To all of the present and future R56 owners who anticipate doing an intermediate oil change themselves or otherwise , between run in and 1st dealer oil change, I think that it would be great to have a magnetic oil drain plug on hand ready to swap out the OEM plug. I am a firm believer in these little devices, had them in every car that I owned. They take the load off the main filter and let it do its job more efficiently without having to deal with all the extra magnetic crud, especially during run in. I tried to do all the Google searches but there is nothing specific as yet that I can find. (Dealers Take Note) .It would be nice to have the METRIC size of the original plug so that it could be matched to available sizes. This also applies to the transmissions, when that time comes.!! R56 owners keep your eyes open for any info. Anyone got any extra thoughts on this ??

 

Yep. Provides little more than peace of mind. The thickness of the oil, the motion of the oil and the relatively weak magnetic pull would mean that any metal that gets trapped on the plug, and stays there, is pure luck. But, it's not like we are talking about a huge expense here.

 

Only one. The Aluminum material that would make up the majority of the residue isn't attracted to a magnet.

 

good point, dneal.

 

The sleeves are not aluminum. So it would be beneficial

 

That's what your oil filter is for. The iron scraped off the cylinder walls will be suspended in the oil. They're not giant shavings.

 

Just remember probably 90% of the wearable friction surfaces in the engine are steel and probably magnetic. ( sleeves, rings ,valves)

 

But, will a magnetic plug really pull powdered steel out of the oil? I can see a magnetic plug attracting steel shavings that fall to the bottom of the sump, but if you have shavings in the engine, something is very wrong.

I can't see a sump plug pulling out much of the fine steel particles that are suspended in the oil.

 

I'm all for magnetic plugs in unfiltered oil bath scenarios like manual transmissions and standard differentials. Although hardened steel, the gears wear directly on one another and produce material that exacerbates wear. Still, that takes a long time to happen, and the magnet collects the larger particles.

The friction producing parts in an engine are totally different. Crank or camshafts riding on a film of oil have very little wear. The biggest offender is the piston ring against the cylinder wall, and that residue goes straight to the bottom of the crankcase. Any particle large enough to cause damage will get filtered out by the screen on the oil pump pickup or the oil filter itself. It's not going to get to a crank or rod journal where it would damage the bearing surface.

You're far more likely to have wear from oil breakdown. Given much higher manufacturing tolerances and much improved oil technology, that's not going to be an issue either if you change your oil on a regular, common sense basis.

Modern car engines aren't old cast-iron technology of the '70's and earlier. They're not 2 1/2 horse Briggs and Stratton lawnmower engines. Conventional wisdom passed down from people who dealt with old technology (like 3000 mile oil changes and magnetic oil pan plugs) have little use today.

 

Exactly dneal, which confirms my original point: it gives nothing more than peace of mind. A placebo.

 

If tou want a magnetic drain plug all you have to do is go to a woodworking store (Woodcraft) and get a dime size rare earth magnet. Place this on your drainplug and you are set for less then a buck

 

djam43,

This is Tim from www.magneticdrainplug.com. I noticed your post and should be able to help you.

What size and pitch are the drain plug threads? I am unable to find this info. We carry most sizes of drain plugs, so if you know the size, I am sure we have it in stock.

As far as the usefulness of magnetic drain plugs in new engines, they are still viable. Our magnets are powerful enough that they pull metal particles from suspension and hold until you wipe them off. The old style magnets don't even come close to this power.

Let me know about the drain plug size and tranny size if you know it. Pictures always help too.

