kim.stella•1mo agoTop Commenter

I used to think those magnetic oil drain plugs were just a gimmick, but after pulling one from a customer's truck that had been in for 60,000 miles, the amount of fine metal shavings stuck to it changed my mind.

Has anyone else seen a real-world example where one of these actually caught something before it caused damage?

3 comments

3 Comments

Honestly, @miac43 has a good point about finding the source of the metal. Tbh the real win with these plugs is for used car buyers. Ngl, if you're checking out a used ride, asking if it has one or even swapping in a cheap magnetic plug for the first oil change can tell you a ton about how beat up the engine really is inside. It's like a sneak peek at engine health you just can't get otherwise. That little bit of metal grit tells a story the seller might not. It saved my cousin from buying a truck that looked clean but was clearly eating itself alive.

miac431mo ago

Wow, that's a great story from @thea_carter. I read a forum post a while back about a guy with a high-mileage diesel. His magnetic plug caught a surprising amount of fine, gritty metal that normal draining would have missed. It made him check the oil cooler, which was the source and starting to fail.

thea_carter1mo ago

My buddy's old Subaru started making a weird noise. We pulled the magnetic plug and it was COVERED in glitter. Turned out a bearing was starting to go. That little magnet gave him the heads up weeks before anything totally let go. He got it fixed for a few hundred instead of a whole new engine. They're cheap insurance for sure.