Oil Change Tip

[M61A1MECH]

So I was doing an oil change on my 2013 Goldwing yesterday, fully expecting to drop the hot drain plug into the container I collect the oil in, I can not tell you how many times that has happened, but anyways.

I happened to recall having some smallish flat high strength magnets around, so I get one and see if it will fit inside my 17mm socket, and it does. So drop the magnet in, attach the socket to the ratchet and place on the drain plug, viola, the drain plug comes right out with the socket as the oil gushes out of the oil pan. No fuss, no muss no fishing in the drained oil for the drain plug and best of all no burnt fingers from trying to hang onto to hot drain plug or from getting bathed in hot oil.

 

Others my work and there are commercially available magnetic sockets, but what I used is a 1/8" thick x 5/8" OD rare earth high pull magnet from McMaster Carr.