DIY - Oil Door Fix: Neodymium magnet from Hard Drive to secure closure.

I would like to see a picture please so I can try to understand what you did.


Posted from my iPhone via the Tapatalk app.

 

Neodymium corrodes easily. The hard drive magnets should have had some sort of protective coating on them, probably thin electro plating but I doubt that is adequate for your application's location. It would be a good idea to coat them with a thin layer of epoxy, silicone or poly urethane and mount them without penetrating the coating.

They are also high temperature sensitive, but you won't have any problem with that while they are mounted on plastic. The plastic would melt first.

 

I have some neodymium magnets I got from eBay years ago that are nickel plated. You should use something similar so corrosion isn't an issue.

Very good idea for a secure method of closure. Would be good to combine the ideas in this thread for the magnetic closure and the hinged access panel in this thread:

I fixed the @#&% oil door! | PriusChat

 

Are you concerned with the magnet affecting the motors' B field, and perhaps the inverter?

 

Looks like you can spray that will restolium paint and that will keep the rust down.

 

It works, but it's too complicated for me.

I might replace the plastic insert clips with threaded nut inserts and Phillips head machine screws. That would be much easier.

 

rrg,

I use this tool, and it works fine for me, despite a few bad reviews. You just have to know how to use it and watch what your're doing.

Surebonder Threaded Insert Tool | Rivet Tools| Northern Tool + Equipment

In most cases, like the plastic covers, I'd use the 10-32 aluminum ones like these on eBay, although I also have a metric tool and metric ones.

Blind Rivet Nuts 10 32 Alum 25pc Free Rivnuts Riv Nut Nutsert Nutserts | eBay

With them, I'd use 10-32 truss head machine screws.

Hope this helps.

 

After additional thought, I came up with an easier, secure, less expensive and less labor intensive solution.

All you'd need is some 3/4 inch long 10-32 machine screws with nuts and matching 10-32 wing nuts.

Drill 3/16 inch holes through the mating flange of both the plastic engine cover and the oil change door. You should do this one at a time. Ideally the original plastic rivets should be used to hold the two in alignment.

Using one screw and nut, thread the screw through the flange in the engine cover from above and tighten the two together. Swinging th door up will allow the hole that in the flange of the door pass through the threaded end of the screw. Install the wing nut and go to the second screw, nut and wing nut. So the same with a third set, and you're done.

Now, all you have to do is to remove the wing nuts and swing the door down to change oil. After you're done, swing the door up and replace the wing nuts. That's it.

You might want to drill the door holes to 1/4 inch to male them easier to align in case of slight warping of the oil change door. I know that someone will claim reduction in mileage from wind resistance of the wing nuts. I doubt any significance, since there ar many mor wider and larger protrusions on th underbody.

 

Rivet nutters, one of the most under used, little know tools that every DIYer and gearhead should have.

One thing to add is that for aluminum threads that get used multiple times, coarse thread will outlast fine threads by several times. Coarse thread fasteners are a approximately 10% weaker because of the deeper thread, but that's rarely a problem unless you are designing to the ragged edge or just unlucky.

 

You can always use steel rivet nuts.