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Looking for magnetic oil drain plug

6K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  raffles 
#1 ·
Search has failed me, unless you count old threads referring to products that I'm not sure exist anymore...is there currently a magnetic oil drain plug available? I'm willing to make one myself if necessary, but thought I'd check. Thanks!
 
#2 ·
While not familiar with any commercially available magnetic drain plugs I imagine your home made idea should work. Perhaps a small rare earth magnet inside the course roughing filter that nests inside the drain plug would allow you to differentiate steel debris from the aluminum and brass our TWs typically cough up.
 
#5 ·
I've added a round wafer magnet shortly after I bought the bike. It fits perfectly in the flutes of the drain plug, it's about 5/8 dia x 3/16 thick and pretty strong. I'd take a picture of it but I just changed my oil last week. After about an 800 mile oil interval, the magnet appeared to have a light coating of very fine magnetic soot, ( a few mm at most ) exactly what you would expect from clutch plates. I found no evidence of any coarse metallic grit. The filter had a very small amount of ( i suspect) nonferrous material in the pleats. All in all, very normal. Does a magnet help...? I think keeping up w/ oil changes & filter inspections is all that's needed IMHO...
 
#8 ·
Some time ago, a forum member had modified oil drain caps to hold a nice strong magnetic using a spring clip. I bought one and they were nicely made. Noted as well, after a season of riding, the magnet had lost most of its strength likely due to heat. Am sure it continued to pull & hold some metal. KJ magnets has a great selection and reasonable prices. Might want to get a few and replace them from time to time.
 
#11 ·
There is a seller on eBay who has CNC machined magnetic drain plugs for the TW. I purchased one and installed it about 400 miles ago. I just drained the oil and found that there was a small amount of very fine metallic powder on the magnet. It works! The quality seems great and the price was reasonable. It's shipped from and manufactured in China. Shipping took just under two weeks to get to my home after ordering. The eBay seller is: nine-cnc. Price was under $14 with shipping.
 

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#18 ·
I have seen the old threads regarding topic , I put and external magnet on drain plug in the middle of the hex and partially drilled and tapped a thread and attached magnet I don’t really like the idea of the magnet inside Incase it comes adrift and breaks up in engine & gearbox coating all ferrous items with bits of magnet and acting like grinding paste “ yeah it worked “ but was a bit awkward slackening plug off with socket, then eventually the hex on drain plug starts to turn to crap , then a new plug is reqd.
I’m on the side of draining the oil & filter more frequently then you should not encounter issues
 
#17 · (Edited)
The factory is a cast plug, the aftermarket on eBay is CNC. Plus looks to be anodized. Would the aftermarket be harder and less likely to deform? How about sticking like the stock? Would the anodize be less likely to stick? I bet there's someone with machinist knowledge who could advise on this board.

My experience is that machined is of tighter tolerance than cast, but perhaps the cast OEM part was machined for the critical threads after casting.

EDIT
A little research has this to say;
Die cast aluminum is less dense than forged aluminum. This is partly due to gasses that remain trapped in the casting. The grain or aluminum crystals in die cast are randomly arranged and tend to be short rather than stretched out like in forged aluminum. When machined die cast produces small brittle flakes not unlike coarse sand. Forged aluminum when machined produces continuous smooth strips that keeps it's original strengths.

Die Cast:
light with low production cost (after tooling)
Poor tension strength due to pockets, cracks and non aligned grain
Does not tolerate bending (brittle)
Cracks and voids allow entry points for corrosion to start.
Very easy to machine, drill and tap
Poor strength and high levels of impurities that add to the weakness.

Forged:
Dense and costly to machine
Malleable
Bendable
high strength
Machinable
Work hardened and can be heat treated.
Can be anodized.

The listing on eBay says it's T6061 Aluminum. 6061 is not an alloy that is traditionally cast due to its low silicon content affecting the fluidity in casting. However, the listing doesn't say if or how it was tempered.

You can not anodize cast aluminum. It can be coated or painted, but not anodized. Anodize makes the aluminum surface much harder. Less likely to deform under pressure.

So far, I'd have to say the CNC aftermarket plug on eBay is superior to the OEM cast plug.
 
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