Magnetic Oil Drain Plug from MMarketing
Applicable to '90 - '97 1.6 liter
Ingeniously cool replacement for factory oil drain plug. Has a magnet protruding from the end which collects bits of metal from the engine. Mazda thought of this for the transmission and differential, why not the oil pan?
I love the concept, but am not impressed with the application. On my 90 Miata, the shape of the conical base of the replacement plug is slightly different than the factory original, so the factory crush washers do not fit. Instead, MMarketing supplies a standard flat washer which is not designed to crush into that conical shaped depression under the oil pan. Result....not as good a seal as the factory original, so I get an insignificant amount of oil leakage from the drain plug. The volume really is of no significance, but the driveway and garage spotting is not good. If the manufacturer started with factory drain plugs and mounted magnets to them, there would be no problem. I don't know if this problem is just for the 1990 1.6L engine, or if the magnetic plug design is different from factory drain plugs for all Miata engines. I like the idea, but it needs some improvement before I would recommend it. At least it was cheap.
Under 5 minutes to remove
A magnetic oil drain plug.
Having seen these magnetic drain plugs advertised for so long, I thought I'd give one a trial. The installation is as easy as replacing your old crankcase drain plug with the new one during your next oil change. I was anxious to see if, and how, this low tech product would actually perform. I was amazed at the stuff that was "hanging" from the tip of the drain plug. There is a small extended magnetic tip that projects about a quarter inch in length from the end and is about one eighth of an inch in diameter. What I found was a small amount of magnetic sludge and a few very small metal splinters. Now, you have to understand that I take extremely good care of my '95 M Edition that includes regular oil changes every 3-4k miles. A simple yet effective product. Amazing stuff spinning around in the crankcase that you just don't know about, even with frequent oil and filter changes!
Under 5 minutes to remove
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