Oil Magnets - NOT Voodo "Science"

[Kirk Kohnen]

Hi Boys & Girls!

I recently bought an ION 3. It has a cartridge oil filter, which provides access to where the oil flows. To replace the filter, remove a cap that screws into the engine block, remove the cartridge (which is like the inner filter element in a spin-on filter) and put a new one in. Then, torque the cap down to 25 Newton Meters of torque (about 18.5 Foot Pounds, or 222 Inch Pounds). There is a fair amount of room around the outside of the cartridge, plenty of room to put a magnet (or two, or three, or...).

I've done a little research - you can buy Samarium Cobalt magnets. They're strong little suckers, and they can operate up to at least 250 degrees Centigrade (482 Fahrenheit, hotter than oil functions). They are also inherently corrosion resistant.

(These are not the Neodymium magnets - they're only good up to 80 degrees C, or 176 Fahrenheit, which not hot enough for engine use).

I figure that putting one of these magnets in the oil filter area will permit it to grab out tiny magnetic filings that are the result of engine wear. This should help prevent them from circulating and improve the quality of the oil. Then, at every oil change, simply remove the magnet, wipe it clean, and put it back.

Also, the room is on the OUTSIDE of the cartridge, so after passing by the magnet, the oil immediately gets filtered before going on to the rest of the engine. I figure that this means if there is any damage to the magnet, and small pieces of magnet break loose, they will be immediately captured by the filter. So, I think it's pretty safe to do this.

Do you have any comments about this? Are there potential risks that I'm not aware of? Is it safe? Will it be effective?

I know that Saturn uses ceramic ring magnets with their spin on transmission filters, so there is some precedent. I also know that the dealerships remove these magnets when they change the transmission fluid and filter.

And, there are lots of magnets that are sold to be attached to the OUTSIDE of a spin-on oil filter. These tend to be the weaker ceramic magnets.

So, how about it. Any thoughts on actually putting a strong, high-temperature, corrosion-resistant magnet IN the oil flow to pull out magnetic filings?

Thanks!

 

[Kirk Kohnen]

Thoughts? Comments? Anyone?

Come on, SOMEONE has to have a thought on this!

 

[Robert Hancock]

Well, some potential problems:

-I believe that oil filter housing is aluminum, so the magnets will not stick to it - therefore they will basically just be rattling around in there,
-Assuming the magnet is placed on the inlet side of the filter, it may attract particles, but quite likely they would have been stopped by the oil filter anyway,
-Some potential engine wear components are made of aluminum and will not be attracted by the magnet.

 

[Winston Smith American Patriot]

Thoughts? Comments? Anyone?

Come on, SOMEONE has to have a thought on this!

Plenty of people with web pages have touched upon this subject, it seems.

At this page:
http://www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/index.html? menu.html&engineoil_bible.html there is a discussion of a product called Bear Trap (BT500) which the web page author tested and likes.

 

[-brad-]

IINM, some cars already have, from the factory, a magnet glued to the bottom of the oil pan, or was that the transmission oil pan? Or both? I forget. Also there is on the market a magnetic replacement drain plug. Not being an expert, I can only say it seem like something that can't possibly hurt.

 

[MR]

"-brad-" <bcpuddephatt @ sympatico . ca> wrote:

IINM, some cars already have, from the factory, a magnet glued to the bottom of the oil pan, or was that the transmission oil pan? Or both? I forget. Also there is on the market a magnetic replacement drain plug. Not being an expert, I can only say it seem like something that can't possibly hurt.

On my chevy truck you have to drop the pan on the trans to change the filter. There is a square flat magnet that sits magnetically attached to the bottom of the pan that is directly under the suction of the filter. It certainly had it's share of grey mud on it and a heavy film on the bottom of the pan. The plug has a magnet also which had a coating also. This was the first filter change at 11k miles. I only use the truck for towing a travel trailer so it sees all heavy duty use. So, I would definately say that a magnet in the pan or a plug would take some of the wear particles out of circulation and be worth while, be it in the trans or the oil pan.
MR