Magnet in trans pan

Alright I have a question because I screwed up. I did a trans fluid drop and filter change and after finishing and driving it and topping it off, I found the magnet from the pan sitting on the new filter box :banghead:. My question is- how useful is this magnet. I have an 02 GT with 150,000 miles on it. I'm saving the magnet so I can put it back in at some point because it had a lot of metal buildup attached to it. But how long could I wait to put it back. I understand a lot of cars do not have one in the trans pan but I figured that if it was there to begin with they had a good reason for it. What do ya'll think?

it should be alright for a LITTLE while if you just changed the filter. i would recommend you do another flush ASAP, but the new filter should take care of most of the metal shavings. i would say you should get it in there ASAP though like i said; especially since the magnet had alot of metal residue on it...

I think your fine for a bit (Less than 10,000 miles) if you did a full flush but if you just dropped the pan and changed those 5 qts i would get it back in a little bit sooner but i would not worry about it. See the the grit in the fluid helps some of the higher milage trannys keep working because it makes the cluch packs grab better. I have a 98 bonnie with 250,000 and it had never been changed i thought about getting it flushed but the people i talked to said just drop the pan and change that 5 qts because you dont want to get rid of all the grit do to it helping the cluch packs. You want to talk about a lot of stuff on the magnet that was caked but my dad said he had seen worse on 727 and the 904 chrysler trannys with a lot less miles. So i would not worry about the stuff on the magnet or about getting in asap. The bonnie is not working now do to electrical problems but the tranny still works fine with 280,000. Hope that helps.

Kyle

Just stick the magnet on the outside of the pan and move it inside next time. If you have any magnets from old hard drives use another one of those very powerful mags. ;)