magnetic drain plug

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bunky

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Hey folks,
I am replacing my oil pan drain plug with a magnetic drain plug.
The question asked by the parts guy was, "do you want steel or aluminum?"
So what is the best option?
 
maybe i'm forgetting something from chemistry but aluminum isn't ferromagnetic...its paramagnetic. so, it's not magnetic unless exposed to a strong external magnet. so a magnetic aluminum drain plug...isn't.
 
I am rereading other posts and wonder if there is a real need to buy a magnetic plug.
As long as I do regular oil and filter changes, I should have no concerns with minute particules "ruining" the engine.
Has anyone done this and if so, is it warranted the extra $10?
 
If you need a new plug anyway it couldn't hurt. I would mainly use them after major engine work, such as a rebuild where the cylinders were honed or something that would put more than normal metal in the engine case. Under normal engine wear you shouldn't need them, if your engine is putting that much metal in the oil you got more problems than a magnetic plug would solve.
 
I put a magnetic plug on everything I can since it saved my engine in my Civic when a part failed, found a little ball and tiny spring on it at oil change, found out my chain tensioner lost parts and was cracked and about to explode ;)

A little safety for monitoring inside that doesnt cost much
 
bunky said:
I am rereading other posts and wonder if there is a real need to buy a magnetic plug.
As long as I do regular oil and filter changes, I should have no concerns with minute particules "ruining" the engine.
Has anyone done this and if so, is it warranted the extra $10?
Click to expand...



I don't know that you NEED a magnetic plug but then again it can't hurt.
People have been using the redneck version for a while..........they just stick a magnet on the outside of the oil filter so any metallic particles will be trapped in the filter. But if the plug is $10 ~ that's pretty cheap.
:teeter:
 
I think going with the steel plug will give me that assurance of not breaking when I torque to specification.
$10 is not a lot for a part that could help indicate if there are bigger issues.
After all, my bike is 10 years old, even though there are only 46,000 kms.
Thanks everyone for helping me with the decision.
 
Be careful torquing the drain plug - there's diff in torque specs for a dry bolt vs a bolt that's wet with oil. I don't torque mine, just snug it up and then give it another go - what I have learned feels right. Never lost one or had one loosen.

I used mag drain plugs on all the two strokes I've owned - 350s - the R5, RDs (several) and the RZ and the RT2 Enduros. If they were new, I had plug switched before it left the shop, if used, it was the 1st thing I did when I got it home. They collected an amazing amount of metal debris. On the four strokes - I use done when I could find one. These seemed to have a lot less debris inside, but all my 4 strokes were bought used. My CBR is the 1st with an external filter.

With a filtered oil system, not sure how important these are anymore, but Zak makes a good case for using one.
 
Magnetic plug probably won't do much but it won't hurt either. $10 is cheap insurance, even if it just makes you feel better. Usually you would use different materials in an application like this so a steel plug would be the way to go. Isn't the stock plug steel, I can't remember other than the weight seemed heavier than aluminum.
 
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