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MG TD TF 1500 - Magnetic drain plugs

I have noticed mention of magnetic drain plugs and it seems like a good idea and simple to execute.
Does anyone have the thread size for the crank case for the TD?
Are these used in other locations?
Gearbox?
Transmission?
Etc?

I also noticed on the web there are different types of magnets. At

http://www.magneticdrainplugs.com/

I saw ceramic and neodymium magnets.

Any guidance would be appreciated.
Mort
Mort (50 TD "Mobius")

I use appropriate sized rare-earth magnets stuck to all the drain plugs on all my equipment. Only thing that does not have it are the brass drain plugs on my TD. I am sure I could even bond that to a plug. Rare earth magnets are easily available and are available in all strengths. They are strong enough to stay in place on their own.

Should be readily available at a Harbour Freight or some such retailer.
C.R. Tyrell

Lee Valley Tools has a complete selection of rare earth magnets.... i bought some brass plugs for the engine and trans a few years ago....great quality....(not sure who sells them as i got them from a friend of a friend...)
gblawson(gordon- TD27667)

Found some on Amazon..HF were a bit small. 5/8"
David Sheward

"Does anyone have the thread size for the crank case for the TD?"
1/2 - 14 British Standard Pipe. Used for the engine sump and the gearbox. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Another source:
http://drainplugmagnets.com/magneticdrainplugshome.html

I have no experience with this vendor.

Also, if I recall correctly, Blair Engle, who is mostly retired, still offers magnetic drain plugs for at least the TD/TF crankcase and transmission. He may also offer one for the differential, but I'm not sure of that. An email address I last used for Blair a long time ago is engle@martech.fsu.edu.

Larry
Larry Shoer

http://www.mcmaster.com/#magnets/=j01txv

McMaster-Carr has all sorts of magnets in stock. Since the drain plug on the engine is a hollow brass plug, I epoxied a powerful disc magnet in. I hope it will capture any fuzz that results from break-in.

A funny foot-note:

The magnet and plug were sitting on the bench and I had just used some JB weld for a quick fix on another project and there was some left over. Not thinking, I thought I might as well use it up and stick the magnet in the plug. I was quickly reminded just what JB weld is when the powerful little magnet drew the JB right off the wooden paddle. I had a little laugh, cleaned it up, and mixed up some plain epoxy and finished the job.

They also have NPT and metric thread magnetic drain plugs:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#magnetic-drain-plugs/=j01zma

J E Carroll

Crazy magnets.

My son used ridiculously powerful rare earth magnets in graduate school in aerospace engineering. He clued me in to a good source for powerful magnets which, in my down-to-earth project, involved "sticking" a large cast iron frying pan to the kitchen wall as a decoration. The "decoration" aspect of the project was confirmed when it took a crowbar to pull the pan away from the quite small magnet.

Check out K&J Magnetics for a wide range of powerful magnets at very reasonable prices.

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/

Larry
Larry Shoer

1/2-14 BSP has been mentioned.

When I was rebuilding my gearbox I wanted to make a threaded holder to screw in the gearbox and clamp in the vise.

For the transmission plug the the OD measured 1.162 and the best thread fit, on an inch scale was 13 tpi. 14 tpi did not fit well,12 was close.

Going to metric a 2mm pitch was very good. That would put the plug at 25.5 by 2 mm.
The closest BSP would be 7/8-14

I chose to use 13tpi and I cut the adapter to match the existing plug my measuring with thread wires.

I have no idea what the sump plug is but I dot think 1/2-14 would fit my gearbox but the 1.162-13 worked quite well.

Jim B.


JA Benjamin

I bought mine from Roger Furneaux at Mad Metrics - no fussing. Just installed it!

But I was amazed at what it had collected upon running a freshly rebuilt XPAG in 2006. Sure glad I had it!

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A Clark

My standby generator has a low oil/chip detector. When it was new it had the bad habit of shutting down after a few hours due to an accumulation of very fine fuzz on the chip detector. Each time I cleaned it and changed the oil. Finally I installed a magnetic drain plug and problem solved. It's now well broken in and there's no more accumulation. That's good since it's usually bad weather that necessitates the generator in the first place!

Chip detectors on helicopters, especially the main gearbox,have zappers on the chip detectors. To prevent unnecessary precautionary landings the pilot can send a current across the chip detector that will burn away fuzz but not a chip. If you zap it and the light goes away,carry-on. if it doesn't, time to land!
J E Carroll

I have a magnetic drain plug on the engine sump and am purchasing one for the gearbox from Blair Engle. I have the following information from Blair:

--------------------

MG TC, TD, TF new gearbox magnetic drain plug with gasket. $37.00 Post Paid

MG TC, TD, TF new engine magnetic drain plug with gasket. $27.00 Post Paid

Vintage racers, let me know if you would like me to drill a safety wire hole!

Blair Engle
The Classic MG Shop
4068 Roscrea Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32309
bengle001 at comcast dot net

--------------------

Larry
Larry Shoer

My Austin America has had one from new. But then it has the gearbox in the engine oil and it always seems to collect some very small flakes at oil change time.
John Quilter (TD8986)



Allo.


Wondering why a magnetic oil drain plug
for an MG TD costs $25.00...?

Got clues...?


TIA.

DrRx. TD # 0823
drcrougeux

For starters, Moss Motors charges $21.20 plus shipping for a drain plug and washer for the engine sump.

($26.90 plus shipping for the gearbox pair.)

Larry
Larry Shoer

Here is what Blair's magnetic plug looks like. It comes with a washer. The externally visible (bottom) of the plug looks identical to the standard plug. I did a crude test and found that the magnet supports over a four pound steel weight.

Larry


Larry Shoer

This thread was discussed between 25/08/2012 and 21/09/2012

MG TD TF 1500 index

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