Ok, after spending some time under Pete'* (bonnie94ssei) car I wanted to get some strong magnets to add to the pan on my tranny. I found these.....





They're "rare earth" magnets from a computer hard drive. They're extreamly strong and when they're on the pan they sit nearly flush.

So if you have an old, dead, hard drive, swipe the magnets out of it before you toss it!

That'* what I did to my old trans. In fact, it'* the hard drive magnets on my old trans (and transferred to the new one) that started the whole magnet craze.

My tranny builder was so impressed with what they picked up during the rebuild, he put them back when he was done.

I have to confess to having part in the whole magnet craze. The big NdFeB magnet order started when my Canadian SSEi didn't have a magnet in the pan. Someone suggested I put one on the outside, Bill confirmed due to what he just told you, and before you know it everyone was ordering NdFeB magnets!

I put a couple on my pan of the 2003 the day after I got it. When I did the trans service 2 weeks later I noticed a ring of stuff around it that it had attracted from the bottom of the pan. =/

hey thanks for making this post it just reminded me to put my other one on

Yes, got to make sure the HD magnets you use are the very strong ones. some arnt.
those looks like the good ones

But do be sure that its staying nice and cool as well. Neodymium magnets such as those, while being the strongest at room temperature, lose their magnetic power the hotter they get, and it doesn't take a whole lot of heat to make them completely useless. actually only 170 degrees F until they start to lose their magnetic power, and we all know most transmissions get much hotter. This less heat than it takes to reach the point of disablement, also known as a curie point, on a regular ferrite magnet. So be sure that if they're INSIDE the pan that the trans is kept as cool as safely possible for maximum effect. On the outside however, they might work better because they are constantly cooled by the outside air and that allows them to keep their pull and will hold the stuff on the inside even stronger to the bottom. Someone do correct me if i'm wrong.

Thanks for the couple Karl..

(He drives around with bad hard drives in the car from what I can tell.)

Yes, at 175 they start to lose their holding power. But everyone here is putting them on the outside of the pan. There definitely is no need to put them on the inside, especially if you don't need to do a trans service.

Back when I did the trans pan magnet order thread, I had Badnit test the temperature of his trans pan. I don't recall what temps he got. I believe he got to 125*. But a true test of their ability to hold would have been someone dropping the pan after the magnets were on to see what, if anything, was attracted to the magnet. I did this last week, and sure enough there were tiny particles held in a ring where the magnet was. And I dropped my pan when it was HOT (so hot I needed gloves to touch it).

They do make stronger ones that are meant for high-temp applications. IIRC they are much more expensive. Maybe not though...I'll have to go track them down again!

I have magnets at work that are designed to go inside Eaton Fuller LARGE transmissions...5 to 18 speeds, generally three per, I stuck some of those round magnets designed to go inside these on the bottom of my pan, however, I have never dropped my pan to look and see, so I cant say how hey are working. The Idea is excellent though, keep the metal and shavings in the pan, not in the circulatory system of your transmission

And fears from some about possible harm due to these strong magnets should not be an issue. Vital put about 20 on his pan. And IMO, the more the merrier, as it will keep even more in the pan and out of the workings of the trans. I'm going to be ordering more soon, probably this week.