Magnetic oil plug LS3
 

With gasket ... What r u guys using? Part # and suppliers? Thanks! :thumbs:

Check yours, my 08 has a factory magnetic/:yesnod:

I went to GM and purchased a magnetic drain plug back in '08 prior to my first oil change. I went back a year later and tried to purchase another one using the same part number. I was told that they were no longer making magnetic drain plugs.

For an LS3, I believe the part number I was using was 11518377, and it was superceded by part number 11562588.

I am not sure if the LS2 uses the same plug.

Part #24241872 was for an LS7 Magnetic Drain Plug.

After time and heat, the magnet will weaken.



I found this in my notes:
THIS IS BOB AT FICHTNER CHEVROLET,
WE HAVE THE MAGNETIC DRAIN PLUG AVAILABLE AND IN STOCK! GM PARTS HAS DISCONTINUED THE MAGNETIC PLUG LAST FALL (2008), BUT WE HAVE FOUND A SOURCE FOR THEM. THE PLUG WE HAVE AVAILABLE IS ACTUALY OF BETTER QUALITY THAN THE GM PLUG AND IS ONLY 7.50 EA.
TO ORDER GIVE US A CALL AT 800-234-5284 OR EMAIL US AT parts@fichtnerchevrolet.com



Also, someone said that AutoZone had them, for an LS2 Part # 6537


There may be other after market companies making them - try a search.

M....

Went to AutoZone for mag-plug when I did the first oil change on my LS3, wasn't inpressed.:ack: I could pull the magnet out of the plug with my fingers...so I used the OEM plug and added some high streight magnets.

I bought one from Fichtner for my next oil change. Looks to be good quality. Not sure if it gets torqued same as OEM which I think is 18 lbs. Is that right?

C.G. Enterprises Neodymium Magnet, Part Number 1095sm.

I purchased two (2) of them for the oil pan in my GS.

Check out attached link for details.

Regards,

GSRANDY

http://www.magneticdrainplugs.com/neodymium_magnet.htm

Fichtner Chevrolet magnetic oil plug (800-234-5284)
 

That's the one I purchased and it's as good or "better quality" than the stocker that was in my 2010 GS from the factory. :thumbs:

I do not use a torque wrench on the oil plug, I just tighten it good with whatever box wrench I have in my hand at the time. :D

PS: Most of the auto part store stuff is junk, I looked at that stuff first before I purchased the one from Fichtner.

This is the one I use for my '08 - Works GREAT :thumbs:

The Dimple® Super Drain Plug is an assembly of an OEM correct drain plug with a super strong Neodymium magnet. Our magnets are made of high grade Neodymium and our Dimple® is supplied with a high quality copper gasket.

http://www.magdana.com/15201/index.html

The Fichtner one has the seal as part of the plug, just like the OEM.


Looks like a big price spread between the Dimple and Fichtner Chevrolet magnetic oil plug.

can either of you using the Neodymium Magnet type plug tell me what you see when you remove it? seems to be that much stronger than a typical "magnetic" plug.

There is a very fine "mud like" substance on the tip of the plug when I remove it for oil changes. I also use a FilterMag (FTM-RA300), which is a large VERY STRONG neodymium magnet for the oil filter, so between this & the plug I am pulling most, if not all, of the suspended material out of the oil :thumbs:

thanks very much. I had no idea what would be on the magnet. :thumbs::cheers:

I find the same small amount of fine black material on my Neodymium magnetic drain plug as you would find using a conventional magnetic drain plug.

Yes, the Neodymium magnet drain plug has much more magnetic force, however does it remove additional ferrous material, I haven't seen any evidence of it.

Regards,

GSRANDY

Thanks! I appreciate the insight into this magnet drain plug.

I have the factory plug and have never understood what benefit it is. Yes, any ferrous material that gets close enough to the plug gets caught but looking at the "mud" it seems it should all have been caught by the filter anyway. What is the advantage of wiping a small amount of gunk off the plug rather than having it thrown away in the filter?

Now I CAN see an advantage if you ever find a large piece of metal stuck to the plug. I once bought a VW that had somehow detonated an oil pump in it's previous life. When they repaired it they didn't flush the engine and some piece of the pump got stuck in sludge. The first oil change didn't show anything but then I added one of those sludge removers right before the second change and as I pulled the plug I could hear engine parts hitting the pan. :ack: Turned out to be chunks of the old oil pump had finally loosened and gotten back down to the sump. Cleaned it out and ran that engine another 50K miles before selling it.

I modified OEM plug and installed Neodymium Magnet. Real simple, drill and ream the hole undersized, install magnet, then pin the face surrounding the magnet in four places for extra assurance.

I also put an Neodymium Magnet on the oil filter end after each oil change and transfer the magnet to new filter each time.

Cheap insurance, wouldn't hurt IMO!

The magnetic plug is not intended to remove ferrous material from the oil. It is an inspection devise to let you see what is circulating through your engine (and hopefully warn you of developing problems).

I found a small spring attached to my plug once on the GTO. It was the tiny spring that encircles the valve seal on the head. Plenty big enough and plenty small enough to clog up the oil pump pressure bypass and waste the motor. Most oil pump failures on LS engines (more common than some may think) are due to the clogging of this passage.

It's so common and such a worry that many will suggest a new oil pump when doing a cam swap. However, stock pumps are fine and last forever. It's the bypass that gets blocked by trash which wastes the engine. New, old, high volume, standard, ported, regular, doesn't matter. When the bypass gets blocked oil pressure drops to 0 when the RPMs come down and it's curtains.


Moral of the story is that magnets may save your engine from random wear shavings or a $2 dollar valve seal that ripped and dropped it's spring.