Tim

 

I have a K1100RS BMW motorcycle drivetrain in my Grinnall Scorpion. The first time I changed the oil (bike drivetrain had 16k miles on it when I bought it as wrecked bike for dismantling) after installing this plug, it had a fair amount of the very FINEST particles...like grey/black dust on it. Since then the amount is very very small, but it's doing it's job. The unit that these people gave me is very powerful, and is longer than a normal magnet. Put it this way...I had another for an old VW I own, and the two of them took a hardy PULL to jerk apart. I believe in it, don't care what the naysayers say. That ultra fine powder (which by the way is so fine that it is even difficult to "wipe" off the big magnet tip) is the garbage that goes right through a normal filter. Unfortunately, I have found these people to be very unresponsive to emails about producing and/or buying a unit to fit any modern Mini. They list BMW cars, but it doesn't say MINI anywhere. Perhaps if some more owners email them, they'll wake up and see the market. I'd love to stick one in my new R56. BTW, I looked at the unit mentioned on this string, and it's TINY compared to the superplug unit. BUT, it is available. (I just emailed them again...info@superplug.com and subject line should be INQUIRY. There's strength in numbers. BTW, the price is less than $25. Cheap.
Tom
www.superplug.com

 

We actually use the same magnet as super plug at 1/3rd the cost.

We also listen to our customers....

 

Assuming a magnetic plug actually accumulated the amount of metal shown on the website below (which I think is highly doubtful), imagine what would happen if it got dislodged after hitting a pothole, a fender-bender, or even in thick, cold, oil, and then travelled through the engine in a clump.

 

First, the plug picture I think you are referring to is out of a Honda Rebel motorcycle. They do not use an old filter. That picture is 100% true, sent to me by a customer!

These magnets are powerful! If you owned a vehicle with NO filter, I would never be concerned that a "clump" would dislodge.

Since most vehicles use a oil filter, the magnet drain plug pulls very small particles of ferrous metal from the oil. This looks like fuzz on the tip at every oil change. Very, very fine metal particles.

I am still looking for help on the size of the drain plug for the Mini. I will offer a free magnet drain plug to the first person that helps. I need thread size and pitch. A pic always helps!

Thanks again!
Tim

 

How about one of those filter magnets... will that work with Mini?

 

Pulled and measured the drain plug. 14mm x 1.5 pitch.

I have used magnetic on several cars in the past, most of which were aluminum head and block, yet the magnet picks up a really fine dust of metal... it's as smooth as silk when you feel it...

 

Does it have a copper or plastic gasket or one of those crush ones.??

 

Surfblue says:
Doing my first oil change at 1800 miles tonight, car is hot and draining as I type this. I measured the drain plug. Fits perfect through the 16mm hole in my measuring gizmo. The 14mm one I have on hand (14mm x 1.5) is much smaller...easily seen by the naked eye. So the stock plug is going back in.

 

has anyone actually put one in yet? and if so, what exacty size is it?

 

This is really confuseing, previous posts on this forum measured the plug as 14M-1.5. Maybe BMW is using two sizes, although RealOem.com shows only one part number. Any body else measure their drainplug. ??

 

djam43 and surfblue If the plug fits in the measuring guage at 16mm, then that's what is! good work! The late model engine takes a 16mmX1.5 plug, to confirm, give your vin# to your parts dealer and they will tell you what size it is. We stock all 3 sizes minis use 14mmX1.5 early mini engine, 16mmX1.5 late mini engine drain plug and early trans fill and drain plugs. 18mmX1.5 6speed trans and late manuals. Check with dealer or identify it first likesurfblue to be sure.

 

You know, it doesn't have to be on the drain plug. If you just put some very strong magnets on the bottom of the oil pan*near* the drain, just remove the magnets before changing your oil, and the particles should flow with the exiting oil. Now, because the magnet is on the oil pan constantly, it will eventually magnetize the oil pan. But that's not the end of the world if the whole oil pan captures particles, is it?

 

The only problem with your theory chibi is the oil pan on the mini's that we love so much have an aluminum oil pan! which a magnet wont attach to.
My passion is helping people keep their cars a lot longer, my Dimple drain plugs are specially made for us, they are so strong they clean 24/7 and they last forever, great insurance, especially if you have a turbo, they need magnetically cleaned oil. Try one on your engine, WE also have them for your manual trans, filler plug and drain plug. give your parts dept your vin# and they will tell you the sizes you need. Thank you chibi