Spent $40 on a magnetic drain plug and it caught a chunk of metal

I was swapping the oil on my 2015 Ford Focus last weekend and figured I'd try one of those magnetic drain plugs from O'Reilly. Cost me about $40 and when I pulled it out, there was a fine metal fuzz stuck to it. Nothing huge, but it's got me wondering if I'm catching early wear or if this is just normal for a car with 90k miles. Has anyone else seen metal shavings on theirs and not panicked?

3 comments

3 Comments

jana7693d ago

Honestly, I had the same scare on my 2014 Civic around 80k miles. Pulled out a magnetic plug that was covered in that fine metallic paste, and I almost called my mechanic in a panic. But a buddy who’s a diesel tech told me that a little fuzz on the magnet is normal, especially during break-in or after hard driving. He said if it’s chunks bigger than sand, that’s when you worry, but the fine stuff is just the engine wearing in normally. Ngl, I check mine every change now and it’s always the same amount, so I wouldn’t sweat it too much.

the_brian3d ago

Yeah, I had pretty much the same thing on my 2014 Mazda3 when I put a magnetic plug in around 85k miles. That fine metallic paste showed up and I definitely stared at it for a solid five minutes trying to decide if I should be worried. What that diesel tech told your buddy is spot on in my experience. I've checked mine every oil change since, and it's always the same little layer of fuzz, never getting bigger or chunkier. If you're not finding actual flakes or chunks that look like they came off a gear, it's probably just the normal wear particles the magnet is catching. I'd say keep running it and just keep an eye on the pattern.

stella1212d ago

That "chunks bigger than sand" thing your buddy said really stuck with me, because my friend Kevin found a tiny flake on his Tacoma's plug and got it checked out, turned out the transmission was starting to go.