960 Power steering cleaning. Magnet in the reservoir?

[740Estate]

I read with interest elsewhere on the forum about magnetic oil filter additions to grab the small particles out of the oil, read it somewhere else too (same thread) about placing a magnet inside the Power steering reservoir to capture the small particles in there too.

Just checked the state of the power steering fluid in mine.. scarily dirty to be honest. I think there's more sludge than fluid in there! Anyways, once I have changed the treacle for a finer grade of oil, I was considering the implementation of the magnet theory.
Having had a good look at what ive got to play with with regards the power steering reservoir, lid with dipstick, etc Im debating the method to use in order to suspend the magnet within the reservoir.
Anyone done this? How did you achieve it? Does it work for you?

[bb54]

drill the magnet, and thread something thru it so you can hook it back out.
i used 100lb fishing line doubled up.
i positioned the magnet away from the feed/return pipes and it stuck to the side of the reservior where a metal bracket/fitment was close to the outside of the res.

to see it working best, put it in before you change fluid, cos the dirty fluid is contaminated with metal frags.

ShadeTek put a link up for the magnets on a thread named...
850,if your serious about logevity. IIRC

wayne

[740Estate]

What did you attach the other end of the fishing line to? Im loathe to just drape it out of the tank with the cap holding it in place. Was considering driiling a small hole in the dipstick and attaching the magnet to that somehow (prolly fishing line!)

[bb54]

i didnt attatch it to anything mate, i just positioned the magnet away from the pipework and made the loops short enough as to not be drawn into the fluid outlet.
i get the magnet out by hooking onto one of the fishing line hoops with a piece of bent wire.

im getting results but my fluid is fresh, dirty fluid would give up more debris i presume.

i cant recall where i read it but the auther stated he used this technique
(magnet in P/S res, not the particular method im using tho) , on a very dark coloured system (dirty) and after a ???? cant remember the time span, but it removed the debris and returned it to a clear pink colour.

i know very little of the finer details , it just made sense when i read it and thought id give it a try.

forgot to mention, my magnet was a swine to drill, three bits and 20 mins drilling.
probably an easier method out there. lol

wayne

[barrie013]

Sorry if this is a bit vague, but you can get magnets with plstic covers on three sides, and screwholes in the plastic cover. (This would save you having to drill them)
I have seen them used on access doors to machinery, wired to a cut-out system so that if you open the door, the machine stops running for safety reasons.
A maintenance engineer would know what they are called and where to get hold of them. They are also very powerful.

[740Estate]

Hmm. All food for thought!

Well Ive found a circular 'polo' type magnet. an old set of speakers for a walkman were the donor. A small length of gardening wire for the medium to support it, passed the magnet down into the fluid suspended on the wire, brought the other end of the wire out the top, secured it in place with the cap itself. The magnet is too large to fall into any of the pipes, although if it were to drop off, Im sure it would see it's way to blocking a pipe. Daring things, uncontrolled magnets, will try anything for a laugh.

I'll give that a try for a while, see how that fares over the course of a week or so, maybe fabricate a better solution when time allows.

[bb54]

hi, ive just discoverd that Neodymium magnets start losing their strength when subjected to 80 deg c and above.
ive just removed the magnet i drilled and checked its streangth, and its not as strong as before i drilled it. so i must generated to much heat whilst drilling.
i purchased 36 new neo magnets last night and there are 10 with holes in them, so ill use one or two of these in stead.

got a great price, 36 neo's of varying sizes and differant shapes for £13 all in.

ill let you know i get on with them.

wayne

[740Estate]

Cheers! Maybe between us all we can find THE solution that we can firmly recommend onwards to people.

Anyone else got a way theyve done the magnet oil cleaning mod?

[CTCNetwork]

Hi,

Tehere is the power steering magnetic filter that has been recommended elsewhere on these forums..?

Or, something I am considering: Use an old tee-shirt or similarly fine meshed cloth and cut a square for the magnet.
However, not wanting any bits of cloth going into the system you need to cut a big enough square to allow the cut edges be folder in and then when tied with fuse wire or nylon with the magnet, be completely inside the exposed cloth.

That should then prevent cuttings of cloth in the fluid and allow the magnet to work correctly.

Des. . .

[740Estate]

Yeah CTC did see that. http://www.emergingent.com/subpage1Magnefine.htm

The trouble with that is
a. it costs money, whereas applying the same principle through a magnet in the reservoir costs nothing if parts are scavenged well
b. The magnefine involves cutting the system's pipework and installing it permanently. This means you have to stick with it once fitted, replacing it as necessary (as it is a magnet with filter)