Sand in oil?

DanMD

Member
I have a SMD with a brand new overhaul with 10 hours total run time. I drained the first oil after the first heat cycle and then after 10 hours. I found maybe 10 pieces of sand in the drain pail which i had cleaned beforehand. So I cut the oil filter apart and there is probably a teaspoon of sand all throughout this filter. Freaking out, I cut the oil filter apart from my Super C and it has the same looking sand in it as well but not nearly as much. I am a maintenance freak and am super picky.

I use Case/IH No. 1 in the SMD, Case/IH Low Ash in the Super C,Fleetguard Oil filters from Case/IH.

I showed the filters to my local IH service manager and he was perplexed. Said it looked like my oil system was open in a gravel pit during rock crushing operations.

I am a super clean freak. All maintenance performed in my closed garage. Garage is always locked up.

It looks like my hot oil pressure may be down some on the Super C as it now low idles slightly in the red.

Anyone else ever seen this before? Are my motors doomed? I have 10 grand in the SMD motor and am sick.

Thanks,
Dan
 
35 years ago I overhaul a 1206 when I work for a dealership and he bought the tractor and took
it to a guy to repaint it here used Riversand to sandblast with and the first time the guy that bought
tractor changed oil ran about two hours and it spun rod bearing and when I tore it down it had
sand in the oil and when they sandblasted it in the filter on those canisters it Musta had some
behind there when he put the filter back up there the sand got in there from the build up when
they sandblasted it by the backside of the canister
 
If anything was sandblasted on the oil side of the engine (like valve cover) during rebuild the residual is headed for the sump. Also possible if anything was scotch brited that sheds abrasive just like sandpaper.

You could try a straight weight oil like SAE30 which may have less propensity to entrain small particles and might let them sink to a quiet spot out of the way.

Casting core sand is pretty common on the water side of the engine though.
 
Who rebuilt the engine was it you or a machine shop and was the head cracked like most of them
are does that usually take them to a cylinder head rebuilt shop or the place that welds them up or
you have somebody you don't like you
 
Sand in two different motors, neither of which have been sand blasted? Sounds like you poured the sand in there, either from sand in the can or dirty oil handling equipment. No matter, only thing I can see to do now is continue change the oil at like 10-minute intervals until no sand can be detected in the filters. Then, lower the pan and survey the carnage. Be prepared to do a bearing roll-in, as there will be some sand embedded in the babbitt.
 
I have a nephew (I don't claim him!) that put plastic BB's, sand, rocks and sticks into Mom & Dad's washing machine AND their dryer! He shot one of Dad's shop windows with a BB gun, and basically broke anything and everything he could get his hands onto. Dad had a bad hard drive that he game to the boy to do with what he wanted....in the shop no less! Rather than taking a driver and bit to take it apart (I took EVERYTHING apart as a kid, and then put it all back together), he used a hammer and flat screwdriver and beat the crap out of the thing trying to get it open. He's a VERY destructive kid. ...Got any kids like this in your neighborhood?!?!?

When my Mom passed away, this same kid stole a cell phone from one of the funeral home employees - the owner's wife! Their son had an app installed and tracked it/them down. Lovable (and honest!) sis swore up and down her little angles would never do such a thing! A couple of minutes of explaining that GPS is pointing right to their truck, and shortly the boy was handing the phone back to the owner. No apology from the boy OR his mother!

This is the kind of kid who would go out and poison animals just to watch them die. And yes, I do believe I remember hearing about him and an older brother putting an animal in a microwave!
 
But definately send in a sample of that sand and oil into a lab, they might be able to tell where that sand came from !!! A crime lab would be better !!
 
It would be interesting to see how the oil in the air cleaner and injection pump look. Maybe check your fuel system for sand contamination too....

It's a good thing the filter did its job and caught those particles. Maybe drop the oil pan and do an inspection of some bearings...?
 
(quoted from post at 23:00:56 05/15/17) It would be interesting to see how the oil in the air cleaner and injection pump look. Maybe check your fuel system for sand contamination too....

It's a good thing the filter did its job and caught those particles. Maybe drop the oil pan and do an inspection of some bearings...?
I've send what looks like sand in an engine that came from the crank, it had been ground and the person didn't clean it very good at all before installing it. It was enough to wreck the bearing and they had to have the crank ground again and new bearings. It was a decent amount of "sand" but not sure it was a teaspoon full
 
Had something similar happen to me last year. I have been frequenting the same show for 19 years this year, bringing equipment nearly every year (I am only 30). This last summer, I had 3 tractors there. My newly rebuilt '47 IH M, my rebuilt '42 JD A, and my fully restored '41 Case SC. On the way home, I blew the fan belt on the Case SC. Towed it the rest of the way with a strap (about a mile). Parked it at a friends and left it until the next day when I could replace the belt. Got it back together, and it would NOT start for the life of me. Started checking things over - started at fuel flow. Nothing at the carb, nothing through the line, and nothing through the bowl assembly. Looked inside the tank and there was about a handful of what looked like fine (dried out field) sand in the bottom covering the tank outlet.

Needless to say, it shouldn't have been there. That tank was boiled, pressure checked, and lined prior to paint and reassembly. I swear to this day it was sabotage - more than likely some kids who were camping overnight with their family were messing around after show hours during the pulls and sent me home with a gift.

