I've read of people sticking hard drive magnets on their oil filters to catch suspended ferrous particles. Anyone do this? I wonder if a metal particle that is small enough to get through the filter would really matter that much. Still I have a couple old dead hard drives laying around. I tried a search but nothing came up.
Magnets on oil filter?
- Thread starter lipadj46
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Originally Posted By: lipadj46
I've read of people sticking hard drive magnets on their oil filters to catch suspended ferrous particles. Anyone do this? I wonder if a metal particle that is small enough to get through the filter would really matter that much. Still I have a couple old dead hard drives laying around. I tried a search but nothing came up.
The magnets are on the outside of the oil filter, i.e. they draw and hold particles pre-filter. They do not only hold particles that are small enough to get through the filter.
It would be interesting to see the differences (if any) between runs of the same oil and oil filter with and without magnets (assuming weather and driving conditions are sufficiently the same on both runs).
Cheers,
Jeff
I've read of people sticking hard drive magnets on their oil filters to catch suspended ferrous particles. Anyone do this? I wonder if a metal particle that is small enough to get through the filter would really matter that much. Still I have a couple old dead hard drives laying around. I tried a search but nothing came up.
The magnets are on the outside of the oil filter, i.e. they draw and hold particles pre-filter. They do not only hold particles that are small enough to get through the filter.
It would be interesting to see the differences (if any) between runs of the same oil and oil filter with and without magnets (assuming weather and driving conditions are sufficiently the same on both runs).
Cheers,
Jeff
Per Blackstone, there is no difference in a UOA of an engine with or without magnets. This is kinda a weakness of a UOA, IMO, the way we get them. To get the particles one would see on a magnet we'd need a filter particle count, and that's too costly for automotive use (but not uncommon in aviation).
I have some one mine, they do catch stuff, it would probably get caught on the filter, but they are free so why not. If nothing else, that's one more bit of the filter that isn't plugged (not that that's a problem, but hey... did I say free?)
I have some one mine, they do catch stuff, it would probably get caught on the filter, but they are free so why not. If nothing else, that's one more bit of the filter that isn't plugged (not that that's a problem, but hey... did I say free?)
I have a magnetic drain plug, and at every oil change there is a thin film of particles on the magnet that I wipe off. There are no chunks, it's more of a dust. This bothers me because it seems like something that is small enough to make it through a filter.
Which is why I purchased the magnetic drain plugs for both of my Volvos.
Which is why I purchased the magnetic drain plugs for both of my Volvos.
I pulled a magnet out of an old harddrive the other day and stuck it on the dome end of my oil filter. We'll see what, if anything it collects.
Both of my cars listed below have hard disk magnets on them...I'll post pictures when the WRX hits 3k miles (probably within a month) and the Accord has a while to go though (6+ months)
I just tore open a couple dead laptop hard drives and stuck them on my oil filter.
I wrote about the magnet here at this web page
http://webpages.charter.net/easytims/Oil.htm
http://webpages.charter.net/easytims/Oil.htm
Here is the inside of the filter on my WRX with 1750 miles on her:
I rubbed the material between my fingers and it was very very fine grit (not 'chunks' per se) but it was magnetic regardless. I'm going to keep with the magnets on there every time just to monitor the trend.
I rubbed the material between my fingers and it was very very fine grit (not 'chunks' per se) but it was magnetic regardless. I'm going to keep with the magnets on there every time just to monitor the trend.
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Dare I ask what oil you were using?
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
Dare I ask what oil you were using?
Pennzoil YB 5w30
Dare I ask what oil you were using?
Pennzoil YB 5w30
Was that the factory fill of oil through that filter?
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
Was that the factory fill of oil through that filter?
I dumped the FF at 745 miles but kept the same filter on. I then filled it with PYB for a short OCI and dumped that at 1750 miles. So it was the factory oil filter but second change of oil. The magnets were on there for for about 600 out of the 1000 miles on the PYB.
Was that the factory fill of oil through that filter?
I dumped the FF at 745 miles but kept the same filter on. I then filled it with PYB for a short OCI and dumped that at 1750 miles. So it was the factory oil filter but second change of oil. The magnets were on there for for about 600 out of the 1000 miles on the PYB.
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