Hi folks, Richard here from DrainPlugMagnets.com . Most people do not realize there are hundreds of thousands of teeny pieces of metal in your engine and especially your transmission (no oil filter). They keep circulating around, mate. Too small to be captured by the oil filter. My Dimple® Super drain plugs for the engine and transmission will get them out and keep them out. We believe in this so much that if you CALL me and mention this thread I will send you 3 (three Dimples ) for the price of 2 . This means you get one engine drain plug and two transmission drain plugs, one for fill plug and one drain plug and your done, your mini is fully protected. If you have an automatic you will get a 30% off on your engine drain plug!:idea: Example, a second generation mini would get 1 ea. M16 plug for the engine and 2 M18 drain plugs for the 6 speed transmission! Motoring Alliance members need to call 704-320-0700 for the 3 for 2 deal.
my car comes with magnetic plugs stock. changing my rear diff oil at 30k miles, it's shocking how much metallic crap was in there
I just checked the website and didn't see plugs for the r53 (only for 07s on). Did I miss them? :confused5:
Doesn't that mean that you have to begin using your car again Lynn?ut: Please post pictures when you powder coat them red :lol:
Not to worry cct1, someone gave me a used FUMOTO valve and it worked well on my grand daughters lemonade dispenser. It is either on or off and no dripping, perhaps we should fit one to a BEER dispenser at our next get together?
What are these plugs made from ? Are they made from the same material as the OEM plugs and just magnatised ? Reason why I ask is because the OEM plugs already have a tendency to be overtightened, and due to the different metals of the pan and plug, there are expansion issues and they get stripped while attempting to be removed......
Mr Dimple stated on the phone that these were Zinc plated. And it appears as though the high power magnet is pressed into a cylindrical cavity in the 'core' of the plug. They look quite well made.
The rate of flow through the canister is simply too high for a magnet (of any strength) to be effective there. I am no physicist, but I even wonder about the effectiveness of this on all but the largest bits of metal. What is the buoyancy of oil in relation to micron-size bits of metal? Will the bits actually sink in the pan or does the oil keep them aloft? How many inches of oil can the magnet's pull reach through? Does it magnetize the surround metal of the pan? If so, do the metal bits just stick to the sides of the pan? I'd like to see more data and solid science rather than suggestive logic.
Does anyone have any pics of one of these oil plugs removed for an oil change. It would be nice to see exactly what is being removed from the oil. Theoretically, this definitely sounds good, and GM does this on at least some of their vehicles as the wife's 2004 Tahoe has a weak magnet in the oil drain plug. So, there is some data out there somewhere.
Not entirely. I looked into this a few years ago and the evidence regarding their effectiveness was sketchy and inconclusive. I'd really like to see something more definitive. Good point about the aluminum oil pan and the many aluminum parts. As mini_racer asks, I'd also like to see what is coming out. If our high-tolerance, modern engines are really dumping that much ferrous particulate matter, then we might have bigger issues. And what about over time? Does it make a bigger difference at initial break-in than after a certain amount of miles? ...Probably the best method of testing is via oil analysis - but their website doesn't show anything like that. I know there are a lot of folks who can speak more intelligently on it than I. There are really just a lot of unanswered questions. As far as I'm concerned, the premise is based largely on unsubstantiated inference that we want to believe. But is it really worth $25 (or even $5) if it isn't actually doing anything? I can be converted from being a skeptic on this, just show me the data!
I have used a cow magnet hose clamped to the oil pickup tube in VW air cooled (oil) engines years ago, always worked for me.
Our gearbox has an OE internal magnet in a slot not far from the drain plug; it is about the size of a half dollar. Looking at the case half in the bottom of the photo below, it is at the upper right corner of the blue shop towel, to the far left of the output race. Here is my magnet below at 72k miles; radial columns of metal shavings can be seen (I smeared one for show). It does a good job capturing most of the metals; a 14k mile lube analysis using MTF 94 showed very few residuals in the report.
Good to know! Thanks for the information. By the way, I appreciate your posts, here and elsewhere. Is there any part of the MINI that you have NOT taken apart? :lol:
Hey K and thanks for this post, with pics. A little off-topic, but what symptoms were you experiencing in your tranny that prompted the removal and tear-down? Also, where did you find the MTF-94 and how much does the tranny hold? Since you are this far, I guess you might as well go for a new clutch.