Y'all are responding faster than I can! Haha. Clearly no harm was intended. I'll concede the point, and let it go, haha. But I'll remain on-record of two things:

1. PW knows how to correctly install a drain plug (since it looks like nobody here would argue that after all)

2. That LN products seem to have an ASTOUNDING failure rate, given their premium position in the market place. (Included in "failure" is a failure to fit correctly, a failure to do what's intended, a failure to be an improvement over dramatically-lower-priced products, a failure to offer any sort of real post-sales customer service/warranty, etc. Etc.).

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Apology accepted...particlewave absolutely needs no defending in my book.

I would be curious just what the numbers are. We read TONS about IMS failures. Many more, I suspect, than faulty LN mag plug reports. But are they a 50/50 occurrence? Of course not, not even close. With the drain plug, I simply can't believe they're anywhere close to 50/50, but if they're even in that ballpark it's not good. In any case, I would still also be curious as to, when they've failed, how many times has it been because of improper torquing. Many? Most? Few? I just don't know. But I'll keep on using mine unless and until it fails.

I, like you, am ready to let it go. You're right, no ill-will intended. By either of us, I believe. :cheers:

Sorry. I should have had more than a one word response, but it was late and I was on my way out.
I don't use the plug, so my statement was based on internet reports. I guess the issue was bad enough that they redesigned it (the plugs would develop cracks that would seep oil).
Are they any better, now? I've no idea.

Anyhow, a filter mag has much bigger, stronger magnets if you're into that. ;)

Yes....
 

....the new version of the LN magnetic drain plug is MUCH improved.


They need to be torqued to only 19 ft./lbs. of torque.

A lot of failures were due to folks torquing them to the OEM plug spec by mistake.

I have one.

i have 30,000 miles and seven oil changes on it. No problems.

:cheers:

Just to throw a wrench into the mix, I owned 2 LN IMS Guardians. Not only did both leak (yes they were torqued to 19 ft/lbs per instructions) but both failed where the electrical wires enter the Guardian. Without proper stress relief they simply worked their way into fraying and becoming useless. I thought the first fail was a freak thing and ordered a replacement but it too leaked and failed in the exact same way. Neither lasted a full driving season.These units are a great idea but poor execution doomed them. So I'm 2 for 2 with LN drain plugs/Guardians. So far my LN IMS bearing is fine, I hope, after putting ~15,000 miles on it.

That’s an ASTOUNDINGLY broad definition of “failure” (:

Are you sure the IMS Guardian is an LN product?

Not to a salesman it's not. Failure is defined much, much larger than that.

Looks to me, given your posts, that you're a bit of a koolaid-drinking LN apologist, huh? That makes sense then, that you think ANY of those things I listed is anything BUT a failure.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Clearly that’s it :)

Um yes........ Why wouldn't it be? The first was purchased from Pelican Parts and it says LN Engineering on the box, the instructions, the DVD etc etc. And I dealt directly with them when I got the second one. Who else makes the Guardian?

Thanks! I genuinely didn’t know and a quick run through their website didn’t help.
Andrew.

I believe it's a Flat 6 product...though I have yet to figure out if there is/is not a connection between the two.

I had the IMS Guardian installed at an independent Porsche shop several years ago. I noticed an oil leak as soon as I got the car home. Re-torqued the drain plug and the leak remained. In searching the internet I discovered this was a common problem.

I also found a post by Jake Raby where he indicated if the drain plug is over torqued it could stretch the threads on the sump plate thus causing the leak. I thought he was blowing smoke; however, I recently replaced the sump plate after installing an EBS baffle and now the leak is gone.

The shop that installed the system must have over torqued the drain plug right from the jump.

This kind of thing happens all the time I fear. The one and only time I had someone else change the oil in my box was when I had it in for something else that I wasn't comfortable/hadn't time to do myself (don't even remember what it was). Figured, what the heck, it's due for an oil change, why not just have them do it since it was gonna be on a lift anyway.

I had the spin-on filter adapter in place at the time. I believe I supplied the filter (a Wix), and maybe the oil (previously purchased intending to do it myself).

Next time I went to do my own oil change the spin-on adapter came off the base on the car, ie came off with the filter. (In many oil changes, I had never once had that happen...nor have I since). I worked and worked trying to separate the two. Finally gave up and took it to an Auto Zone where I've done a fair amount of business. The guy took me in back and, using their vise and a number of different (sometimes radical :eek:) techniques FINALLY busted the damn thing loose. It was absolutely ridiculous how tight they had cranked it...it was as if they had use a breaker bar or similar to tighten it.

I've liked that shop in the past, but this got me to re-thinking it and maybe finding some other place for jobs I don't want to do myself.

Frodo, you might want to let the shop that did the inferior work know what you found, and that was why they were losing your business. That way they can address what happened, and maybe they won't end up screwing over some other customer in the future.

Agreed.
It's been several years ago, so I'm not absolutely positive, but I actually think I did do that. I was pretty pissed about it. Doesn't it potentially adversely affect the filter performance if it's overly tightened?

I don't think it affects filter performance if it's over-tightened, it just makes it difficult to remove.

..I couldn't agree more!