Sand in my drain pan...

[Solo2driver]

Chickened out and did the 7K mile OCI with Amsoil 5w30 in the 94 Suzuki Swift GT (1.3L DOHC, now 156K miles) autocross car.

Last time I did a 500 mile OCI with FormulaShell and before that a 7K mile OCI with GC. With the last Shell change there was a ton of carbon chunks in the oil drain pan, but when compressed with my finders they broke apart. I just figured it was just the GC and the dino "flush" doing its thing.

Changed this morning to RedLine 5w30 and PureOne filter (happy birthday to me, my sister is so cool!), and the Amsoil that came out had pinch's worth of sand grains in the bottom of the pan. We've had an unusually dusty summer in Riverside where I work, but I had switched to a paper air filter for that reason.

Why wouldn't the oil filter catch these? The Amsoil was a "dirty mix" of a little bit of leftover GC and about 3/4 quart of Torco race oil, so I did not plan on doing a used oil analysis but maybe I think I should have saved a sample...I did save the oil filter (NAPA Gold) this time, I will cut it open and see.

Should I be worried? Should I pull the pan and see what else is in there?

-JamesW

 

[Seth_TJ]

A paper filter should catch sand grain size dirt no problem. Only reason it wouldn't is if you have a hole in the intake somewhere or a gap or something is loose. I'd check that...

But yeah i'd cut that filter open, would definately be interesting to see what it stuck in the media pleats. get some pics if you can

 

[Al]

If sand got into the drain pan-I think that is a very bad sign.

 

[Ken42]

I don't think sand that big would make it past the pistons and if it did I don't think it would be running anymore.

If you remember back I had posted about sand in my rebuilt engine after a 200 mile OCI Talked to several engine rebuilders and they all thought it was casting sand that got knocked lose in the reboring and honing and wash and stuff like that. They said not to sweat it but I am..

Ken

 

[Ugly3]

The sand didn't come from the engine - the kids, the cat, the wind, something else put it in the drain pan.

 

[Ken42]

I can just imagine my cat taking off the oil cap and dumping paw fulls of sand in just to get back at me cause I won't let him out when he wants out at all hours of the day and night.

 

[Solo2driver]

I had just done an oil change in my wife's Saturn before I did the Suzuki, made it a point to wipe the pan clean so that I knew I had a clean starting point.

No problems yet to speak of, just an uneasy feeling with my 200-mile daily commute. I will check for openings in the intake tract.

Thanks

-JW

 

[Hasbeen]

quote:

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Originally posted by Solo2driver:
With the last Shell change there was a ton of carbon chunks in the oil drain pan, but when compressed with my finders they broke apart. I just figured it was just the GC and the dino "flush" doing its thing.

---

Because of this statement, I`m betting on casting sand.

If it were me, I would concider dropping the pan, (If that is even posable), and checking a bearing or two! Sand in the pan is NEVER a good thing reguardless of where it came from.

 

[Hirev]

Could it have dropped down from under the car from working underneath it? It would be while to cut open the oil filter and check it out. There is always lots of junk on the bottom of a oil pan after many miles.

Oil is never 100% filtered every cycle if you use a filter with a bypass valve.

 

[TC]

At 156K miles, I would think that any sand inadverdently left from manufacturing would have likely been removed by now through successive oil changes. Could the "sand" actually be carbon chunks crumbling in your fingers into smaller carbon "sand" grains?. So you know, paper air filters filter down to about 20-40 microns, which is about half the diameter of a human hair, so no visually detectable particles can get past same.

I'd check your air filter for perforations, as well as its rubber seal for proper fitting. I'd also check -- maybe removing for inspection if necessary -- your entire air intake system from the filter box to the engine, looking for breaks or perforations.

Ray's comment of "If you see dust on the engine side of the air cleaner, you've got trouble" is a good one -- inspect the post-filter duct for any dust or grain accumulation. This may confirm a leak of some sort. Hirev's observation is good too -- you didn't scrape off some crude with an unnoticed swipe of a wrench, did ya?

 

[Solo2driver]

I highly doubt the casting sand. Riverside is NOT kind on air filters, but the recent rain has kept the dust and lime dust (concrete recycling plant across the street from work) down a bit. I drive every day from San Diego to Riverside, and now SD to Lancaster--desert!

The grit is definitely sand--light colored, hard. I live near the beach, and know what the stuff looks like!

I will pull the pan shortly and do a full wipe-down, as well as check the intake tract. There appears to be an open port in the intake tubing where a metal PCV or vent tube should go, but looking at factory-stock engine bay pics, it's supposed to be that way, and is blocked interally. I may stick a bolt and silicone in there just in case

-JamesW
94 Suzuki Swift GT 1.3L DOHC

 

[Ray H]

quote:

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Originally posted by Ken42:
I don't think sand that big would make it past the pistons and if it did I don't think it [the engine?] would be running anymore.

---

Dirt/sand wouldn't have to "make it past the pistons". It need only travel through the air intake and the PCV sytem. Once under the valve cover(s), it's a straight shot (more or less...) to the sump through the oil drainage channels. I'd be looking seriously at the air filter and air intake fittings. If you see dust on the engine side of the aircleaner, you got trouble. Something is even more seriously wrong if macroscopic airborn grit is getting into the oil. I'm just a bit north of Riverside so I'm quite familiar with the dust conditions Solo2driver described - especially when the Santa Ana winds blow in off the high desert.

 

[widman]

Always check the intake area beyond the filter. a lot of flat filters warp and do not seal. Also tuping and ducting. I've seen many split ducts to the engine. I've also seen fittings with 3mm of space. I've also seen metal filters put in metal (non gasketed) filter housings. And filter housings that are bent or damaged. The local Honda dealer put one filter on so tightly that they colapsed it and broke the seal. Fine sand goes everywhere. Murphy's law will prevail.