Is it OK to 'glass bead' engine parts???
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Elder User
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From: Grain Valley Mo.
Is it OK to 'glass bead' engine parts???
I asked this ? on a couple of the engine forums with little success. Is it ok to 'glass bead' engine parts??? Does this process leave microscopic shards of glass embedded in the metal? I keep hearing about bearing failures within 1K miles after using glass bead to clean the parts. The suspected parts seem to be aluminum intake manifolds. Has anybody had this problem or heard about it? Thanks........
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From: Kansas City area
I have blasted aluminum intake manifolds with "Black Beauty" media which is now sold as a replacement for silica sand. It is a fine black slag material ( I assume from coal slag) and I have not had any problems. You can get it from Lee's Summit material off south 291.
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From: Grain Valley Mo.
Originally Posted by LEckart
I have blasted aluminum intake manifolds with "Black Beauty" media which is now sold as a replacement for silica sand. It is a fine black slag material ( I assume from coal slag) and I have not had any problems. You can get it from Lee's Summit material off south 291.
Thanks Larry, my problem is: I already blasted mine with glass and have had it running for a short time. Of coarse as soon as I heard this story, I started hearing all sorts of knocks, clicks, ticks and weird noises. LOL......Hopefully this is just a nasty rumor somebody started because they didn't know how to check bearing clearances.
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From: Bethany, WV
I worked in a NAPA machine shop (& still hang around there & pretty much have run of the place). We glass beaded about anything that didn't have "Trappy Places". Like NEVER glass bead oil pans & valve covers .... cause they have "welded in" baffles that the glass can get caught in behind where the baffle meets the pan. Any thing that has oil or other passages will need severe brushing & scrubbing !!!! All beaded parts should be thoroughly scrubbed & cleaned !!! One unfound glassbead will cause devastating internal engine damage !!!
~Glenn
~Glenn
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From: NM
What parts did you bead blast?
Piston crowns are commonly bead blasted to eliminate carbon buildup without leaving sharp scratches or other potential sources of detonation, but as noted they need to be thoroughly scrubbed afterwards.
The stories I've heard in this regard are mostly about crank grinding debris that wasn't adequately flushed from crank oil feed passages. I kind of doubt any minor bead residue that got sucked into the intake tract would get into the oil system.
Piston crowns are commonly bead blasted to eliminate carbon buildup without leaving sharp scratches or other potential sources of detonation, but as noted they need to be thoroughly scrubbed afterwards.
The stories I've heard in this regard are mostly about crank grinding debris that wasn't adequately flushed from crank oil feed passages. I kind of doubt any minor bead residue that got sucked into the intake tract would get into the oil system.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Dec 2005
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From: Moro Bay, AR
I have bead blasted engine parts for years and have never had any sort of failure due to glass remnants. As was said before, more failures are from lack of cleaning machining debris out of oil passages.
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From: NM
Glenn is exactly right about oil pan innards and valve covers, I have heard one instance of an oil pan baffle that dumped a bunch of grit into the oil pump suction with "unfortunate" results.
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From: Riverside, So Cal
I haven't glass bead blasted any motor parts myself, but the opinions seem to be on both sides of the subject. It sounds like as long as everything got cleaned well before assembly, there is no problem.
However, if there was glass bead debris left in pan baffles, etc, it's too late now anyway. It has been sucked into the oil pump and flushed around inside the motor. The only way to fix it is to rebuild the engine (again).
Why not just drive it and see what happens. If there is glass in it and that tears stuff up, you'll know soon enough. If not, it was an unnecessary worry. You could rebuild it now to avoid a potential problem or rebuild it after a real problem occurs.
I say: "Don't have a problem until you have a problem". Drive it like you stole it.
However, if there was glass bead debris left in pan baffles, etc, it's too late now anyway. It has been sucked into the oil pump and flushed around inside the motor. The only way to fix it is to rebuild the engine (again).
Why not just drive it and see what happens. If there is glass in it and that tears stuff up, you'll know soon enough. If not, it was an unnecessary worry. You could rebuild it now to avoid a potential problem or rebuild it after a real problem occurs.
I say: "Don't have a problem until you have a problem". Drive it like you stole it.
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From: Grain Valley Mo.
Sorry it took so long for me to get back with you guys, I was stuck all day without a computer. The part I blasted was the alum intake manifold. There is no tin pan on the bottom side, so there are no nooks or crannies for glass to accumulate, it was clean as a pin when it went back on. The story goes, that the glass embeds itself in the metal, to be slowly washed away in the oil bath. I think I'm going to call B.S. on this story. Thanks everyone for your replies....
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From: Jane Lew, WV
I worked in a power station for 30 years. When we tore down a 1,000,000 H.P. turbine, all parts are media blasted. That could be black beauty, silica sand, aluminum oxide or even corn cob. With tolerences of 3/10,000 ths of and inch, we never had a problem unless someone didn't do their job cleaning up. Some aluminum parts, we would boil in clear water to open the pores and release the media, but very rarely.
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From: Grain Valley Mo.
[QUOTE=Bikewrench Some aluminum parts, we would boil in clear water to open the pores and release the media, but very rarely.[/QUOTE]
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Thanks Bikewrench...for throwing a Monkeywrench into the works...LOL. Sub the word 'oil' for 'water' and thats the story I heard. Maybe we should call 'Myth Busters'. LOL
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Thanks Bikewrench...for throwing a Monkeywrench into the works...LOL. Sub the word 'oil' for 'water' and thats the story I heard. Maybe we should call 'Myth Busters'. LOL
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From: Jane Lew, WV
Originally Posted by xfordman
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Sub the word 'oil' for 'water' and thats the story I heard. Maybe we should call 'Myth Busters'. LOL
Sub the word 'oil' for 'water' and thats the story I heard. Maybe we should call 'Myth Busters'. LOL
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