Magnetic oil drain plug

[cptnsolo77]

Anyone have one on thier Vibe/Matrix? Is it worth having?

[Cougar Vibe]

When I bought my '05, I used one on it for the first ~8K miles...wanted to see if there would be any metal particles or paste/sludge during break-in. Anyway, I never really noticed much of anything after the second oil change (~3800 miles, I think), but the first oil change at 800 miles had some paste/sludge (like you see on a A/T pan magnet). I ended up ditching it so as to install a Fram SureDrain fitting.BTW: I don't remember the brand, but I bought it from JEGS.

[star_deceiver]

Quote, originally posted by cptnsolo77 » Is it worth having?That depends on a lot of things. Personally I don't have one on either the engine or the tranny and it's not something that I'm going to rush out to the store to buy, but should the opportunity (and sale) present itself I'd get two.

[oriden]

funny, catapillar uses something like that fram drain, just a valve and a hose. i thought they would use a magnetic plug. based on feild service ablity i guesss not. you can get a plug at canadain tire for about $8 CND i was thinking about getting one as my washer needs to be replaced.

[Old Tele man]

...they worked better in older engines which used predominately iron & steel components, but with today's engines using non-magnetic aluminum parts, the magnetic drain plug is rather less useful.

[Water boy]

Quote, originally posted by Old Tele man »...they worked better in older engines which used predominately iron & steel components, but with today's engines using non-magnetic aluminum parts, the magnetic drain plug is rather less useful.+1

[cptnsolo77]

Thanks for the input fellas. Its was something that crossed my mind & seemed like a small investment to make IF it was worth it. Looking to keep the Vibe way past 300K & looking for anything that will make the Vibe last longer.I plan on being car payment free for many, many years & pay myself....not the bank!

[vibedrivermatt]

Hey if your forgetting about the magnetic drain plug you still might wanna consider what type washer you want to use around the drain plug. I had an interesting experience at the auto parts store when I asked the guy for the correct wahser. It kinda stumped them but I ended up walking out with the correct size fiber type gasket. I believe the fiber type is what they were able to figure out is stock on they matrix. but really it was a toss-up between the fiber and rubber gaskets.

[Water boy]

If you tighten the rubber version too much it kinda squeezes into the oil pan hole.