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Hard Drive magnets - oil filtration - small but free long term maintenance

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Old 08-13-2010 | 03:29 PM
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Default Hard Drive magnets - oil filtration - small but free long term maintenance

So if you have or can get an old hard drive (HDD) good.

Take it apart, you will need torx bits or just brute force open.

Try not to pretend that you didn't play around with it and: try to mix songs like a DJ by spinning the disks, look at your finger prints in the disks (if you don't have finger prints PM me and I'll give you a list of parts I want at "hot", "hot" prices) see how cool and smooth the mini bearings are on the write arms etc.

Inside are extremely strong magnets. The are stuck to backing plates - leave them on the plates. The magnets themselves are brittle and crack easy then the chrome plating comes off and you are poisoned and will have defects in your DNA

Thow one magnet to a friend then wait a few seconds and throw another and see if you can get him to pinch some skin - good times.

Some really old thick HDD also have thicker magnets.

They will pinch and you will get blood blisters - in fact the special harder to find thick ones I have if not kept on the backing plate would be impossible to remove from a ferrous surface without tools. When they have touched they are really hard to get apart by hand.

Stick them on your oil filter, stick a few if you want.

They dont fall off.

Dont take them off once they are on as there is a chance that if they collected a large amount of particles that they would then be released en masse into the oil again - not good.

You won't collect broken rods or rings or have any more boost or HP this way but you will collect the really small stuff that has the potential to wear cams, skirts etc.

Plus think of your fridge, or for tool holding, finding that bolt on the ground (unless of course all your bolts are Ti, Al or Mg then get your butler to look for them) home iron dialysis, sell them on ebay as cure-alls. Put one in a box of cereal and see if there really is iron particles in there, build a mag lev train.

It's almost free - so just do it
Old 08-13-2010 | 03:44 PM
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ok
Old 08-13-2010 | 03:49 PM
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Yes sir
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Old 08-13-2010 | 03:54 PM
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Riveting tale, chap.
Old 08-13-2010 | 04:13 PM
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I think it just moved, a little.
Old 08-13-2010 | 04:46 PM
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random, I thought the filter, you know, filtered....

I use HDD magnets on the end of long screwdrivers to pickup dropped crap in the engine bay.
Old 08-13-2010 | 04:53 PM
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Neodymium ftw!
Old 08-13-2010 | 05:17 PM
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Oil filters do filter but not magnetically and why not have more items filtered out.

After running one for a normal OCI cut open your filter and check to see what is left behind, a nice ferrous paste (or more) where the magnet was that would have not been caught.

All or most ATF pans have a magnet stuck on them and they also use a filter. The magnets all have a nasty paste on there.

There are lots of pics of what they catch on the net.
Old 08-13-2010 | 05:23 PM
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Nice theorem, Pythagoras.
Old 08-13-2010 | 05:25 PM
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it's sound advice, Doppler
Old 08-13-2010 | 05:40 PM
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It's not a bad idea, people get excited about magnetic drain plugs, so why not? These are probably more effective.
Old 08-13-2010 | 05:44 PM
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What if you don't run an oil filter?
Old 08-13-2010 | 05:47 PM
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Or just have this guy change your oil:

Old 08-19-2010 | 01:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Landrew

All or most ATF pans have a magnet stuck on them and they also use a filter. The magnets all have a nasty paste on there.

There are lots of pics of what they catch on the net.
Not that I think this is a BAD idea, but ATF magnets catch a bunch of crap because there is constant clutch engagement/disengagement and clutch material inside an automatic. Not true in an engine (I hope not at least).
Old 08-19-2010 | 09:29 AM
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Why don't they sell filters with magnets glued to the housing?

Oh, they do.

http://www.shopfiltermag.com/


These are actually preformed reuseable magnets made for your filter size.


Ohp...heres another:

http://filterdot.com/




1. Your filter is already pulling these particles out anyway. Anything smaller than the 10micron size won't be pulled out of oil flow by a magnet. (Well, it might...I know these magnets are strong, and you could argue that a magnet would exert a greater force on a particle of smaller mass).

2. If you have enough particles to be collected on a magnet you've got other problems.

3. You're just causing clumping, and there's always the possibility that clump would come loose and affect filter function. If it is clumping 10micron size particles, then I'd worry about those coming off in bunches and all passing to the head at once, instead of dispersed in the oil, where they're less harmful and will be flushed every 2500 miles anyhow. REPEAT: These particles are so small they don't harm the engine...that is, when they aren't being passed through bearings in BB sized clumps.

Last edited by gospeed81; 08-19-2010 at 09:39 AM.
Old 08-19-2010 | 04:42 PM
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Quite a few OEM's put magnetic engine oil pan drain plugs on cars. Try one and see if it catches anything - it will. Might not be much but it will catch particles. I'd rather see them collected than in suspension in the oil. Instead of buying a plug I have free HDD magnets on my filter instead.

It may add to engine life. Not sure if any proper tests have been documented. It should decrease wear but considering how hard the car is driven (just below rod bending force everyday) I doubt that the particle collection and associated wear will be my issue in the long run. I still think if the technology at an inexpensive price is available why not use it. I use synthetic oils, good filters, good OCI's, warmup procedure etc. so why not add to the protection of the motor.
Old 08-19-2010 | 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Landrew
Quite a few OEM's put magnetic engine oil pan drain plugs on cars. Try one and see if it catches anything - it will. Might not be much but it will catch particles. I'd rather see them collected than in suspension in the oil.
Yes...and think about oil routing. That oil hasn't seen the filter yet. It's to remove large particles before they get to the pump, much like the pickup tube screen.


I can see this possibly working...but I'd do a lot of investigating before I started using magnets to accumulate particle paste.



And still, if it's enough to justify it, you've got bigger problems...
Old 08-19-2010 | 06:09 PM
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K&J Magnets sells neo magnets for dirt cheap. I used to buy them to play around with. Amazing how strong even a 7/8'' disk at 1/8'' thick is. Tough to pull them apart with your fingers once clamped.
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