HOMEMADE MAGNETIC DRAIN PLUG
by Lorne Goldman

I often get asked questions from owners, worried about their engines, their transmissions, or their gearboxes. How can they diagnose them? An excellent start would to be to check on whether there is any debris. Though an amount of small filing or dust is common to any machine having metal-to-metal contact, too much or larger pieces is a sign something is amiss and getting worse. As well, clearing this stuff from your component is wise.

For this reason, most tranmission plugs are magnetized. If yours isn't, it should be! I also suggest you magnetize your engine oil drain plug and that of your differential as well.

It is easy and FUN! I have gleaned through the internet to find you the following;

PROCEDURE

Items needed:

• A small magnet to see if your drain plug can be magnetized at all. 
• your drain plug
• Light Weight Insulated Wire preferably 30 gauge
• Masking Tape
• A Battery - a single C or D cell will do the trick

Steps:

1. Take the magnet and place it near the drain plug. If a magnet does not attract itself to your plug this procedure will not work. You have a cheaper aluminum casing and plug. Forget it. If there is an attraction, continue.
    
2. Wrap the insulated wire snugly and evenly around the plug, the direction of the wraps do not matter. Make sure you have access to both ends of the wire once you are done wrapping. Just follow the thread pattern of the plug. The more loops you make around the plug the faster the plug will become magnetic. It is ok to have a multi layered wrap and will increase the intensity of the magnetic field created as well as shorten the time it takes to magnetize the plug.
    
3. Strip the insulation from both ends of the wire and tape one end of the wire to the negative end of the battery making sure that there is a good connection. Now if you touch the wire to the positive side of the battery you should see a little spark. Again tape the wire making sure the connection is good. You have now created a magnetic field in your coil of wire magnetizing the drain plug. After about 15 min disconnect the assembly from the drain plug. Your plug is now magnetized. You would be a worthy candidate for Hogwarts!