Topic: magnetize your oil filter

[dave500]

next time you replace your oil filter,first find a couple of old computer hard drives and remove the magnets,youll most likely need a small set of torx bits to open one,then place them on your oil filter,theyll trap the most most fine particles.

[simon#42]

good idea this , well respected liverpool bike tuner harold hall invented the magnom oil filter in the 60's . bit more sophisticated than dave's but a similar idea . its now fitted to the ducati motogp bike and the Ferrari f1 gearbox amongst others .

[dave500]

magnets are often placed in automatic transmission pans and diffs.

[Retro Rocket]

Note to self.....keep old hard drives.....

[LesterPiglet]

Yep, the classic mini has a magnetized sump drain bolt.

[faux fiddy]

next time you replace your oil filter,first find a couple of old computer hard drives and remove the magnets,youll most likely need a small set of torx bits to open one,then place them on your oil filter,theyll trap the most most fine particles.

Note to self.....keep old hard drives.....

....cringe at the thought that this will be the last use of the one I now  use in my computer.....never too late 4 that.

[Terry in Australia]

I've been putting magnetic sump plugs in all my bikes for years Dave, but I don't know if an oil filter's performance would be improved by the addition of magnets though, an oil filter can separate and suspend tiny pieces of metal (steel, aluminum, iron etc) measured in microns, due to the construction of the filter media.

Considering that the filter separates and traps tiny metal particles anyway, what's the benefit of the magnets? Cheers, Terry.      

[dave500]

it traps a fair bit of very fine particles,almost like sludge,,its also a way to monitor how much is coming away inside,if you have a rebuilt engine you will see less and less particles untill it beds in,a magnetic drain plug dosent see as much oil over it as the inside of the filter.

[lucky]

Note to s

Yes i saved the hard drive magnets from my first computer and they are unbelievably strong!!

[dave500]

heres a filter from my just rebored 550,this is after 250 kays,about one tank of fuel,you can see the fine metal everywhere,the filter will trap this but i like to see it diminish as the rings seat,normaly it has a thin black ink like film on the magnets.

that line down the middle of each magnet must be where the north/south starts and stops for the drive reader?

[Terry in Australia]

Geez Dave, that's a lot of metal? Looks like metallic brown paint! Cheers, Terry.

[dave500]

yeah terry i hadnt used new oil as it was going to get fuzzed up and changed anyway,this was still a few thousand from being changed,the first runs really shed some metal!

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah Dave, when I rebuilt mine I thought the stuff in the oil was silver overspray that had washed off in the oil, until I poked a magnet in there! Cheers, Terry.

[dave500]

another 250 kays and this is how it looks,its shedding less metal and its finer aswell,i still havent ventured over 6000 yet.

it wipes off easy with a rag.

[goldarrow]

Does it matter which end do you put the magnets on?

[dave500]

put them toward the bolt head end,into the housing,its obvious once you have it in your hand.

[wannabridin]

here you go, for those that don't have old hard drives laying around:

http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=1-3258&catname=misc

[dave500]

pickup old computers from dumpsters even?i work in the garbage industry and have a never ending supply.

[Retro Rocket]

pickup old computers from dumpsters even?i work in the garbage industry and have a never ending supply.

Are they rare earth magnets Dave..?

[onepieceatatime]

Are they rare earth magnets Dave..?

They are neodymium magnets, so yes rare earth.

[Retro Rocket]

Are they rare earth magnets Dave..?

They are neodymium magnets, so yes rare earth.

Cool, thanks

[dave500]

not that rare,i find heaps of them?DOH!i found a heap of cheap shake torches(flashlights)you shake them and a feeble led glows for a while(no wonder they were in the bin?)i busted a couple open,the magnets in those will almost tilt the earth of its axis?

[trueblue]

Just don't snap them together, they can shatter 

[dave500]

yeah i learnt that first time!whoa, you wont hold them back once the attraction starts,i tried to compress them together oriented in the oppose position and its not humanly possible!its like a hover craft or something,an invisible force if you will!

[dave500]

ive always liked magnets,i use them in my tool chest aswell to stick things on.