Rag Lint and a G3516 gas engine.

Hi Team,
a recent post by Jack on the dangers of the over zealous use of Silicon Sealant has reminded me of an engine I did a failure analysis on back in 1996. The engine in question was a G3516 Land Fill Gas Engine running a Generator pumping power into the grid. There are many such engines around Melbourne in old tip sites utilising the gas produced from rotting garbage in old land fill sites.
The engine had been fully overhauled by the client, new cam bearings etc. all the oil gallery plugs had been removed and the oil passages washed and brushed out etc. etc.
The engine was put back into service when after "30 MINUTES of running the unit suffered a CATASTROPHIC FAILURE== No's 7&8 conrods proceeded to all but cut the unit in half.
The upshot of it all was that the clients fitters had used old windcheater type material for RAGS and had extensively wiped parts with it.
The resulting transfere of LINT to engine parts blocked the oil pump suction screen some 40 to 50%.
The Marine version Service Manual lists some Jury Rig Limp Home Fixes, it told us we could attach in an external auxilliary oil pump and if we could get 160 US Gallons per minute we could limp home at half engine speed.
So our engine was supplied marginal lubrication and the first bearings to recieve this failed (seized) and the rest is history.
As part of my report to the disbelieving client I included a copy of page 17 from my T35 2Ton Operators Instruction Book, circa 1925.
Under the heading Cleaning Oil Screen it says==
"The most common agent clogging this screen will be particals of lint from rags that may be used in cleaning the crankcase.(in italics) ""Rags covered with lint or waste positively must not be used in wiping out any part inside the crankcase."" When necessary to use a rag or cloth of any kind, a clean piece of canvas cloth must be used.
The failure cost in the order of oz$400,000 to rectify!ouch.
Go easy with ragging off your parts out in the field, rough castings etc. catch a lot of lint!
Regards
Eddie B.

very good tip cleanlyness really matters, also makes re-assembly a pleasure.

EDB, That underground garbage gas has become a big thing too here in Pa. as there is a big landfill in Scranton that uses that undergroungd gas to make electricity with big Cat generators & also another one that I know of is in York Pa.There probaby could be more but they are the couple I know of. I,m told they sell the power back to the electric power Co. in their areas. The first use of that system I saw out in Peoria Ill.in 1966 at the sewage disposal plant in their city.It was a field trip that the Cat factory gave our class when we were there at the Cat service training school on power generation.