Hello all! (Oh, by the way, the post about the power steering fluid was a joke - let's see what kind of responses we get. Shhhhh..) I have an Ion 3 Quad Coupe. It has the 2.2 liter Ecotec engine with the in-block oil filter. I've been doing a little experiment. I put a Samarium Cobalt magnet in the area around the oil filter cartridge. (I chose this type of magnet because it is the second strongest type there is, but it is good to over 300 degrees C. The Neodymium magnets are stronger and cheaper, but they're only good to 80 degrees C [I've seen ones that claim to be good to 150 degrees C, but it isn't at all clear how to determine which Neodymium alloy your magnet would have]). After a few thousand miles, I took the magnet out and rinsed it in mineral spirits (to remove the motor oil and not the swarf). I was left with a magnet that looked as if it had been painted a slightly darker shade than it originally was. After this, I let it dry and wiped it on some toilet paper. What I got is a piece of toilet paper that looks as if it was smudged with charcoal. And, the smudges are attracted to strong magnets. This is what I would expect. The fact that the filter removes the large particles leaves only the microscopic ones to be captured by the magnet. So, I think that I have a magnet in there that is truly attracting the small magnetic stuff. There is very little of it (only enough to smudge about a 2" diameter circle of toilet paper) but I figure that removing it has got to be better than letting it circulate. In the Ecotec engine, there is a niche in the area around the oil filter element that can easily accommodate a 1" x 1" x 3/8" Samarium Cobalt magnet. Maybe one of the performance shops (SPS?) might want to buy some of the SamCo magnets in bulk and sell them as oil magnets for the Ecotec 2.2 liter engine. I understand that the V6 also uses a similar oil filter scheme - maybe this trick can be done for it too? I'll let the group know more when I know more. - k.
