i think this is why magnetic drain plugs were discontinued (picture)

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Former Member 68813, Apr 15, 2017.

  1. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    i'm a big fan of magnetic drain plugs and have them in most of my cars. Great visual illustration of wear and tear. i installed one (DIY by adding a small strong magnet glued in by epoxy) in transaxle drain plug at 22,000 miles when i did the fist drain and fill. i removed it at 85,000 miles and was pleasantly surprised by small amounts of metallic fuzz. I expect to find at least that much in every engine oil change between 5000-10000 miles (various cars). see below:

    [​IMG]

    I ended up removing the magnet. while i was cleaning it, the magnet separated from epoxy. the epoxy i used was clearly not good enough to resist temp and oil for a few years.

    here is the usual comparo of new vs used WS ATF. while the old one looks bad, i don't believe color change means much. i still believe the OEM ATF can last lifetime (defined by 150,000 miles). but, i also like to over maintain my cars.

    [​IMG]
     
    #1 Former Member 68813, Apr 15, 2017
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  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The Classic Prius transaxle had a small rectangular magnet sitting on the bottom of the transaxle drain pan (unlike 2G and 3G, the Classic transaxle had a removable drain pan.) It looked like a garden slug with all of the ferrous powder and filings accumulated on it, prior to cleaning.

    The 2G Prius transaxle had a small circular magnet on the drain plug. It didn't accumulate as much ferrous debris as the Classic magnet did.

    If you still like the idea of the transaxle magnet, you could just buy a 2G transaxle drain plug and install it on your transaxle. However I agree that your magnet did not pick up much debris.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Apr 16, 2017
  3. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    Good point on the 2G drain plug. I'm not sure if I'll ever do another one though.
     
    #3 Former Member 68813, Apr 16, 2017
  4. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    The newer magnets are now so strong you don't actually have to glue them in place. You just place them on a steel or iron surface and they will stay there and do their job. In fact, being a "magnet magnet" ;) (I recover magnets from hard drives and whatever else is being thrown out) I've found on some hard drives the magnets aren't glued in place anymore. They are so strong they -seem- glued in but actually aren't.
     
    #4 David Beale, Apr 16, 2017
  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Or a magnet magnate?

    I got into opening up hard drives as a way to wipe the data. We have some cool coffee coasters.
     
    #5 Mendel Leisk, Apr 16, 2017
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  6. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    yeah, the magnet was still sticking strong to the drain plug. however, knowing there are even stronger (moving) magnets/electromagnets inside the trans-axle, i didn't want to take chances. besides, the yield was minimal too (probably because the stronger magnets do their jobs, too, LOL).
     
    #6 Former Member 68813, Apr 16, 2017
  7. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    The darker color is metal wear. It gets like that fast on break in especially on a G3. You will find if you change it again at another 85K it will not look that dark at all.
    Changing that fluid just increased the trans life dramatically.
     
    #7 edthefox5, Apr 22, 2017
  8. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Nice beakers. ;)
     
    #8 xliderider, Apr 22, 2017
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  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah, I noticed those too.
     
    #9 Mendel Leisk, Apr 22, 2017
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