i jsut got my CM4 few days ago. and i alrady drove 500+ miles on it, when it hits about 1500mile i will do my first oil change and would like to change the oil drain plug to Magnetic one..


so does anyone upgrade the plug to Magnetic ? where u find it ??

thanks

 

you can find them at a few places. i picked mine up here..
http://www.outmotoring.com/
when i picked up the rest of the stuff for my 1500 mile oil change. opinions on them vary, since there's very little ferrous metals left in the engine that would be picked up by it and any particles that there may be would be caught by the oil filter. either way, i have one. can't confirm it works, or picks anything up or not since it was just installed this past sunday. snake oil or .01% insurance ? i guess it's up to the individual.

 

i would not waste you money. i have one on my honda crx and have never seen anything on it in over 10 years. the mini engine is mostly metals like alluminium that do not stick to magnets.

 

Try DIMPLES

 

I thought I'd ask about this. I've seen the Dimple plug, but it's a standard bolt head, and it looks to be about 10mm taller than the OE plug with the recessed hex drive. Anybody know of one that's lower profile like OE?

 

Another technique that you may consider is to use an external magnet. In the distant past, I tried using magnetized drain plugs based on the practices/recommendation from a mechanic who specialized in heavy machinery (extremely large diesel engines) in which magnets are used as another filtration process. For my first oil change with a magnetized drain plug, I got soaked with oil because the drain plug flipped/stuck itself just outside of the drain hole causing the oil to hit the plug and then spray everywhere. After some research, I got the idea (from someone else) to just buy a magnet and place it on the drain plug itself or on the low side of the oil drain pan. Obviously be cautious of putting it close to electronics. With the magnet separate from the plug, this provides several benefits:

1. Oil changes were much easier, INMO
2. You can keep the magnet and move it from car to car
3. Fairly cheep (I purchased a 30lb, small disk-like) one for each car
4. The magnet is strong enough to impart a magnetic field (B-Field) through the OEM drain plug

Just to see how effective the magnet was, I changed the oil without removing the magnet. Once drained, I then moved the magnet along the drain pan towards the drain hole. At which point, it was clear that the magnet was able to pick up metal shavings.

Here's what I currently use:

Specs to follow, but it's a 30lbf (no kidding - scary strong). Might be an over-kill, but I wasn't sure how strong it needed to be when I made the purchase. I can definitely tell you that this strength is WAY good enough. I also am not concerned about it falling off! GRIN

This is where I bought mine (easy, cheep, great quality): http://www.magnet4less.com/

Magnet Specs (see attached for pricing info):
Neodymium Magnets 7/8 in x 3/8 in High Temp N42SH Disc Epoxy+Ni

Of note, it's true that our engines are made from aluminum. That said, I think bearing materials and many aspects of the frictional points are not aluminum. Based on my first oil same at 1,500 miles from Blackstone Labs, there was a larger percentage of iron and copper over aluminum. It's for this reason that I still use magnets to help pull out impurities. Cheep and easy insurance that takes less than 20 seconds to implement.

I'm just sharing another view point to consider. Hope it helps someone.

- Longley

 

Interesting answer, thanks. Although the additional "height" is about the same as the Dimple plug, at least the magnet can just get knocked off. Probably a lot less likely on the CTM than the Clubman. Might look into one for the car(s) and a couple of the bikes.

 

I would be extremely shocked if this strength of a magnet gets knocked off. It's hard to describe how 30lbf created by such a small little object feels when you get about 2" from metal. Scary strong! I've been using these on my offroad vehicles too - never lost one yet. And if you do, small price to pay ~$10 + shipping.

I'm more concerned about getting my fingers pinched and/or not being able to get the magnet off.

 

+1 to Neodymium Magnets! Super strong!