Magnetic Drain Plug - Pretty much nothing on it

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I recently changed the oil in my Focus for the first time since adding a magnetic drain plug.

When I changed it, I noticed that there was pretty much nothing on the plug. I was expecting quite a buildup, but it was quite the opposite.

To me, that's a good thing, but for those of you that have magnetic drain plugs, is this what you're seeing nowadays?

Also, are there any new cars that come from the factory with a drain plug anymore? My old '98 Chevy Cavalier did, but I have a buddy that owns about an '06-ish Impala and he says that his didn't come with a magnetic drain plug. I found that to be interesting. For what it's worth, I started to notice this lack of buildup as well on my '98 Cavalier towards the end of my ownership of that car.

In your opinion, is there any value anymore to using Magnetic Drain Plugs? In my mind there is and always will be, but I am shocked by the lack of buildup on the drain plug I saw this time around.
 
I think that part of it is that newer cars have more and more aluminum, which isn't ferromagnetic. I definitely see some buildup in my transmission filter plug though.
 
My car didn't come with a magnetic drain plug, but I put one on about a year ago. I've done two oil changes since putting it on, and each time it comes out completely clean. Lack of metal particles on the magnet doesn't really say much, because the filter could be doing an excellent job of collecting them.

I've also used an oil filter magnet on the vehicle for about 5 years now. I don't know if the filter magnet or drain plug magnet help, but I can't see how they hurt anything so I'll continue to use them. I'd like to cut open a filter some day to see if there's any additional shavings stuck to the inside of the can where the magnet is.
 
I've never had a car with an OE magnetic engine oil drain plug. I've added a few tho. Usually there is a very limited amount of fine slurry. I first saw transmission and diff OE manetic plugs on Japanese products. Usually a little more buildup on those and sometimes a bit of it is not as fine-tho generally as newer and also the change intervals are much longer.
 
It's one of those things that can't hurt. And if it gets rid of even a few particles it's better than having them circulate through the system. And if you get a sudden increase it might just be an early waring of trouble ahead.
 
I don't know of any new cars that come from the factory with a magnetic drain plug...I've never seen it. And I've never used one.

I say, if it makes you feel good, use it! I've heard of people putting magnets on their filters, but I've never actually ever seen anyone do it (or personally know anyone that does it). I have a Honda Accord with almost 300k miles on it and I've never had a magnet anywhere near the engine - although I did put one in the power steering reservoir for a few weeks to get stuff out - and I guess I did, a little. But never used an oil plug magnet.
 
The value I see in magnetic drain plugs is a.) on two of my 3 vehicles*, it sticks to the pan so hard I can't drop it into the hot oil even if I wanted to, and b.) it is an "early warning device" that tells you if something's going wrong inside the engine.

Just like changing the oil gives me a warm fuzzy every time I see black oil and no milkshake, I get another another for seeing little or no metallic fuzz on the magnetic drain plug.

*(Third vehicle has an aluminum pan).
 
New cars would not come OEM with a mag drain plug. Think about it. If a customer sees metal bits on it, and the car runs fine, the customer would be unhappy. Car makers want it to make it out of warranty before calling attention to any internal unseen malfunctions.
 
I'm only used to fuzz on the drain plug if the vehicle was abused. Many GMC trucks leave the factory with one. Normal service intervals may have a whisker on the magnet, abused engines have a beard.

I have been using a magnetic plug on my Mitsubishi for a few oil changes, I didn't see much of anything on the magnet. I have a Gold Plug brand on my car.

I installed some Dorman plugs on 2 other cars, but those magnets are very weak. I still don't see anything significant sticking to the magnet. I don't know if it is because the magnet is weak, or if the vehicles produce very little wear metal.
 
The one from my 2007 Civic would always collect some goo and that block was mostly aluminum as well. I think it's worth the $20 investment.


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Originally Posted By: qdeezie
When I changed it, I noticed that there was pretty much nothing on the plug. I was expecting quite a buildup, but it was quite the opposite.

Why would you expect "quite a buildup" on your magnetic drain plug? Most of the wear surfaces inside the engine are not iron-on-iron. The main and rod bearings are made of some combination of tin, copper, or lead. Plus, the journals ride on a layer of oil, right? There isn't much iron in the valve train that is going to wear away. I think magnetic drain plugs are much more useful in differentials and transmissions in which there are steel gears engaging one-another.

Here is what the factory drain plug looked like when I changed the gear oil on the rear axle of my 2007 Dodge Ram 2500. The oil had 60k miles on it when I changed it a few months ago. It may be hard to tell from the picture, but the end of the plug is concave and there is a layer of very fine iron powder perhaps 1/32" to 1/16" thick.

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Originally Posted By: Joel_MD
Why would you expect "quite a buildup" on your magnetic drain plug?

Mainly because I didn't know the history of the car prior to purchasing it.

When I replaced the timing belt, the engine had varnish, but was otherwise clean.

It runs unbelievably smooth and consumes zero oil between changes, but I figured I'd see a few specs show up since I didn't know the history of the car.

I guess I was expecting the worst out of a vehicle with an unknown history.
 
Originally Posted By: Joel_MD
..I think magnetic drain plugs are much more useful in differentials and transmissions..

+1

Found OE magnets (in need of cleaning) in every gearbox and differential which I've serviced.

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Never collected much debris on retrofitted engine motor oil drain plugs, though.
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