Photo is of my blown fan belt. Lol. And one more of the group at that show.
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Another vote for anything is possible. I can remember years ago a farmer that was not very fussy as to where he kept his oil filling cans and often were near an open garage door with the wind pushing all kinds of debris in the shop and most likely into the cans. First rate job cleaning up engine but oil bath air cleaner never cleaned.
 
Just a thought on the MD, If the paint or sealer was removed from block internals when cleaning and some sand trapped by the block sealer now came loose that could be what is showing up.
 
Two years ago I was buying a Wix oil filter at Oreilly?s to put on my duramax. I had paid for it and my oil and getting ready to walk out when the boy at the counter said let me see that filter for a second. He said they most often have plastic wrap on them. He took it out of the box and turn it upside down and some sand poured out of it. He started tapping on it and a lot more came out. Either someone returned it after filling it with sand or someone took it off the shelve and did that and put it back. I check them all now. The clerk said he had seen that done before that?s why he checked it.
 
(quoted from post at 06:49:15 05/16/17) Two years ago I was buying a Wix oil filter at Oreilly?s to put on my duramax. I had paid for it and my oil and getting ready to walk out when the boy at the counter said let me see that filter for a second. He said they most often have plastic wrap on them. He took it out of the box and turn it upside down and some sand poured out of it. He started tapping on it and a lot more came out. Either someone returned it after filling it with sand or someone took it off the shelve and did that and put it back. I check them all now. The clerk said he had seen that done before that?s why he checked it.

This is the first I've heard of such idiocy. Thanks for the warning!!

Multiple times we've seen kids in the grocery store shaking up 2 liter bottles of soda. Wife bought one of those one time without knowing. Cap hit the ceiling and soda went everywhere! I really wish other shoppers would take the time to step in and stop these idiots when they see them!!

Getting back on topic, I keep trying to remember.....seems I remember something about some sort of oil filter many years ago that used some sort of carbon....activated charcoal maybe? And that it was normal to see the little granules in the oil. However, it wasn't supposed to damage the machine. Was back in the 70's I think when I heard that. Only other filters I know of that use carbon (activated charcoal) are water filters and air filters, including for respirators.
 
So I took the filters to my machinist today and he said he has not seen this in his 57 years as a machinist. He cut both filters apart and found that all of the sand and mud grit is concentrated a couple of pleats on either side crimp. None of the material is magnetic. I am leaning towards thinking the crap was somehow there from the manufacturing process of the filters. I can't think of another reason all of it is piled up in the couple of pleats on either side of the metal crimp. Both the machinist and mechanic thought it strange and thought it would have been throughout the whole filter surface.

He wants me to drop the pans and look in there and look at the bearings and go from there.

Thanks,
Dan
 
Don't push the panic button. You probly wouldnt want to know how many rat terds and bugs are ground up in your oat
mill you eat every morning either. An engine is not going to run dirt free. Otherwise we wouldn't be changing oil
and filter on em. Bottom line, just keep changing oil and filter as recommended to keep it as clean as possible. I
have seen way worse than a few grains of sand. I have seen small metal particles. Glad I changed oil and they no
longer in the system.
 
Thanks! It has it's flaws.. Maybe someday all of my tractors will be this nice. It is single stage urethane PPG. Lays real nice and covers well. Dries with a real nice shine! If you ever come to the Nowthen Threshing Show, be sure to stop by and say hi!
 
I have a friend that tore up a 450 on a loader. When I tore it
down. I found the engine full of finely ground substance. The
inside of the valve cover was full. The rocker arms and push rods
were coated with this stuff. The oil pan was full enough with this
stuff it clogged up the oil screen.

I showed it to him. He said it was ground up alfalfa. When the
tractor quit he was grinding hay. I think it got in through his
crank case vent.
 
Update.

Well, I have some encouraging news. I got a chance to work on my Super C. I pulled the valve cover and I did not find any sign of sand on top of the head. I pulled the oil filter that has about 10 hours on it and I cut it apart. It had no sand at all. I pulled the oil pan and found no sand. I pulled a rod and a main bearing and no signs of sand or bearing damage. So at least the Super C looks like it is in the clear. I won't get a chance to work on the expensive Super MD for a few more weeks. I have my fingers crossed.

So at this point, as crazy as it sounds, I am guessing the sand was in the filter from new.

Dan
 
If you are finding the sand on the outer side of the pleats - I am thinking the sand may have passed through the oil pump but not your bearings.
Doesn't the oil enter the outside of the pleats and flow to the inside of the filter and on to the bearings from there. In this case the worst
could be some damage to the pump.

BTW - did you do any cleaning using glass beads on the engine. The glass beads can fracture and embed in the metal. They then come out with heat
cycles. A friend of mine had his intake manifold glass beaded. It looked real pretty but the embedded particles later, wiped out his intake valve
guides.
 
(quoted from post at 03:06:38 05/24/17) If you are finding the sand on the outer side of the pleats - I am thinking the sand may have passed through the oil pump but not your bearings.
Doesn't the oil enter the outside of the pleats and flow to the inside of the filter and on to the bearings from there. In this case the worst
could be some damage to the pump.

BTW - did you do any cleaning using glass beads on the engine. The glass beads can fracture and embed in the metal. They then come out with heat
cycles. A friend of mine had his intake manifold glass beaded. It looked real pretty but the embedded particles later, wiped out his intake valve
guides.

The filter looked good on the outside of the cardboard. It is when I removed the outer cardboard to look at the pleats that I found it had very gritty sand in it.

I do not know the history on this tractor as I have only had it 3 years. No sandblasting while under my ownership.
 

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