings, so its a more dramatic requirement than on an RST or similar, but I always use magnetic sump plugs for a combination of reasons, which include inspection and also preventing swarf filling up the oil filter.

If he thinks that people on here arent qualified to know from looking at their sump plug if their wear rate has increased I suspect he is underestimating how much experience some of us have with certain engines.

 

Really? Care to share a few as like I said not something that is widely broadcasted or knowledgeable within most car communities.

 

I bought two - one for my S1 and one for my Focus. The Focus one leaked and pissed oil all over my block paved driveway which cheered me up no end and I now have a large oil patch which I can't shift so that got fucked off out of it and I put the original Ford one back in. Leak stopped.

The S1 one has been fine.

Very strong magnets.