MAGNETIC PLUG INSPECTION GUIDELINES

Caterpillar released a service magazine article (dated 17/1/2000) recommending inspection of

magnetic plugs for the front and rear wheels on a weekly basis. This was to aid in the detection
of wheel bearing failures and reduce the contamination of the system and increase the
salvageable components at repair.
The very nature of wheel bearing failures means that they progress quickly from the first sign of
fatigue flaking of the surface to major failure. The 250 or 300 hr service interval can easily have
a clear inspection at service time to a major failure in 200 or so hrs later. This makes trending of
failures with oil analysis difficult as most complete compartment samples are done at 500 hrs.
Oil analysis is useful in other areas for fine particle contamination and dilution both of which can
contribute to lowering the wheel bearing life.

Rating Inspections - A , B and C .

A rating is obviously a good rating with little or no material build up on the plug . B rating is
large amounts of fine grey material , consistent with non filtered rear ends . C rating is attention
required with large flaky material present. Below is a more detailed explanation of the ratings
and best course of action.

A Rating

All the above plugs could be considered good for a filtered rear end with hardened spindles and
very good for non filtered rear end . All would be A ratings . Every thing would appear OK .
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B Rating

This amount of material would probably be considered normal amount of wear for a non filtered
rear axle as the material has no other means of being removed from the system other than oil
change. The particle size is what needs to be considered . Anything larger than the very fine grey
paste material seen above would need to be monitored. These would be considered a B rating.
Generally hardened spindle filtered rear ends will not generate this amount of material on the
plugs. An “A” rating would be the more normal for hardened spindle filtered rear ends. The large
deposits need to be inspected to ensure large flakes are not hidden underneath.
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C Rating

All these plugs would be considered to be C ratings and would require some sort of attention.
The top left shows small flakes coming up and would require close monitoring, perhaps inspect
every couple of days to check if it was a one off occurrence. The top right shows large flaky
material and would be prudent to investigate further, once this amount of material is being
generated it could rapidly turn in to a major failure. Anything more than this it would be safe to
say some sort of failure has occurred. The bottom right plug is from a wheel end that had been
recently changed out. The small slivers of material would be consistent with bearing cage break
in. In non filtered rear ends the oil needs to be changed to drop the contaminants out of the
system. Filtered rear axles will generally clean themselves up within a couple of weeks and
possibly block a filter in the process.

Cracked or missing magnets need to be replaced. Obviously no magnet means no material will
be collected. Cracked magnets where a section is loose may be able to move to a position where
they could attach to a gear or bearing. The magnets are made of a hard material and could
damage gears or bearing surfaces. The most likely cause of breakage is hitting the plug to loosen
for easier removal. All parts of the broken magnet need to be removed.