Out of the 8 automatic trannys I have been inside on cars that I have owned, 1 had a magnet for sure, maybe 2.

 

i am currently a jet/turboprop engine mechanic in the USAF(9yrs). the $6 million jet engines (F110, F101, T56, AE2100) i work on do have mag plugs, but all of their bearings and all their oil lubed internal parts are magnetic. the parts in a car's engine that are magnetic wear a extermely minute amount in between oil changes.

.what type of filter does an aircooled vw have? a very course screen, not a quality paper filter. i rebuilt my first type1 when i was 15, so i am familiar with those too.

did you even read my post? i specifically mentioned blocks (ok actually cylinders) and piston rings being ferrous, but they wear such a small amount... go back and re-read it then come argue with me. i would expect a better response out of a moderator.

you guys are not completely reading my posts. i am not claiming that non-engine related oil systems don't need magnets. automotive style engines, basically all diesel and gasoline engines don't have magnetic filters or plugs from the OEM no matter what the cost of the engine. take a caterpillar tractor for instance. it's a $100,000 machine so $2 isn't an issue. it has a magnet in it's transmission. it may even have a very expensive electronic contamination sensor and a magnet in it's hydralic system. does it have a life saving cheap magnet in it's engine's drain plug? nope, but i doubt they were trying to cut corners when it comes to reliability. they do install huge and expensive engine oil filters though.

explain this; how come none of the major aftermarket engine oil filter manufactures make filters with magnets built into them? wix, purolator, baldwin, mobil1, bosch, hastings, none make an engine oil filter with a magnet. fram, the king of filter gimmicks doesn't sell a filter that has a magnet in it. they could drop a 50 cent magnet in the can and mark the filter up $2 and people would buy them. fram proves they can sell anything with their teflon filters. even System1 filters which are probably the best filters you can buy don't have any magnets.
maybe it's a conspircy between the filter and engine manufactures to screw the people by not offering magnets? yeah right.

does the dealer offer OEM magnetic drain plugs for the engine? it seems they could make a few bucks off them, the same way they make money on all the other dealer accessories. you could pick up a magnetic plug (because they are better, right?) at the dealer when you are there buying OEM filters because they are the best because they are OEM quality. the drain plugs would be OEM quality too. but they don't sell them, because you don't need them.

pay attention that i have said over and over that engines don't need magnets. transmissions(auto or stick), hydralic systems, CSD's, etc may need them because they have alot of ferrous parts that wear a significant amount.

then again maybe myself, many others in the automotive/mechanical world, mechanical engineers and OEMs are really just ignorant to these fantastic magnets. you guys that have cow magnets and radioshack magnets are truly ingenious, the rest of the world just hasn't caught on to your secret of extended engine life.

 

LOL I know exactly what you mean....I think the same thing about some of our PARTS Here...lol

 

well Tom, EVIDENTLY you are not familuar with the performance world of VW's....as I am not talking about some little 1600cc stocker, that you build...we are talking PERFORMANCE engines....yes, type 1 engines that churn out in the area of 180 to 200 HP, streetable horsepower.....and ANY VW engine builder that is worth their weight in salt ALWAYS improves the oil filtering system by modifying the system to include a full flow filtering system which DOES use a quality spin on paper filter...and MOST do install the magnets.

and in those engines...there are even fewer ferous parts than in an iron blocked engine like ours....

so as I stated in a previous post....if you don't think its of any benefit....go ahead and go down that road.....after all....you will save the buck or two....and YOU may very well not ever notice the difference......

but to stand by and tell all these people that they serve no purpose is just negligent, as you obviously have not tried this with an ENGINE since you don't believe that it serves any purpose....but those of use that have......have cleaned magents off time and time and time again.....so YES, they will remove some contaminents from your engines oil system.....and if you chose to disbelieve that....you can just shut your eyes and close your ears and and refuse to listen to people that have had some experience with the subject.

 

dude, simma don nah!

i can understand where BOTH of you are coming from with your opinions, but Nuke-ster, you are referencing super-high output air cooled vw engines, and most people on this board are not going to be increaseing the output of thier engines by 200%. so, based on that, my opinion still stays that a magnet isn't going to give you much more life out of your protege's engine than you would without it.

to sum up: sure a magnet on your oil filter might prove beneficial, but most people (on this board) will not see any benefits from it.

 

actually I am not, and believe it or not....increasing their output that much is fairly easy...and if built properly will last longer than a stock engine......the last one I built ONLY doubled the stock hp output...and that was by far considered a MILD engine...one that would run longer than a stock engine would when driven DAILY .....yet give you alot of bang for the buck....those engines have so much potential....and adding the magents to the oiling system has NOTHING to do with the power output of the engine.....as the engines I built run way smoother than stock engines....and were NOT running on the ragged edge causing more wear....not by a far cry.

 

I think my earlier statement summed up this whole debate and is worth repeating. enough said.

 

And just to clarify, I'm not talking about the "filter magnets". I dont use those, but I do believe in the "drain plug" magnet, which allows a visual indication of the amount of particles collected and an indication to the condition of your engine. Unless you cut your oil filters apart, you wouldnt be able to have the same benefits.

 

quote:
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Originally posted by Mach 1
It is a good idea, and if you install one, you will collect particles on it. Those are the facts. Nothing more, nothing less.


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I think my earlier statement summed up this whole debate and is worth repeating. enough said.



EXACTLY.....BINGO.....nuff said.

 

damn double posts. refer to the one below

 

this is my last reply and i'll give it a rest

sir nuke- i am familiar with hi-perf vw and porshe engines too. i have worked as a 911 race prep mechanic and i owned a chenowth buggy with dual weber 44's, counterweighted stroker crank, ported heads, blah, blah, blah. all built by myself. you didn't mention that you built hi performance stuff..but that is irrevelant to this arguement.

you hit the nail on the head!!! a mag plug's only function is as an indicator of impending failure, not as any type of a filter. that is why aircraft have them, they are indicators only. if any of you would have mentioned that outright i would have agreed with you. instead you all tried to convince me that it was some type of filter which i still won't believe.

if you want to install and believe that magnets are the saving grace of your engine go ahead. i'm not going to stop you. but when both of our engines have 250,000 miles on them and are worn out i reserve the right to ask you just how much that magnet helped out.
ok, i'm done.