FilterMag works great

gaslight

gaslight

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Had the FilterMag on our 3 cars for several years now. I figured it would be a good added layer of protection. I never cut open a filter to check and see if it worked until now.<a href="http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/gaslight_photo/FilterMag/?action=view&current=IMAG0028-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/gaslight_photo/FilterMag/IMAG0028-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

This is from the filter off my mustang. It only had a couple thousand miles on that filter. Those are very fine iron particles stuck to the inside of the filter. Glad I put one on my 4Runner when it was new. Just a added layer of protection to cut down on some wear and tear.
<a href="http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/gaslight_photo/FilterMag/?action=view&current=IMAG0027-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/gaslight_photo/FilterMag/IMAG0027-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
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I've had mine for almost 5 years now. There was only one available at the time for the 4Runner and my mustang. Now I see 2 on the website. Mine looks like the plain black and silver one. There are no part numbers on the FilterMags that I have. I would assume that I have the lower powered one and the stronger one is a newer magnet. I say go with the original style like I have in the pic. You can see that it works.
You can't really tell in the pic how much crud is in that filter. There is a decent amount. More than I would like to see but I'm glad the magnet is collecting it and not allowing it to possibly pass through the filter and back into the engine. Oil filters don't trap everything.
http://www.filtermag.com/?app=Autom...NER&storedimg.x=16&storedimg.y=11&storedimg=1
Shop around and you might find it cheaper elsewhere.
 
i almost forgot about it until i saw your post. i did remember seeing one when i first bought my 4R, and im still skeptic about it. and never saw any since.

Thanks for the link.
 
I Googled around and Summit Racing has them at a very good price. The high-power one is only $20 more than the original, not sure if it would make a difference or not if you're not towing though.

Tried to link to them but the search link doesn't work.

I think I'll get one, just not sure which one.
 
I think it would work much better than a magnetic oil drain plug. You don't have to clean the filter, just throw it out. I think it was a good investment. There is a lot of iron inside the engine that is subject to wear and tear. That means there are plenty of tiny pieces of metal floating around in that oil.
Some car makers even put magnets inside the transmission pans. Somewhat of a pain to clean.
There are engine builders that epoxy magnets inside their engines to catch some of that crap. Can't remove those until you tear it down.
 
gaslight said:
... There is a lot of iron inside the engine that is subject to wear and tear. That means there are plenty of tiny pieces of metal floating around in that oil...
Click to expand...

Had something similar early on the previous ride. The magnets were in a strap that was held on the filter with velcro.
I know the block is aluminum but what other components are steel? How much iron is actually in there? Why not just get some strong magnets at the local hardware store and slap them on?
Make sure to cut up the next filter you take off the T4R. Would like to see it compared to the F**d.
 
This may seem like a silly question, but....when you cut the filter open, won't all the shavings from the filter housing get pulled to the magnet? Wouldn't that severely skew the visible results?

I have no doubt that it works, but I'm betting a lit of that iron in your picture came from the filter housing rather than the engine.
 
RoarFunner said:
This may seem like a silly question, but....when you cut the filter open, won't all the shavings from the filter housing get pulled to the magnet? Wouldn't that severely skew the visible results?

I have no doubt that it works, but I'm betting a lit of that iron in your picture came from the filter housing rather than the engine.
Click to expand...
I was very careful because I wanted to see the real results for myself. Not just some picture in a advertisement. If I had another filter I would punch a hole in it and use tin snips to show you the same results.
Those are very fine particles and soaked with oil. If they were new they wouldn't have been completely soaked. The hack saw I used would have left larger particles. I also let that filter sit for days before I cut it completely open.
Its the same kind of very fine crud that gets stuck to magnetic drain plugs. Also very similar to the fine particles you can find inside the drain pains of tranmissions.
 
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Kmvreter said:

I know the block is aluminum but what other components are steel? How much iron is actually in there? Why not just get some strong magnets at the local hardware store and slap them on?
Make sure to cut up the next filter you take off the T4R. Would like to see it compared to the F**d.
Click to expand...
Lets see...piston rings, the cylinder sleeves, bearings, timing chain, crank shaft, timing chain sprockets. Valve train which includes the camshafts, cam followers, springs. There is more. Just because the block is aluminum doesn't mean its all aluminum. The cylinder walls have iron sleeves in them that the pistons move up and down inside of.
You could put any strong magnet on the filter. Make sure its strong. The filter mag has a strong clamping force and is tough to peel off.
I usually have the dealer change my oil in the 4Runner because it is covered with free oil changes for life and they are only a couple of miles away.
I'm not trying to sell anything here. Just trying to relay the experience that I have had.
 
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gaslight said:
I was very careful because I wanted to see the real results for myself. Not just some picture in a advertisement. If I had another filter I would punch a hole in it and use tin snips to show you the same results.
Those are very fine particles and soaked with oil. If they were new they wouldn't have been completely soaked. The hack saw I used would have left larger particles. I also let that filter sit for days before I cut it completely open.
Its the same kind of very fine crud that gets stuck to magnetic drain plugs. Also very similar to the fine particles you can find inside the drain pains of tranmissions.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. Good observations. I, too, would be interested in seeing the results from the Runner.

What oil do you use? It might be interesting to see the results between a dino and a synth.
 
gaslight said:
Lets see...piston rings, the cylinder sleeves, bearings, timing chain, crank shaft, timing chain sprockets. Valve train which includes the camshafts, cam followers, springs. There is more. Just because the block is aluminum doesn't mean its all aluminum. The cylinder walls have iron sleeves in them that the pistons move up and down inside of.
You could put any strong magnet on the filter. Make sure its strong. The filter mag has a strong clamping force and is tough to peel off.
I usually have the dealer change my oil in the 4Runner because it is covered with free oil changes for life and they are only a couple of miles away.
I'm not trying to sell anything here. Just trying to relay the experience that I have had.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update.
Take the used filter home with you from the stealer on your next visit and let us know.
 
RoarFunner said:
Fair enough. Good observations. I, too, would be interested in seeing the results from the Runner.

What oil do you use? It might be interesting to see the results between a dino and a synth.
Click to expand...
I use Mobil 1 synthetic in my mustang and the dealer puts in whatever they have for the 4Runner(doubt its synthetic).
It going to be about 4k more miles before I see the dealer for the oil change again.
 
NEW PICS

well got the oil changed at the dealer the other day and had them save the filter for me. I punched a hole in the backside with a screwdriver and hammer. Then I used tin snips to cut the filter open. Now you can see that the filter mag does work even on the 4Runner. Also opening the filter the way I did should eliminate the possibility that any of the crap caught by the magnet was created by me cutting open the filter.
<a href="http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/gaslight_photo/?action=view&current=IMAG0002.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/gaslight_photo/IMAG0002.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/gaslight_photo/?action=view&current=IMAG0003.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/gaslight_photo/IMAG0003.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Not as bad as the one from my car but still shows that iron particles are circulating through the engine oil.
 
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Interesting, I might build one of those. You can pick up some rectangular neodymium magnets pretty cheap, like under a buck for a 50mm x 5mm x 2.5mm which looks about the size of those....

Youch! They want $40-65 for those!? Egads...

How about an oil analysis test before and after?
 
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