Magnetic drain plug questions

[Johnny-5]

7 minutes ago, JFP in PA said:

Use the Loctite 5900 sparingly; excess sealant is usually found clogging the oil pickup.  Cover bolts torqued to 7.5 ft. lbs. ( I would use an inch pound wrench  set to 90 inch pounds, which is much more accurate at low torque values).

 

 

Ok will pick some of that up. Also curious when I put this back on and torque to spec Im assuming Ill be doing a Criss-Cross style tightening sequence right

[JFP in PA]

Correct. 

[JFP in PA]

42 minutes ago, Johnny-5 said:

Oh and by the way off topic question. I did notice some oil leak on the valve covers and is probably due to the spark plug tubes. Does it mater what brand? I found a few places who sale a brand called German. Pelican sales it and its like $5 with seals. Or is it better to stay OEM? Im also going to try out the Denso Iridium's for the plug. So Im going to use dielectric grease for the plugs, a little bit of oil for the seals, and for the plugs i know alot of stating to use sparingly some anti seize and was curious if anyones used Liqui Moly LM508 Anti-Seize or if I should just stay with the permatex silver type? And is the torque spec 18.5 or 22? Im seeing alot of mixed specs. Also any recommendations on good pads? I was thinking of just going with regular pagid pads? 

 

Thanks again

 

I like to use billet aluminum replacement tubes from a company called Rauch and Spiegel:

 

 

The primary mode of the OEM tube failures happen because the molded plastic tubes are not actually round, have molding flash lines, and that they harden and crack over time.  These billet tubes suffer from none of those short comings, use the factory O-rings, and simply just work.

 

As for plug anti seize, I prefer the Nickle based high temp anti seize on plugs; never had any issues with it. Correct torque spec is 22 ft. lbs.

[Johnny-5]

On 4/20/2021 at 10:29 AM, JFP in PA said:

 

I like to use billet aluminum replacement tubes from a company called Rauch and Spiegel:

 

 

The primary mode of the OEM tube failures happen because the molded plastic tubes are not actually round, have molding flash lines, and that they harden and crack over time.  These billet tubes suffer from none of those short comings, use the factory O-rings, and simply just work.

 

As for plug anti seize, I prefer the Nickle based high temp anti seize on plugs; never had any issues with it. Correct torque spec is 22 ft. lbs.

 

Interesting tubes. Thank you for the recommendation and additional info. Will look into those tubes and will get the nickel based high temp anti-seize you are suggesting. I believe Permatex sales them which I have but don't believe i have the nickel based so will pick some up.

[JFP in PA]

Amazon sells Nickle based anti seize if you cannot find it elsewhere.

 

I have these billet tubes in both my personal cars, as well as many customer cars; while more expensive than the OEM plastic tubes, I have found them to be a "once and done" fix for leaking tubes.

[judgejon]

Johnny, I forgot to ask, what car/cars, are you driving/racing/working on?

As a former owner, I can tell you that I still keep a replaced, expensive, oil sump pump, and two older sealed timing chain tensioners from my 911sc on my workbench in the garage.  Not driving a Porsche right now, but like to keep my fingers in the pie, so to speak.  Sold that one at about 325k miles.  Sold my C4$ at 16 years old. My issue was getting an old body in and out of the car. Still enjoy Loren, Jeff, and other folks on Renntech. 
Cheers, j

[Silver_TT]

On 4/20/2021 at 11:45 AM, JFP in PA said:

Use the Loctite 5900 sparingly; excess sealant is usually found clogging the oil pickup.  Cover bolts torqued to 7.5 ft. lbs. ( I would use an inch pound wrench  set to 90 inch pounds, which is much more accurate at low torque values).

 

 

How long did you wait for the Loctite 5900 to cure?  I just used 5970 on my timing case and saw a Si spike in my UOA.  Here is a PDF with tech specs:

http://tds.henkel.com/tds5/Studio/ShowPDF/243 NEW-EN?pid=SI 5970&format=MTR&subformat=REAC&language=EN&plant=WERCS

 

Consider the following:

 

LOCTITE® SI 5970™ has been designed specifically for gasketing applications. It withstands on line, low pressure tests carried out before product begins to cure

 

However if you look at the charts it is clear it continues to cure over weeks, rather than hours or even days.  21 days to 100% cure strength for example.

 

Since doing my timing chain 7K miles ago, I short changed the oil 2K later.  Then did 5K miles which is what the following UOA is from:

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Silver_TT

[JFP in PA]

We typically do not leave this type of sealant to set for any specific period of time, but one of the big things is to use sealant sparingly, meaning running a narrow bead on the cover surface and around each bolt hole before putting the cover in place.  One of the reasons you sometimes see a silicon spike in UoA's after doing this comes from using too much sealant, causing squeeze out, so it shows up in the oil.  Too much squeeze out and you can end up with the excess sealant breaking off and ending up in places like the oil pump pickup screen as has been noted, so using "just enough" is the right way to go.

 

If you do see a spike in silicon in your oil after a repair using sealant, the level should drop off with succeeding oil changes as the sealant cures.  You need to also be aware that many oils use silicone based anti foaming additives, which will test as silicon in a UoA, so it is necessary to have a virgin oil baseline analysis to reference what levels should be there to begin with.

[Silver_TT]

Yes, it's a point worth emphasizing (as you did).

 

I am in the process of obtaining a virgin analysis but have seen some other users data points showing Si values that are much lower so I am almost certain this is due to Loctite either naturally or because too much was used.  However at least one other person has told me that after doing similar work they saw the Si spike.  I agree in subsequent UOA you should see this decrease.  After doing the work I "short changed" the oil after ~2K miles, and that oil was used for 5K and then analyzed.  Another good friend is a nuclear engineer and said he uses the same product at the plant but they let it cure for several days if not weeks and he said the Si shows up in their analysis.  I will see what it looks like in 5 months when I change.  SpeeDiagnostix has stated it's not a level that I should be concerned with given the use of the Si-based sealant.

 

I don't want to take over this thread but just want to offer that after using the OE sealant (or any Si based sealant), those who do UOA may see a spike in Si.