Magnetic oil drain plug?

[liquidtiger720]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7984819710&category=38657

Total hoax...or do they actually do something?

[uscharalph]

Couldn't hurt, could it?

[niall]

not a hoax, but more usefull in a gearbox.
if you have metal filings or swarf in your motor
then its ****ed

[Karl]

I've had magnitic plug on some cars, though I can't remember off hand whether it was on the engine or transmission. It's useful when you change oil to see if any steel bits (usually like filings) are sticking to the plug. Ordinarily all that would just get lost in the oil drain.